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by gimini210 from Independence

Last Post 22 hours Ago


Balancing The Budget
Jun 30, 2008 | 2:21 PM
Category: Political
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I recently heard a senator say that the dollar was dropping in value due to what the government owes in debt.  That if our congress balanced the budget it would bring the value back up. So why isn't congress spending less and balancing our budget instead of sinking us deeper in debt? And please do not make this about the war, as congress spends twice as much on pork as both Iraq and Afganistan. Why would congress be spend happy if they know it is destroying our country? These are well educated, intellegent, and supposed to be working to better the U.S. for the public. So my concerns are why would they want our ecconomy to crash, our country to fail? What motivates these people? Is this what they are planning? Is it what they want?

I know they are spending more and more on crazy things that have nothing to do with running the country and more and more on pork to bolster their campaigns and votes. I listened to an older Democratic senator state that the congress spends less and less time doing their jobs and more and more getting on the campaign trail to win the next election. So why are we paying them? Their paychecks alone could bail our country out of debt in say four years. Now if threw history we have seen that when our country begins to get out of debt the dollar begins to grow in value then it seems to reason they would be cutting back on unreasonable spending, yet they waste more each time they meet.

Does the congress want our government to crash? What would be the motive? I keep asking myself these questions and I keep seeing them spend and spend. I have to believe they are either so stupid it is unbelievable or they really want us to fail so they can do what ever it is they have planned or say look at so and so, see how awful they did, either way shame on them for excepting pay and doing nothing. So what we have is a group of well educated morons or well educated jerks. Either way we definatly have a bunch of people who do not care about our country enough to halt their spending and act like adults who are paid to do a job to the best of their ability. I for one do not care if they are Democrats or Republicans. I care that they are so selfish they quit caring about WE THE PEOPLE and the country they are responsable for.

?    Commerce, Justice, Science:  CAGW has documented 1,123 projects at a cost of $409.8 million.

?    Energy & Water:  CAGW found 655 projects at a cost of $821 million.

?    Financial Services:  There are 197 projects costing $57 million, which represents a 45 percent increase in projects and an 84 percent increase in dollar amounts from CAGW’s calculation for the fiscal year 2008 House bill.

?    Interior:  For fiscal year 2009, CAGW has enumerated 247 projects at a cost of $134.9 million.  In fiscal year 2008, CAGW found 226 projects worth $111 million in the House bill.  The 2009 totals represent a 9.3 percent increase in projects and a 21.5 percent increase in dollar amount from 2008.

“While House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey recently stated that the number and cost of earmarks for fiscal year 2009 would be similar to fiscal year 2008, members are already bringing home more bacon than last year.  The Senate usually adds more projects than the House, so taxpayers should watch their wallets,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government. 

  • Labor/HHS:  For fiscal year 2009, CAGW calculated that there are 1,370 earmarks at a cost of $618.8 million.  In fiscal year 2008, CAGW found 1,305 projects costing $277.9 million in the House bill.  The number of projects increased by 5 percent, but the dollar amount jumped by a whopping 122 percent.

?    Military Construction:  CAGW found 102 earmarks costing $621.3 million.

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Member Comments Total Comments: 47
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nemokc read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 4:29 PM

I agree that "Pork Barrel Spending" is generally wrong. But you are mistaken on your figures for the amount of pork versus the cost of the war.

"The non partisan watchdog group Citizens against Pork Barrel Waste just came out with their new PIG book.It details pork barrel projects inserted into bills by members of congress.

These bills cost taxpayers $17.2 BILLION this year alone."

The President today signed a bill that will spend 162 Billion Dollars on the war effort. My basic math says that we are spending approximately 144.8 BILLION more per year in Iraq than on Pork.

Pork Barrel spending is not good, but it's the war that's tearing apart our economy.

Don't forget that we also use 1.29 million gallons of fuel per DAY in Iraq for the military. This does not include fuel used in Afganistan or anywhere else in the world by the US military. If we were not in Iraq, where would that fuel go & what would it do to fuel prices in the US?

Course, why worry about that fuel when we can always go drill off the Florida coast for some more.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:00 PM

The figures for the war is for 2009 not this years. Look at the date it is to be spent. Note I edited my post to show 2009 pork spending.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:02 PM

Now those are the pending pork facts for the same year. Now tell me how pork is not way above the spending for 2 wars.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:19 PM

So far they have 2,433,500,000. in pork that has been found and that is the beginning if all the pork comes out at the end of the year at tis rate we will have billions in pork. The pork showing is not all the pork just a portion and already they are going hag wild. We still have half a year to go. What happens when the projects that have not been shown and all the new ones are added come out? How many billions in pork will be spent? How many tax dollars not collected for this pupose will be taken and filtered to special intrest? And the military spending is taking in the college educations, medical, training, supplies, food etc not just the war so you have to deduct the cost of running American bases and training and houseing and college and etc from the money for the military as well as the salaries of the employees who work for these bases. Not all of the alotted moneys are for the war. We have many bases here that come out of those funds.
nemokc read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:20 PM

Your own source, the website for CAGW lists 17.2 Billion in Pork Barrel Spending for 2008 (This year). We are currently spending 10.3 Billion per MONTH in Iraq alone. (That's approximately $123.6 Billion Dollars spent in Iraq versus 17.2 Billion Dollars spent in Pork.

I agree with your premise that there is too much pork barrel spending, but don't blame it alone for bankrupting the economy. The war is much more expensive than any social program ever devised by a Democrat. The cost of the war is the main reason I am for getting out of Iraq. We can't afford to sit around waiting for the Iraqi government to decide to take control of their own country.

I'm also curious to your response concerning the issue of the amount of gas we ship to Iraq each day. You seemed not to have noticed that the military consumes 1.29 MILLION GALLONS OF FUEL PER DAY IN IRAQ ALONE? What would it do to gas prices if it were available to us in the states?
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:31 PM

Yes but I am a member and now have the update on the next years spending and it is already in the billions and they do not have all the pork in yet. And yes I am aware of that fact. I am also aware that we need to be drilling for our own, are you aware that some of the nations who supply are now saying they wont? What happens when we run into a we are not going to sell you any more oil? We need to be free of anyone except our own fuel sorces so we can not be held up. The figures you showed are for 2009 as are the new ones coming in now that I am showing you. In your figures the government allowed for college grants not used by service person to be given to their families, it is also for running all the bases from shore to shore and else where, as well as the supplies and paychecks of all the military and non-military, such as my daughter, who works for the military. It covers the training for new military and the medical for the families of the military. So it is not just for 2 wars. The pork is just the governments waste of your tax dollars, it serves just to gain votes and campaign contributions for the persons giving it to their special intrest groups.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:34 PM

also note that $621.3 million of the alotted military moneys is PORK.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:38 PM

Indianapolis Star (June 16, 2008): "Lawmakers Doled Out
$15B to Pet Projects"

http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=ytTY7GjxfnAMDqwIwbcSPw
nemokc read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 5:59 PM

We don't have enough oil to supply our own needs for any appreciable amount of time, so even if we drill everywhere, when other people stop selling to us....WE RUN OUT OF OIL!!!!!

IF THEY STOP SELLING TO US BEFORE WE TAP ALL THESE NEW RESERVES (5-10 YEARS) WE RUN OUT OF OIL!!!!!

You might also recognize that the reason that we have other country's threatening to stop selling to us is because they disagree with our mideast policy & want us out of Iraq.

I am happy to agree with you that we spend too much on Pork, why is it so difficult (even looking at the same figures) for you to admit that we spend more on war?
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 6:12 PM

I am not saying not to develope alternative I am saying use all our resources and keep developing, I am saying HOW DARE THEM tell us to do what htey are not, I am saying how are we going to do this when we are barely making enough to get to work and pay our bills when they have the money and are not doing it. I believe we all should. I shop for the wohle month except for milk, I stock and I also gave up vacations and travel. I use as little gas as I can and I grow food for myself and family. I am for alternative fuels I am also for the pot doing what it tells the kettle to.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 6:18 PM

Because the budget for 2009 is for college educations, all the bases in the U.S. and the salaries for all the personel on those bases, all the matinance and the medical for the families it isn't just the wars. If it were just the war then yes it would be but the figure is for everything to do with the military. You have to subtract the others from the total then you have the war. The actual cost of both wars is truely less than the pork. In 7 years the Iraq war cost less than the pork for 2008. Now that is sad. Look up the actual cost for the war not the total budget for the military. The figure of 162 billion is for alot more than just the war.
nemokc read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 7:00 PM

Where are you getting those figures from? I can't find anything anywhere to match them.

Thanks,
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 9:58 PM

They send the people who sign up the latest pork before it gets posted. Read more about the earmarks in the six House bills.
http://www.cagw.org/site/R?i=Khmky_LFjWYfAioV7-YrJw..
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jun 30, 2008 | 10:00 PM

Also the bill for the 162 billion has the flood zones included so it isn't all about the war.
nemokc read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 10:26 PM

621 Million in Pork for Military Expenditures equals approximatel .6 of 1 Billion dollars.

"This cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month," Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. 18."

The CRS reports that a good part of the increased spending is not only for replacing lost equipment but "more often to upgrade and replace 'stressed' equipment and enhance force protection."

I repeat...THE WAR IS HURTING OUR ECONOMY AS MUCH AS PORK BARREL SPENDING. How about a nice compromise, let's stop borrowing money from China to pay for our war!
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 7:07 AM

That would be 180 billion and they only ask for 162 billion to finace not only the wars, the military in Korea, Germany and other countries, the military bases here in the U.S. and the GI bill, but also for all the bases, medical and paychecks for non-military. If the war actually cost what Sen. Stevens said the congress would of under cut everything by 1 and 1/2 months on just the war not to mention the rest of the military. He may have said 15 million a month but billion no way or they would run out of money in about 4 months. After you take out the money set aside for the flood zones, the GI bills, and the citizens paychecks you would have barely enough left for a few months of money for the war. 162 billion is the budget for 2009 on the military. Ask yourself if what Steven said makes sense with a budget of 162 billion if 15 times 12 equals 180 billion. No it doesn't. Some one some where is exagerating and that may be why no one hears about it.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 7:20 AM

I will say the wars do not help balance the budget, but the wars actually are something the federal taxes are meant to pay for while the pork is special intrest used by the congress members to finance themselfs. To me it is very like the legal and illegal immegrants. Get rid of the illegal and allow the legal. Get rid of the pork and win the wars. If you look at how the terrorist still attack the countries who are not hunting them down but have not bombed us after 9/11 we are doing something right. I do not agree with war for the sake of war but it is a needed evil to end an evil far worse. Terrorist do not attack military but normal people who are not at war. Children who are not involved in war. They bomb school buses, churches, businesses, and normal people. Some one has to stop them or the next people killed could be your loved ones. What do we do? Wait till it is one of our loved ones?
DogJ read my blog
Jul 1, 2008 | 12:58 PM

Term Limits.
Works for the President, should work just fine for ALL members of congress.
rockslide read my blog
Jul 3, 2008 | 3:27 PM

term limits only speeds up the need to make their mark and their money.

Look at the MO Legislature since term limits you have far worse legislators who are in it to make a name and move up as quick as possible.
gimini210 read my blog view my photos
Jul 3, 2008 | 6:14 PM

Years should be enough. As it is we get the same old same olds for too many years who do not help our country. Look at them now on vacation and shelfing bills.
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gimini210

I am a reformed democrat now republican and mother of 5, have 10 grandchildren and one greatgrand child. I have lived all over the US and love to sit on docks and fish. Waiting for the big one. I love my family and a good joke, reading and painting. My siblings all think I need to be taken care of as do my children and I'm the oldest so don't know why. I watch Fox 4 News because you are about the fairest all around on T.V.

Member Since: 6/28/2007


 

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