...or at least I thought President Obama's Stimulus Package was supposed to fix it.
Now here's a question...why hasn't the media been asking about this story. Actually, I think I already know the answer...it doesn't want to. You see, I've been paying attention to how the press has been covering our 44th President, and it's pretty easy for me to assess that this media is more than "in the tank" for President Obama. In other words...unless it absolutely has to, the main news reporters and directors at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, PBS, and other major news services for the most part won't report on anything that makes the President looks bad.
The crux of this story is that our esteemed leader is quoted as saying all the spending this current "stimulus" will lead to long-term debt the nation can't handle. That's a pretty interesting observation considering all those who demanded this overblown, government-spending, pork-funding budget be passed as soon as possible, or else the country as we know it would go into oblivion. It was President Obama, along with his counterparts in Washington, who insisted this economy would never recover unless his budget package be passed...and it better be passed quickly. I watched politician after politician repeat the same mantra over and over again..."We need to pass this stimulus package now, or else the nation will end up in a financial crisis that we'll never recover from." Critics often said those who either sponsored and/or voted for this stimulus package either never read the bill completely, or they were passing their own "pork" into the bill President Obama vowed to leave out in the first place. According to the Bloomberg story, the Obama administration predicts the overall defecit for this year to be $1.84 trillion, which is 5% higher than the original February estimation. Also, the White House Office of Management says next year's budget will be higher than originally projected...$3.59 trillion as supposed to $3.55 originally predicted. The President cut a "meager" $17 billion from the budget...which seems like a lot at first, but that's only 1/2 of 1% of the overall budget. In other words, while President Obama is planning on cutting or reducing 121 federal programs, there's still enough wasteful spending coming from Washington to make up the difference.
That's one thing that really gets my goat about this...we've been told over and over again by this administration that:
1) This whole mess is President Bush's fault,
2) The only way we'll make it through is if we all "sacrifice", and
3) The only people who can fix this mess are based in Washington, DC.
However...it looks like those who vowed in the name of "hope" and "change" are only making the problem worse instead of making it better. If there's one thing I know, it's that anything that comes from Washington will always come with strings, catches, and other schisms that will only make the country worse off rather than better. In this case, all the hype about needing to spend like crazy in order to restore the economy, and needing to give the President time to make this right since "it can't be fixed overnight", isn't worth it. Several politicans from all over are benefitting from "pork projects", however there doesn't seem to be much either now or in the future for "stimulus"...at least for common folks for me and you.
And now there's a story coming from the USA Today that says because of the bad economy, that even the IRS tax revenue is falling. How about that for a connection...people lose their jobs, people spend less, the tax grabbers make less money. Still...this story is an interesting read mainly because of one particular quote..."The White House thinks that tax revenue will increase in 2011, thanks in part to the stimulus package, says the report from AIER, an independent economic research institute. But it warns, "Even if that does happen, the administration also projects that government spending will be so much higher each year that large deficits will continue, and the national debt held by the public will double over the next 10 years."
So what we're being told is that even if all this "stimulus" stuff works, the economy he campaigned and swore to fix will definitely get WORSE before it gets BETTER. He did say that in subsequent press conferences after signing this much-ballyhooed bill into law, but I don't even think the most ardent Obama supporters anticipated this...at least those who pay attention to the numbers.
All this rambling on about the economy leads me to one conclusion...my non-support for President Obama was justified in this area because, among many reasons, he always believed that "bigger government" is the answer for life's problems, and that those who "can afford it" should "pay their fair share" in funding ways for the "little guy" to make it. I don't believe in the "Robin Hood" way of politics, where the premise is supposedly taking from the rich and giving it to the poor. In reality, government does "take from the rich" alright...with higher taxes and a bunch of rhetoric about how the little guy's getting "screwed". But instead of giving the money to those who support politicians who put out such ilk, the politicians who "fight for the little guy" only end up keeping the money, or putting it into some bureaucratic-filled mess never to be seen again. What's even more startling is...once the money's dolled out, and the people who need it the most don't get it...President Obama and his supporters will come out with a very familiar refrain...more money is needed for "roads, schools, health care, jobs, energy, etc.", and they'll be looking for more and more ways to take it from those who produce.
The crux of this story is that our esteemed leader is quoted as saying all the spending this current "stimulus" will lead to long-term debt the nation can't handle. That's a pretty interesting observation considering all those who demanded this overblown, government-spending, pork-funding budget be passed as soon as possible, or else the country as we know it would go into oblivion. It was President Obama, along with his counterparts in Washington, who insisted this economy would never recover unless his budget package be passed...and it better be passed quickly. I watched politician after politician repeat the same mantra over and over again..."We need to pass this stimulus package now, or else the nation will end up in a financial crisis that we'll never recover from." Critics often said those who either sponsored and/or voted for this stimulus package either never read the bill completely, or they were passing their own "pork" into the bill President Obama vowed to leave out in the first place. According to the Bloomberg story, the Obama administration predicts the overall defecit for this year to be $1.84 trillion, which is 5% higher than the original February estimation. Also, the White House Office of Management says next year's budget will be higher than originally projected...$3.59 trillion as supposed to $3.55 originally predicted. The President cut a "meager" $17 billion from the budget...which seems like a lot at first, but that's only 1/2 of 1% of the overall budget. In other words, while President Obama is planning on cutting or reducing 121 federal programs, there's still enough wasteful spending coming from Washington to make up the difference.
That's one thing that really gets my goat about this...we've been told over and over again by this administration that:
1) This whole mess is President Bush's fault,
2) The only way we'll make it through is if we all "sacrifice", and
3) The only people who can fix this mess are based in Washington, DC.
However...it looks like those who vowed in the name of "hope" and "change" are only making the problem worse instead of making it better. If there's one thing I know, it's that anything that comes from Washington will always come with strings, catches, and other schisms that will only make the country worse off rather than better. In this case, all the hype about needing to spend like crazy in order to restore the economy, and needing to give the President time to make this right since "it can't be fixed overnight", isn't worth it. Several politicans from all over are benefitting from "pork projects", however there doesn't seem to be much either now or in the future for "stimulus"...at least for common folks for me and you.
And now there's a story coming from the USA Today that says because of the bad economy, that even the IRS tax revenue is falling. How about that for a connection...people lose their jobs, people spend less, the tax grabbers make less money. Still...this story is an interesting read mainly because of one particular quote..."The White House thinks that tax revenue will increase in 2011, thanks in part to the stimulus package, says the report from AIER, an independent economic research institute. But it warns, "Even if that does happen, the administration also projects that government spending will be so much higher each year that large deficits will continue, and the national debt held by the public will double over the next 10 years."
So what we're being told is that even if all this "stimulus" stuff works, the economy he campaigned and swore to fix will definitely get WORSE before it gets BETTER. He did say that in subsequent press conferences after signing this much-ballyhooed bill into law, but I don't even think the most ardent Obama supporters anticipated this...at least those who pay attention to the numbers.
All this rambling on about the economy leads me to one conclusion...my non-support for President Obama was justified in this area because, among many reasons, he always believed that "bigger government" is the answer for life's problems, and that those who "can afford it" should "pay their fair share" in funding ways for the "little guy" to make it. I don't believe in the "Robin Hood" way of politics, where the premise is supposedly taking from the rich and giving it to the poor. In reality, government does "take from the rich" alright...with higher taxes and a bunch of rhetoric about how the little guy's getting "screwed". But instead of giving the money to those who support politicians who put out such ilk, the politicians who "fight for the little guy" only end up keeping the money, or putting it into some bureaucratic-filled mess never to be seen again. What's even more startling is...once the money's dolled out, and the people who need it the most don't get it...President Obama and his supporters will come out with a very familiar refrain...more money is needed for "roads, schools, health care, jobs, energy, etc.", and they'll be looking for more and more ways to take it from those who produce.
