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#1134379 - 02/23/09 08:56 PM Dangerous Pledge?????
Snow Bunny Offline
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has vowed to cut the country's budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. Obama laid out the guiding principle of his budget policy at a White House conference. He said he believes the time has come for "a frank conversation" about the problem and said the deficit, projected to total $1.3 trillion this year, must be brought under control.


If he can do it - more power to him, BUT.....
Do the words: Read my lips ring a bell to you?
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#1134384 - 02/23/09 08:59 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Snow Bunny
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
he also pledged that it won't be the same old "politics as usual" in DC...

and you know, I think he is right. I'm not aware of any Bush appointees who didn't pay taxes, while many of Obama's don't...maybe it is a new day after all
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#1134385 - 02/23/09 08:59 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Snow Bunny
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cutting it in half from $1.3 trillion? talk about setting a low bar...

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#1134386 - 02/23/09 09:00 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Snow Bunny
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Didn't the stimulus package just passed double the deficit?

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#1134402 - 02/23/09 09:12 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? straw
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Quote:
I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinski!


Oops, sorry, wrong liar!

Last edited by B_F; 02/23/09 09:13 PM.
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#1134406 - 02/23/09 09:15 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Snow Bunny
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Quote:
If he can do it - more power to him, BUT.....
Do the words: Read my lips ring a bell to you?


I'll give you a more recent event - Clinton promised exactly the same thing as Obama, to cut the deficit in half in his first term. Republicans said he couldn't accomplish that, but he did.

I don't think Obama's promise is all that dangerous because all he's promising is to cut a deficit that's more than twice as large as any in history by half. So, if in four years he gets it down to what it was in the last fiscal year before the current one (which was $454.8B) he will have cut it by more than half.

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#1134446 - 02/23/09 09:54 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Yossarian
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That would mean convincing Congress (and note I did not say Democracts) to not continue spending levels that were just passed as part of the stimulus bill. But you know it is tough to stop spending on projects that get interest groups rallied around them (and that is true of all projects, regardless of political bent; just bureaucratic politics at its finest).

We will see if he can accomplish this, but it would require some fiscal discipline that is rarely seen in Washington, and hasn't beeen seen at all in nearly 15 years.

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#1134451 - 02/23/09 09:57 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? straw
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Does he mean cut it from his record defecit or some other President's defecit?
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#1134475 - 02/23/09 10:18 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Sound Tactic
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I'll give you a more recent event - Clinton promised exactly the same thing as Obama, to cut the deficit in half in his first term. Republicans said he couldn't accomplish that, but he did.

While I was walking past the national debt clock in NYC at that time I can not recall it going backwards.
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#1134478 - 02/23/09 10:21 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? edAudit
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Originally Posted By: EdAudit
I'll give you a more recent event - Clinton promised exactly the same thing as Obama, to cut the deficit in half in his first term. Republicans said he couldn't accomplish that, but he did.

While I was walking past the national debt clock in NYC at that time I can not recall it going backwards.


I'm more than a little alarmed that someone with 'audit' in their screen name can't tell the difference between an income statement and a balance sheet.

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#1134486 - 02/23/09 10:28 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Hrothgar Geiger
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You are here
TI'm more than a little alarmed that someone with 'audit' in their screen name can't tell the difference between an income statement and a balance sheet.


That was my point it is a lot easier to close (or claim to close) a budget deficit than the real problem the national debt
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#1134488 - 02/23/09 10:29 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? edAudit
Yossarian Offline
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They covered it up in 2000 because it wasn't designed to run backwards.

Time magazine

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#1134489 - 02/23/09 10:31 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? edAudit
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Oh. I did not understand that to be your point.

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#1134492 - 02/23/09 10:34 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Yossarian
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You are here
Are you talking about the debt or the clock
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#1134497 - 02/23/09 10:35 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Hrothgar Geiger
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the bar really is set too low because he and the congress fully intend to let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011; that in itself will reduce the deficit by half......

and then when you factor in the military cuts there will be plenty to spend on social programs by 2012.....

and the real timebombs won't be touched --- social security and medicare............
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#1134500 - 02/23/09 10:37 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? edAudit
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Originally Posted By: EdAudit
Are you talking about the debt or the clock


He's talking about the clock. The linked article provides an explanation.

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#1134541 - 02/23/09 11:56 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Pale Rider
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Originally Posted By: Pale Rider
the bar really is set too low because he and the congress fully intend to let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011; that in itself will reduce the deficit by half......


Why cut spending when you can lay it on the taxpayer to reduce the deficit spending?

Of course I still find it funny that Obama isn't going to "raise taxes", he's just going to raise taxes on people that were given tax cuts by Bush.
Last edited by B_F; 02/24/09 12:16 AM.
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#1134550 - 02/24/09 01:19 AM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? B_F
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... that Bush failed to make permanent.
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#1134553 - 02/24/09 01:54 AM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? #Just Jay
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Originally Posted By: Just Jay
... that Bush failed to make permanent.


BZZZZZZZZZZZ Wrong answer! That a Democratically controlled congress REFUSED to allow Bush to make permanent.

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#1134639 - 02/24/09 02:12 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? B_F
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He had 6 years to make them permanent with a Republicn controlled Congress.
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#1134677 - 02/24/09 02:49 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? #Just Jay
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
so if i understand correctly, letting a tax-cut be rescinded/expire is not the same as raising taxes?
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#1134694 - 02/24/09 02:58 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? HappyGilmore
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Since our past President and Congress' failed to make it a permanent cut in the first place, then, no, I do not feel it is the same.

Now that doesn't mean I don't support the lower rate, but I see no legisation currently to raise taxes or rescind a temporary tax cut early.
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#1134709 - 02/24/09 03:02 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? #Just Jay
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this is similar in describing the reduction of growth in social programs as a spending cut........
Last edited by Pale Rider; 02/24/09 03:03 PM.
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#1134715 - 02/24/09 03:04 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? Pale Rider
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I would disagree with that...
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#1134734 - 02/24/09 03:23 PM Re: Dangerous Pledge????? #Just Jay
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
so if today I pay $100 in taxes, but this "temporary" tax break ends and I then will be paying $150 in taxes, that is not a raise in taxes?

Let me guess, it is not a raise in taxes, but an adjustment to the pre-cut break I had?
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