Your average Democrat

P.S. While presidents can propose deficit cutting, only congress can actually do it. So when the republican-controlled House deliberately conspires to keep deficits high for four years as a political strategy for the next election, it's hardly Obama's fault. The public just demonstrated they understand that which is why republicans are going to be the ones on the bottom for the landing if we do go off their cliff.

so he just makes it up as he goes along then, because he DID PROMISE to cut our deficit in half his first term.

4. The real problem is that the American people have demonstrated that they don't want to do anything that really brings down the deficit. They only support taxing "the rich" (i.e., don't tax me, tax someone else), they don't support cutting spending anywhere, they don't support entitlement reform, and they want everything to remain the same. The fact that this has as much chance of happening as King Canute's command to the waves testifies quite eloquently about the state of general economic understanding both of the public, and of the media from which we hear our news.

All tied to this global demon that's been created and put upon us.

The lack of sincerity in Washington, D.C., was palpable Tuesday. Over and over, I could not get a single elected official I spoke with, neither Republican nor Democrat, to give me even one idea for cutting spending right now. Not one.

I made tons of suggestions that could be implemented Wednesday.

Why do we have huge military bases in Japan and Europe? These are just leftovers from another era. There are whole defense projects that not even the Defense Department wants.

How about farm subsidies? Ethanol subsidies? Nope.

How about Medicare negotiating with drug companies? Nope. I heard from one poll that the drug companies might move elsewhere. Where? We are the only country that lets them gouge us. I heard that the drug companies wouldn't feel compelled to spend money to develop new drugs. I wanted to scream: Did you ever hear about patent cliffs?

Outrageous.

The Republicans were absolutely no better than the Democrats. In fact, they were worse. When I stipulated that I am not interested in talking about raising revenues because they say over and over that the issue is spending, they still talked about raising revenues. When I insisted that they talk about what they say they insisted on talking about, they wouldn't. They simply wouldn't.



I could never get away with that level of hypocrisy.

Ever.

Infuriating.

•Mad Money recap: CEOs better than congressmen
I came away thinking that there is nothing the Republicans won't do to be sure that the 2% don't pay more, including throw people out of work and make everyone else pay, which is what's going to happen if they don't compromise.


And the president? He has no serious plan to cut spending either -- but at least he is willing to give something that helps balance the budget (read on TheStreet).

I am going to repeat this so it is really clear: NO Republican offered me anything to cut spending in the near-term. Not one.

If you are serious about spending cuts, you have to be able to offer one.



My conclusion: Republicans aren't any more serious than Democrats are, but at least the Democrats are asking someone to help solve the deficit, the cohort that got the big break on taxes when things weren't so hot.

Union Thugs Demolish Clint Tarver’s Iconic Lansing,Michigan Hot Dog Cart [Photo-Donation Link] Update: Thugs Yelled “N*gger, Uncle Tom” Update 5: Audio: Clint Confirms The Slurs On The Dana Loesch Show

"so he just makes it up as he goes along then, because he DID PROMISE to cut out deficit in half his first term.."

Your Buckley-esque lament is nothing more than a more eloquent, coded version of "free stuff". Not really a reality and, hey, the deficits are undeniably a direct result of republican military adventurism, tax breaks to the wealth, and successive cuts in the corporate tax rate. It ain't rocket science. And the dem senate rejected house budgets because they were explicitly designed, by republicans, to be rejected.

uhhmmmm whos been in charge the last couple of years ?? And WHY would ANYONE harp about BUSH in regards to the defense budget for 2013 is simply beyond me.

And WHY would ANYONE harp about BUSH in regards to the defense budget for 2013 is simply beyond me.

The NDAA act of 2013 is ALL his plans