Congress Has Failed Us

 

How To Reduce The Federal Deficit Fast

How To Reduce The Federal Deficit Fast: Our national debt is a little over $35 trillion. That’s a lot. Addressing this head-on is not for the weak, the weepy, or those lacking gonads or vertebrae, or both. And it’s going to take more than simply balancing the budget. We must start to draw down the debt immediately.

Kanjorski opens his mouth again

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Federal deficit on pace to surpass last year's $1.4 trillion record

How much more damage can Obama do to the U.S. economy?

From The Hill:

The 2010 federal deficit is on pace to top last year's record budget shortfall of $1.4 trillion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report.

The independent budget office said Thursday the deficit for the first five months of the fiscal year, which started in October, was $655 billion, an 11 percent increase over the deficit five months into fiscal 2009.

The larger deficit so far is due almost entirely to a drop in tax revenue. The level of government spending was unchanged from last year to this year, but tax receipts went from $861 billion to $796 billion.

Read the full story at the link below:

Federal deficit on pace to surpass last year's $1.4 trillion record - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Sen. Bob Mensch: State Budget Redux

State Budget Redux

By Sen. Bob Mensch

On Feb. 9, Gov. Ed Rendell delivered his eighth — and final — budget, and not surprisingly the greatest applause during the speech was for his statement to have the budget finished by June 30. It's not surprising this comment would be met positively. After all, last year was painful and caused a lot of financial difficulty for Pennsylvanians.

But when I'm asked if I think the budget will be done on time this year, my response is a skeptical, "I doubt it." The newly proposed budget is, in my opinion, not affordable, not sustainable, and must be rejected by the taxpayers and the legislature — but more on that in a moment.

First, let's look at history. We have not had a budget completed on time in any of the past 7 years — but that has not always been true. To find the next most recent budget that was not completed on time, you have to go back through many administrations, to I believe, Gov. Raymond P. Shafer in the late 1960s. So past performance by this administration is not encouraging.

And when we take a closer look at last year's budget mess, you will realize that the House majority leadership (Democrat) did not even put a budget in front of the House until July 13. That's right, despite the Constitutional requirement for a balanced budget to be completed by June 30, the House majority leadership decided to ignore the Constitution and do what it wanted. More importantly, last year's budget was unaffordable, just as this year's budget is unaffordable, so there is a great probability there will be another "battle" similar to last year’s 101-day impasse.

Some residents just want us all to go along and agree, but had we last year we'd have higher taxes this year, and we'd have even worse spending that we can't afford. Please realize that February 2010 is the 24th consecutive month of negative revenue collections by our state. That's right, we haven't been able to meet our spending obligations for two solid years. Yet this year's proposed budget has a further spending increase of $1.155 billion, and it includes two very significant tax increases — a sales tax increased designed to raise $1 billion or more; and an onerous business tax strategy that will chase more jobs out of Pennsylvania.

We can't afford the increased spending. We can't afford to pay more in sales taxes. We can't afford to lose any more jobs from Pennsylvania. So when someone suggests there is disagreement about this year's budget, instead of someone asking why we can't all just agree, the question should be why must the administration insist we need to spend more than we can afford?

The sales tax proposal will hurt our seniors with new taxes on medical and pharmaceutical services. We'll all pay more for financial and legal services. We'll all pay new taxes on 74 new categories of items to be taxed — we can't afford it.

Our businesses will be further stressed for providing jobs. Pennsylvania is already the 44th lowest state in new jobs creations. But the solution offered by the administration is to "close the Delaware loophole," which is actually a tax increase.

The easier solution is just lower our corporate tax rates to be competitive with other states — we presently have the highest rate in the nation - and then our businesses won't feel the need to incorporate in Delaware. But the strategy offered in the budget is actually a tax increase so don't look for a lot of compromise on corporate net income tax.

I welcome any comments regarding these thoughts. Call me at 215-529-1215 or write me at bmensch@pasen.gov

State Sen. Bob Mensch is a Republican who represents the 24th District, which includes parts of Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton counties.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Rendell runs up another $477 million in debt

The first rule of holes - when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Unfortunately, Gov. Ed Rendell never learned that bit of wisdom.

As of the end of February, Rendell has spent $476.7 million more than the state has taken in for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. That's called a deficit.

Over the past two fiscal years, Rendell has spent $4 billion more than the state took in. That's called a fiscal catastrophe.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reports that Pennsylvania collected $1.5 billion in General Fund revenue in February, which was $102.3 million, or 6.4 percent, less than anticipated.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $16 billion, which is $476.7 million, or 2.9 percent, below estimate, according to the revenue department.

For a breakdown of tax revenues collected, follow the link below:

Pennsylvania Revenue Department Releases February Collections

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

GREECE FIRE

Obama wants the United States to emulate European-style socialism. I guess 50 years of failure isn't enough to knock sense into Obama and the rest of the socialists occupying the White House.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

The National Debt Road Trip

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Obama signs debt ceiling increase to $12.4 Trillion

How high will the U.S. deficit go? Depends on how long Democrats stay in power. If you'd like to bury your children and grandchildren in debt, keep voting Democrats back into Congress. If you think it's time to stop the madness, vote Republican in 2010.

From Reuters:

Obama Signs U.S. Debt Limit Increase Into Law

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday signed into law an increase in the U.S. national debt limit to $12.4 trillion, the White House said in a statement.

Congress approved an increase in the debt limit from $12.1 trillion on Thursday, winning two more months of funding for a record U.S. deficit as Obama tries to stimulate economic growth after the country's worst recession in 70 years.

Critics say Democrat Obama is making the deficit worse, but the White House blames the recession and unfunded cuts in taxes and prescription drug aid, which were all inherited from his Republican predecessor George W. Bush.

The U.S. government posted a record $1.4 trillion deficit in the fiscal year ended September 30 and is on track during the current fiscal year to spend at least $1 trillion more than it collects.

The debt has more than doubled since 2001, thanks to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tax cuts and the recession, which has caused tax revenues to plunge and safety-net spending to rise.

Poll: More Than Half of Americans Say Health Reform Is Not Worth Increasing the Deficit

From CNSNews.com:

Support for President Obama's health care reform sank lower in December than it dipped in August, after a summer of opposition at town halls and tea party gatherings across the country.

A Quinnipiac University poll released last week, which measured the views of likely voters on a range of current events, found that fewer Americans approve of how the president is handling the issue; fewer believe health care reform is important enough to increase the deficit; and fewer believe President Obama will be able to make the bill deficit-neutral, than when the same questions were asked on Aug. 5.

Quinnipiac asked voters: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling health care?"

Obama saw 46 percent approval from voters in the beginning of July, but as members of the House of Representatives went home for August recess, approval dipped to just 39 percent on Aug. 5. After a slight rebound in the fall, Obama’s approval rating on the issue crept further down to 38 percent.

Over the same period, those who disapproved of the president's handling of health care grew in ranks from 42 percent in July to 52 percent in August to 56 percent in the December poll. Meanwhile, the number of respondents who remained unsure shrank by more than half from 13 percent to just 6 percent.

Read the full article at CNSNews.com

Ed Spendell Strikes Again

Pennsylvania is 40 days into a new fiscal year, but state officials are no closer to agreeing on a new budget than they were on June 30, the last day of the 2008-09 fiscal year.

In a recent poll, 30 percent of the state's voters placed the blame for the budget impasse on Gov. Ed Rendell, but 17 percent blamed the Republicans in the Legislature while 11 percent blamed the Democrats and 28 percent blamed everyone equally.

Pennsylvania finished the 2008-09 budget year with a #3.25 billion deficit, but Rendell wants to spend even more money for 2009-10. And a newspaper is now reporting that Rendell has also spent more than $360 million in borrowed money.

The man has a serious problem, which is why he is being referred to more often as "Ed Spendell."

From a story by Debra Erdley in today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Faced with the growing impact of a prolonged recession and revenue shortfalls, Gov. Ed Rendell last fall froze state hiring, ordered spending reductions and hunkered down for a coming budget battle.

On the surface, it appeared Pennsylvania was mired in a financial morass that would affect spending at all levels.

But records obtained by the Tribune-Review show one thing hasn't been hampered by the state's revenue woes: Rendell's ability to spend borrowed money.

While he was battling revenue shortfalls and lobbying for an income tax increase, Rendell was running his own economic stimulus program, quietly handing out $361 million in bond money across the state.

Read the full story, "Pennsylvania Governor Rendell doles out $361 million in borrowed money," at the newspaper's Web site.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Tell Ed Rendell what you think

The Pennsylvania Cable Network will dedicate Wednesday evening's programming to the state budget impasse.

Beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, PCN will air a block of special "On the Issues" programs featuring key lawmakers involved in the budget process.

Following these one-on-one interviews, Lieutenant Governor Joe Scarnati and Governor Ed Rendell will take viewers' calls during two separate LIVE PCN Call-In Program specials set to air starting at 6 p.m.

Each hour-long Call-In program will give viewers an opportunity to talk directly to the featured guest by dialing toll-free at 1-877-PA6-5001.

The schedule, including replay times, for this special PA budget programming block is as follows:

Wednesday, July 8:

5:00 p.m. – On the Issues: Rep. Mario Civera (R) – House Minority Appropriations Chair
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

5:15 p.m. – On the Issues: Rep. Dwight Evans (D) House Majority Appropriations Chair
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 8:15 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.

5:30 p.m. – On the Issues: Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R) – Senate Majority Floor Leader
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

5:15 p.m. – On the Issues: Sen. Jay Costa (D) Senate Minority Appropriations Chair
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 8:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.

6:00 p.m. (LIVE) – PCN Call-In program: Sen. Joe Scarnati, Lieutenant Governor/PA Senate Pro Tempore
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 9:00 p.m; Thursday, July 9 at 12:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

7:00 p.m. (LIVE) – PCN Call-In program: Governor Ed Rendell
Replays – Wednesday, July 8 at 10:00 p.m; Thursday, July 9 at 1:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

For updated information about special budget programming and other programming information, visit the daily schedule at pcntv.com

What taxes would you like raised and by how much?

A guest column by state Sen. Rob Wonderling about Pennsylvania's budget crisis and the disingenuous way Democrats approach taxes and spending.

An honest conversation

By Sen. Rob Wonderling

"I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money." — Arthur Godfrey

When a conversation begins "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" you have to brace yourself. So here goes, brace yourself.

The bad news is the White House has revised its budget for the year stating that the deficit will rise by $89 billion to above $1.8 trillion — about four times the record set just last year. The red ink comes from the recession, the economic stimulus bill, and the imbalance between what the government spends and what it takes in.

The bad news is that Pennsylvania has been hit hard too by this national economic crisis. Pennsylvanians have lost jobs, businesses have cut back, and our state revenues have fallen dramatically.

As of May 1st, the actual revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year is $2.6 billion. We expect that shortfall to grow to 2.9 billion by June 30th — a drop of more than 10 percent from the official revenue estimate.

Unlike the federal government, Pennsylvania cannot operate with a deficit. We cannot borrow without limit to balance the budget or to attempt to stimulate the economy. Pennsylvania's constitution requires a balanced budget.

So you are thinking, "Where's the good news Wonderling"?

Recently, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a budget, Senate Bill 850. It is a balanced budget that does not increase taxes.

This budget represents a responsible spending plan that preserves the core governmental functions of public health, public safety, and education.

More bad news.

Budget cuts always come with pain, and I recognize that. Hundreds of difficult choices were made in this budget. Many good and important programs had to be put on hold to bring the budget into balance. I believe this short-term sacrifice is the best long-term approach for the citizens of Pennsylvania.

I have supported these programs in the past and look forward to the day when funding for these programs can be restored, but families and businesses across Pennsylvania are making cuts in their own budgets, and state government needs to do the same. We must live within our means.

I believe taking these difficult steps now will allow our Commonwealth to restore many important programs as soon as possible without a tax increase in the future. Senate Bill 850 is built on a spending level that is in line with our revenues. This budget will position our state to rebound quickly when the national economy begins to improve.

The only honest alternative to cutting spending is increasing taxes, and history shows us that solving a budget crisis with tax increases kills future economic growth.

This budget maintains the $750 million Rainy Day Fund, which we will need for future year budgets when we no longer have an infusion of national stimulus funding.

Unlike many other line items, basic education spending is preserved by using federal stabilization funds. Combined with the additional federal stimulus funds which are being sent directly to school districts under Title 1, Title 2, and I.D.E.A., this budget represents a real net increase in funding for school districts.

For example, in my Senate district, every school district will received more than it did last year. For example, East Penn School District will receive a 10.7 percent increase, Palisades School District will receive an 11.9 percent increase, and North Penn School district will receive a 20.2 percent increase.

The Pennsylvania Senate has taken unprecedented steps to further reduce spending including implementing a hiring freeze, donating the cost of living increase to charity, instituting a co-pay for health care for all state employees, eliminating automobile leases for public officials, and applying any legislative surplus to reducing the deficit.

Since voting in support of Senate Bill 850, I have received numerous e-mails from constituents supporting efforts to control spending and live within our means and then urging me in the next sentence to restore funding for independent colleges and universities, public television and the arts, to name a few programs.

To those citizens, I would ask that you e-mail me to let me know exactly what taxes you would like raised and by how much to fund your program. You may reach me at rwonderling@pasen.gov

If we are going to have true transparency in government then we must have a frank discussion about how we intend to pay for programs we simply cannot afford.

State Sen. Rob Wonderling is a Republican who represents the 24th district in Pennsylvania which includes parts of Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton counties.

ABC News exposes 'Airport to Nowhere'

Murtha International Airport

Obama signs spending bill in private

Barack Obama announced today he will sign the $410 billion stop-gap budget bill approved by the Democratic Congress even though the bill contains billions in pork-barrel projects.

The ceremony took place behind closed doors, something anathema to the Obama administration, which loves to stage media events for every White House ceremony. Why the secrecy?

Obama acknowledge the earmarks, saying it was an "imperfect" bill, but he was forced to sign it to keep the government going.

He also confessed that he was breaking his own campaign promise to eliminate earmarks. Apparently, he had his fingers crossed when he made that promise.

Obama said "99 percent" of the bill is legitimate spending, so that's good enough for him as he lowers the standard for reform and ethical government even further.

In his defense, Obama said earmarks have been part of the Washington culture for decades, including the years Republicans controlled Congress. In other words, two wrongs do make a right, according to Obama.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele had this to say about the Democratic spending package, loaded with more than 8,500 pork projects:

"President Obama will break his pledge to go through every line of the budget if he signs this omnibus spending bill. Like the stimulus bill and budget, this spending bill contains too much taxing, spending, and borrowing. Left unchecked, the Democrats' spending spree will grow our national debt and ultimately result in more taxes. Hard-working Americans deserve better from its leaders than the Democrats' tax-and-spend agenda."

Obama did promise not to sign the next pork-laden budget bill Congress sends his way ... unless he changes his mind again. Welcome to the liberal world ... where principles don't matter, where 99 percent is good enough.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

The Democrats' Debt Plan

Don't forget to thank your nearest Democratic member of Congress for voting to add $2,700 in debt to every member of your family.

Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt explains why he voted against the Obama "stimulus" bill:

"Just 7% of the trillion dollars in this legislation is slated for immediate use and the rest funds everything from buying bureaucrats cars to refurbishing federal buildings," Blunt says. "That's certainly not a package that will help our economy recover any time soon, but it is a package that our children and grandchildren will be repaying for generations to come."

The Democrats' plan will cost every American more than $2,700, Blunt says in a statement.

"The size of the package passed by the House is staggering compared to past stimulus plans," Blunt says. "When President Franklin Roosevelt was facing 25 percent unemployment during the Great Depression, his entire 'New Deal' proposal would cost just half of the current trillion dollar package after being adjusted for inflation."

Read Blunt's full statement at the link below:

Blunt Votes Against Democrats' Debt Plan

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS