No End in Sight on Debt Talks

No End in Sight on Debt Talks
Al Ritter


Both Democrats and Republicans are doing their political posturing as the deadline for the debt talk’s loom. Asian markets today are showing their apprehension as trading drops.


Obama and Harry Reid are holding steadfast to raising the debt ceiling along with saddling America’s wealthy with a larger portion of tax liability to fund the ever increasing social programs the democrats see as necessary. John Boehner is holding to his position of no additional tax increases in a time of economic uncertainty. There is no assurance that even if the debt ceiling talks yield a compromise that the world’s monetary rating group will not downgrade our AAA rating to AA. Even if Obama and Reid raise taxes and the debt ceiling, Moody’s could still see that as a weakening of the dollar and reduce the rating.


Obama refuses to negotiate any social programs for cuts, including the new high speed rail he just proposed recently. He has also refused to negotiate on past programs and entitlements. Obama has argued that America has spoken that 80% of citizens agree with raising the taxes, despite a recent
Rasmussen Poll that says only 37% agreed with the president. When Obama was a US Senator and Harry Reid served in the senate under George Bush, both of them vehemently battled against raising the debt ceiling at that time. Now the situation is more dire, and the democrats continue to spend us farther into a hole, but somehow their opinion on the debt ceiling has changed.


Logical Americans know that spending more money when you are in deep debt makes no sense. The issue is not that we have a tax deficit; the more accurate way to portray the situation is that we have a spending problem, and we are running out of wealthy people to tax. The words “fair share” is being sadly abused when 51% of Americans pay NO tax, and yet the wealthy are being forced to pay for the non-payer’s existence, is this the true meaning of the words “fair,” or “share?”


If you are a democrat reading this article, here is an enlightening glimpse into the programs the Republican’s see items ripe for removal thus saving America 2 1/2 trillion dollars………….Democrats have already said no to deleting any of them. To the Republicans reading this article, this is what the Obama Administration sees as “negotiation.”


a.. Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual
savings.
b.. Save America's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
c.. International Fund for Ireland. $17 million annual savings.
d.. Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
e.. National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
f.. National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual
savings.
g.. Hope VI Program.. $250 million annual savings.
h.. Amtrak Subsidies. $1565 billion annual savings.
i.. Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last
Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3
billion annually.
j.. U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.
k.. Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.
l.. Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47
million annual savings.
m.. John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.
n.. Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
o.. Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
p.. Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings
q.. Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.
r.. Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
s.. Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.
t.. Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million
annual savings.
u.. Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530
million annual savings.
v.. Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.
w.. New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
x.. Exchange Programs for Alaska, Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their
Historical Trading Partners in Massachusett ... $9 million annual savings
y.. Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.
z.. Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
aa.. Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
ab.. Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.
ac.. Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15
billion annual savings.
ad.. Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual
savings.
ae.. FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.
af.. Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.
ag.. Economic Assistance to Egypt. $250 million annually.
ah.. U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual
savings.
ai.. General Assistance to District of Columbia. $210 million annual
savings.
aj.. Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150
million annual savings.
ak.. Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
al.. No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million
annual savings.
am.. End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.
an.. Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
ao.. IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some
services it offers (such as processingpayment plans for taxpayers) to the
Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8
billion savings over ten years.
ap.. Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion
total
savings.WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
aq.. Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees.
$1.2 billion savings over ten years.
ar.. Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of.
$15 billion total savings.
as.. Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.
at.. Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.
au.. Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings
av.. Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.
aw.. USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.
ax.. Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD). $93 million annual savings.
ay.. Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program.
$56.2 million annual savings.
az.. Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million
savings.
ba.. Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings..
bb.. HUD Ph.D. Program.
bc.. Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act.
bd.. TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years