Sletzer 3 #1 November 23, 2009 Yay...... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34103722/ns/politics-the_new_york_times We all know this is coming.... and it's going to be loads of fun to repay.I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows* SCS #8251 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marks2065 0 #2 November 23, 2009 QuoteYay...... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34103722/ns/politics-the_new_york_times We all know this is coming.... and it's going to be loads of fun to repay. I say we cut gov spending by 20% this year and another 20% next year and keep doing it until the debt is paid in full. that means every program of government. Government spent the money they can repay it just like we do when we run up a credit card. I can't wait for the liberals to start balking about "what group of people you willing to starve or put out in the cold to do this". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #3 November 23, 2009 I think the better question is, "Which soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be provided with food, ammo, and fuel?" - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marks2065 0 #4 November 23, 2009 QuoteI think the better question is, "Which soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be provided with food, ammo, and fuel?" government spending needs to go down 20%, if they can take more from somewere else fine, but government spending needs to go down 20%. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #5 November 23, 2009 Quotegovernment spending needs to go down 20%, if they can take more from somewere else fine, but government spending needs to go down 20%. It's just not that easy. I totally agree that we need cuts and we need them now, but it's not going to happen like that. The only way such cuts can be made is slowly, over a long period of time. The healthcare debate is instructive. The Democratic plan calls for cuts to the Medicaid and Medicare budgets. But now the Republicans, who fought tooth and nail against Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960's, are holding the Democrats' feet to the fire over cuts they should be celebrating. When any politician proposes a cut to any program, he immediately gets labeled as "soft-on-whatever" by his opponents. I don't know what the solution is, but massive and immediate cuts will never happen no matter who is in charge. - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,679 #6 November 23, 2009 Quote“What a good country or a good squirrel should be doing is stashing away nuts for the winter,” said William H. Gross, managing director of the Pimco Group, the giant bond-management firm. “The United States is not only not saving nuts, it’s eating the ones left over from the last winter.” Good squirrels are Keynesian squirrels. We, OTOH, are Voodoo squirrels.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #7 November 23, 2009 QuoteI think the better question is, "Which soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be provided with food, ammo, and fuel?" More importantly, which shipyards are you going to lay everyone off, How many Boeing plants and GM plants will be shut down. How many bases will close and how many soldiers will be mustered out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d16842 0 #8 November 23, 2009 QuoteQuoteI think the better question is, "Which soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be provided with food, ammo, and fuel?" More importantly, which shipyards are you going to lay everyone off, How many Boeing plants and GM plants will be shut down. How many bases will close and how many soldiers will be mustered out. In the big picture, those are not the problem. The military has been funded and de-funded in every election cycle. But debt interest and entitlement programs comprise the majority of federal spending. NOBODY knows how to constrain, or cut entitlement programs. And debt interest must be paid. Unless you want to monitize the debt... overnight, while so many foriegners own dollars.Tom B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #9 November 24, 2009 Quote[ In the big picture, those are not the problem. The military has been funded and de-funded in every election cycle. But debt interest and entitlement programs comprise the majority of federal spending. NOBODY knows how to constrain, or cut entitlement programs. And debt interest must be paid. So the difference must come from discretionary spending. The military is over 50% of discretionary spending. The cuts will make the Clinton cuts look like housekeeping. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d16842 0 #10 November 24, 2009 QuoteSo the difference must come from discretionary spending. The military is over 50% of discretionary spending. The cuts will make the Clinton cuts look like housekeeping. In the VERY short run, maybe. But that is only a band-aid. The simple fact is they can't live with just cutting discretionary spending. If you look at the trends, uncontrolled growth of entitlement programs has eaten its way through every other aspect of government spending. And they do some real hocus pocus on the numbers that any CEO and CFO would go to jail for. They report the debt as what... $12T. But that does NOT include the obligation in social security and medicare for those about to age out, who have paid into those programs their whole lives. When you include that, as every company with retirement and medical programs would be required to do, it is closer to $60T. Military spending is a minor bump on top of that. The bottom line is that en masse, we expect more from life than we are willing to pay for. In our housing, medical care, retirement, cars, credit card debt, everywhere. The music is about to stop, and we are going to find all the chairs gone, not just one.Tom B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #11 November 24, 2009 Quote I totally agree that we need cuts and we need them now, but it's not going to happen like that. The only way such cuts can be made is slowly, over a long period of time. But basic psychology shows that people are pretty lousy about making continual slow progress, whether it be for their diet or their spending. Government is no different. The only way we make progress is by more dramatic action prompted by a crisis. Back on subject - there is one nice day coming - it was in 1981 that 30 year treasury bills peaked at 13.45% yield. Those will mature soon, and in the next 5 years a lot of expensive debt will get cycled out for cheaper debt. Not sure how to obtain the quantities to tell us how significant an improvement this will be. 1980 11.27 1981 13.45 1982 12.76 1983 11.18 1984 12.41 1985 10.79 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
