Free Republic

The debt deal that passed Congress yesterday fails to address the fiscal crisis. How does it fall short? No Balance: The plan fails to achieve a balanced budget, or even to lay out balance as a meaningful goal. Without this goal, deficit spending will continue and the American people will fail to coalesce behind the effort. Too Small: As advertised, the spending cuts in this package are less than one-third of the total projected deficit over the next ten years, and the deficits ten years from now will still be measured in the hundreds of billions. Revenues: The plan opens...

Rep. Connie Mack says the American people want a solution to the debt and deficit problem, not more “gimmicks and schemes,” so the Florida Republican cannot vote for a compromise that ensures continued skyrocketing debt. I don’t think the American people are looking for a deal or a compromise — they’re looking for a solution to the problem,” Mack said today (snip) And with this plan moving forward, we ensure ourselves that we are going to have over $17 trillion in debt without solving the problem, which is cutting spending.” Read more on Newsmax.com: Rep. Mack: 'Gimmick' Deal Fuels Debt...

On July 6th, just two days ago, at least a dozen busybody Congressmen sponsored the introduction of HR 2411, the “Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011.” They always come up with fantastic names for these pieces of legislation… and rest assured, the better/more patriotic the name, the more ominous the bill. This one follows the pattern. HR 2411 states that every worker in America should be able to voluntarily have a portion of his/her wages automatically withheld and sent directly to the Treasury Department for the purposes of paying down the federal debt. “Every employer making payment of wages...

President Obama, seeking a Republican agreement to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Aug 2, will not insist that any deal include an end of President Bush's controversial tax rates on the wealthy. Obama's tactics are coming into clearer focus: they involve seeking higher taxes not on a broad swath of high income earners but on a narrower band of the super rich, such as owners of private jets. This means that those who earn $250,000 have got a reprieve.

Senior Republicans conceded Wednesday that a deal is unlikely on a contentious plan to overhaul Medicare and offered to open budget talks with the White House by focusing on areas where both parties can agree, such as cutting farm subsidies. On the eve of debt-reduction talks led by Vice President Biden, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) said Republicans remain convinced that reining in federal retirement programs is the key to stabilizing the nation’s finances over the long term. But he said Republicans recognize they may need to look elsewhere to achieve consensus after President Obama “excoriated us” for a...

It isn’t surprising, when you think about it, that the president’s debt-reduction commission has come out with a plan that proposes to inflict the greatest pain on contributor benefits (Social Security and Medicare), household budgets, and national defense. The commission was asked to propose ways to reduce debt. It wasn’t asked to rethink the size, scope, or charter of government.If the latter had been its assigned objective, the panel might have come up with proposals that don’t concentrate most of the pain of sustaining our current level of government on middle-class household budgets and small businesses. There is no question...