Posted on 02/23/2009 11:10:25 PM PST by Cindy
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/23/Owning-up-to-what-we-owe/
THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG
Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Owning up to what we owe
This is big -- the President today promised that by the end of his first term, he will cut in half the massive federal deficit we've inherited. And we'll do it in a new way: honestly and candidly.
"This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected," President Obama said. "But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay -- and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control."
Before we turn this boat around, we've got to acknoweldge how deep underwater we are:
"For too long, our budget process in Washington has been an exercise in deception -- a series of accounting tricks to hide the extent of our spending and the shortfalls in our revenue and hope that the American people won't notice.... budgeting zero dollars for the Iraq war -- zero -- for future years, even when we knew the war would continue; budgeting no money for natural disasters, as if we would ever go 12 months without a single flood, fire, hurricane or earthquake."
"We do ourselves no favors by hiding the truth about what we spend," the President said. "In order to address our fiscal crisis, we're going to have to be candid about its scope."
As the summit concluded, the President took questions and comments from the assembled members of Congress and the business and non-profit communities. He started with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who emphasized the need to cut excess from defense spending -- citing as an example reports that the two-year-old plan to overhaul the fleet of Marine One helicopters had gone significantly over-budget.
"We all know how large the defense budget is," Sen. McCain said. "We all know that the cost overruns -- your helicopter is now going to cost as much as Air Force One. I don't think that there's any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers an enormous amount of money...[W]e have to make some tough decisions -- you, Mr. President, have to make some tough decisions about not only what we procure, but how we procure it."
"The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me. Of course, I've never had a helicopter before -- maybe I've been deprived and I didn't know it," the President joked, before continuing with a more serious response. "But I think it is an example of the procurement process gone amuck. And we're going to have to fix it....One of the promising things is I think Secretary Gates shares our concern and he recognizes that simply adding more and more does not necessarily mean better and better, or safer and more secure."
ping
Uh . . Yeah . . Obama is going to leave our grandkids with a debt they can’t repay as well.
Congress.
This guy’s mouth is writing checks his ass can’t back!
I understand what you are saying.
I post these press releases here for archival purposes.
Yep.
Hmmm..., that’s interesting... a Democrat President who says he is actually interested in balancing the budget and paying off the national debt. Isn’t that something new?
Well, I think it’s the wrong time to be “balancing the budget” and paying off the national debt, actually. Although those are commendable ideas, on their own, to do so in the middle of a Great Depression is not the best of moves...
“Words... just words...”
A-Hat Pres_ent without ID is just gonna print up half the debt and try to pass off his monopoly money to the Chins. Brilliant move Xlax. This will force anyone with any savings to "pay off" half the debt instantly.
Wonderful how we are now concerned with fiscal responsibility. Sort of like shutting the gate after the horses have escaped.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=43996
“Obama’s Pledge to Halve Deficit Still Means Huge Deficits for Years to Come”
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
By Matt Cover
SNIPPET: “But according to the Congressional Budget Office, even if Obama meets that goal – the deficit would go down, but only to a level higher than that seen during most of the George W. Bush administration.
Obama’s policies will cause the federal government to run deficits of more than $1 trillion through fiscal year 2010, meaning that any deficit-reduction measures he enacts simply will be returning federal spending to levels seen during the administration of George W. Bush.”
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=426106
“The end of the American dream
Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist - 2/23/2009 7:45:00 AM”
SNIPPET: “As our new political leadership leads us into the fiscal twilight zone, is it too much to ask for a little honesty as they do it?”
SNIPPET: “A failure of capitalism? This could never happen in a country where private property was respected and people were not subsidized by government to buy what they can’t afford.
Rather than saving the American dream, the Obama team could be bringing it to an end.”
Pure theatre.
First, you spend an unbelievable amount of money on every pork project the dems have ever wanted. What a guy! The base is thrilled with the goodies.
Second, you then claim you are going to cut the fat from the budget. Easier to do since you already spent all that money on the fat. This makes you look like you are cutting waste. What a guy! The base is thrilled with your frugality.
Kind of like a family that can’t afford it buying a new estate with horse farm, new furniture, new cars, a private jet, a helicopter, going on world trip vacations, etc.
Then you say to the family, “Now we’re going to have to eat out less, turn the thermostat down a degree, turn out the lights if we aren’t in the room, take shorter showers, and drive less.”
BTTT
This is not surprising. He was a "back bench" legislator. I doubt if he ever had a role in actually crafting a bill. He doesn't know how to understand the root causes of a problem and devise a solution. He can't lead, so he lets Pelosi and Reid run the show. He says whatever his handlers tell him to say.
How ironic to have a President who votes "present".
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