Obama wants to... freeze spending?

[Soliloquy]

What a tweest!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/25/obama.spending.freeze/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

Essentially, word is that Obama wants to keep non-military spending from exceeding $447 billion over the next 3 years.

I count this as a rather... bizarre turn of events.

 

[Covar]

I'll believe it when it happens.

 

[Shakey]

I'm guessing this is to try and call Republicans on their "We need to stop spending tax dollars" bluff. It should be interesting how this gets spun with elections coming up.

 

[GasBandit]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.

 

[Krisken]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]
Except for, you know, a whole economy doesn't rely on your terrible analogy.

 

[GasBandit]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]
Except for, you know, a whole economy doesn't rely on your terrible analogy.[/QUOTE]

Well, that was certainly an overly-wordy way of saying "Nuh-uh!!" like a third grader.

Apparently though, it rests on an oft-raised 13-or-so trillion dollar debt ceiling, a great deal of which is held by our biggest economic competitors. Let's just keep doing that, your smug platitudes will surely hold the economy together.

Sheesh.. I remember thinking how awful it was when Bush had us a now-paltry NINE trillion in debt.

 

[Krisken]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]
Except for, you know, a whole economy doesn't rely on your terrible analogy.[/QUOTE]

Well, that was certainly an overly-wordy way of saying "Nuh-uh!!" like a third grader.
[/QUOTE]
Except for your overly simplistic view of economics, you haven't really given us any reason to think that a spending freeze would do any good for the economy (which would result in job lay offs, leading to more unemployment, etc).

Saying "you're childish" doesn't change what you don't know about economics.

 

[GasBandit]

Except for your overly simplistic view of economics, you haven't really given us any reason to think that a spending freeze would do any good for the economy (which would result in job lay offs, leading to more unemployment, etc).

Saying "you're childish" doesn't change what you don't know about economics.

That's not my position - I don't think that a spending freeze on 15% of a 3 trillion dollar budget (the freeze only affects a certain 447 billion, reportedly) as we approach 13 trillion dollars in debt is anything but a bad joke without a punch line.

I'm saying we need spending CUTS. If anything, all this extra spending (especially the health deform bill and cap and trade) are killing jobs, not creating them.

 

[MindDetective]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]

You have to stop before you can turn around.

 

[ElJuski]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]

You have to stop before you can turn around.[/QUOTE]

Unless you're on rollerskates...

 

[GasBandit]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]

You have to stop before you can turn around.[/QUOTE]

Unless you're on rollerskates...[/QUOTE]

Or riding a horse, or travelling in any number of conveyances that aren't trains. I don't think the metaphor fits, especially when we're not really "stopping" anyway.. only 15% of the budget is supposedly going to be frozen. It's the proverbial Diet Coke ordered with the supersized greaseburger combo with fries.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

This was just as stupid when McCain brought it up during the election, and Obama famously said it's like using a hacksaw when a scalpel is needed.

 

[Chazwozel]

I'll believe it when it happens.

"I'll believe it when I believe it." - Yogi Berra


Seriously though... so the plan now is to freeze our RECORD HIGH SPENDING at current levels? Oh, gee, be still my beating heart.

Dad: "Look at this credit card bill! You spent THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS this month!"
Daughter: "Ok, ok, we'll freeze spending at current levels. Happy?"

Even if it were to go through, it's not enough. We need spending cuts, not just a freeze.[/QUOTE]

You have to stop before you can turn around.[/QUOTE]

Unless you're on rollerskates...[/QUOTE]

Or riding a horse, or travelling in any number of conveyances that aren't trains. I don't think the metaphor fits, especially when we're not really "stopping" anyway.. only 15% of the budget is supposedly going to be frozen. It's the proverbial Diet Coke ordered with the supersized greaseburger combo with fries.[/QUOTE]


I gotta agree with Gas here. Too much pork on the plate.

 

[MindDetective]

No question about that, but even societies or individuals have a momentum and you cannot reverse that immediately. If you would rather think of it as a semi-truck, turning it around is going to be a slow, complicated process, especially if you are doing so under very restricted conditions. I want to slim government spending down as much as the next person but it is unreasonable to expect anyone is going to go after it with a chainsaw.

 

[ElJuski]

you can't do a 180 on a horse.

I would have accepted ice skates though.

 

[Adam]

No question about that, but even societies or individuals have a momentum and you cannot reverse that immediately. If you would rather think of it as a semi-truck, turning it around is going to be a slow, complicated process, especially if you are doing so under very restricted conditions. I want to slim government spending down as much as the next person but it is unreasonable to expect anyone is going to go after it with a chainsaw.

Sorry, what is that observation based on? The problem with momentum is political, not economical. No one has the brass stones to give up their pet projects.

Where there is political will to make difficult decisions, tremendous improvements can be made overnight. If your leaders are weak and ineffectual, chainsaws can cause more damage than good.

Obama is a weak, ineffectual leader thus I don't disagree with what results you believe may come of this process.

 

[MindDetective]

No question about that, but even societies or individuals have a momentum and you cannot reverse that immediately. If you would rather think of it as a semi-truck, turning it around is going to be a slow, complicated process, especially if you are doing so under very restricted conditions. I want to slim government spending down as much as the next person but it is unreasonable to expect anyone is going to go after it with a chainsaw.

Sorry, what is that observation based on? The problem with momentum is political, not economical. No one has the brass stones to give up their pet projects.

Where there is political will to make difficult decisions, tremendous improvements can be made overnight. If your leaders are weak and ineffectual, chainsaws can cause more damage than good.

Obama is a weak, ineffectual leader thus I don't disagree with what results you believe may come of this process.[/QUOTE]

Incremental results at best. Most examples of dramatic change have been scrubbed and polished through the rose-colored glasses of history. The only way change is going to occur dramatically is if there is some kind of viral social mechanism that drives it (like the WWII fervor when the US entered the war). For the most part our political system is designed in a way that actually dampens this kind of thing. The US government is very resistant to change, no matter how strong the leader might be. I make this argument not as a supporter of Obama but because I think this the way people work and as idealistic (whether conservative or liberal) as one might be about how the government should work, nothing changes the social nature of politics (which is what any political system must be mired in).

 

[@Li3n]

It's the proverbial Diet Coke ordered with the supersized greaseburger combo with fries.

Funny thing is that the coke is just as bad for you anyway...

 

[makare]

I dont understand why it seems weird to order a diet coke with Mcdonalds food. It seems smart that if you are going to be eating a lot of calories to not drink a lot of calories too. I'll never understand that all or nothing attitude in that situation or in politics.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

I, for the record, think Diet Dr Pepper tastes better than Dr Pepper.

 

[GasBandit]

What kind of effect will this proposed spending freeze have on our government spending? Reason Magazine says it would save at max a whopping $15 billion in fiscal year 2011.

Meanwhile, the CBO says that the US is on an unsustainable financial path and it cannot be dealt with with minor tinkering.

 

[Soliloquy]

I, for the record, think Diet Dr Pepper tastes better than Dr Pepper.

You, for the record, are a heathen.

 

[Chazwozel]

I dont understand why it seems weird to order a diet coke with Mcdonalds food. It seems smart that if you are going to be eating a lot of calories to not drink a lot of calories too. I'll never understand that all or nothing attitude in that situation or in politics.

I agree. Why pack in more calories when you don't have to? People also get weirded out when I order two quarter pounders and a diet Coke with no french fries. "You eat TWO quarter pounders?!??!" It's less calories and fat than one with fries and regular coke, and the two burgers keep me feeling full longer than french fries do!


<---- is also a diet coke/pepsi junkie. I like the taste of diet sodas much more than regular sodas. Diet Dr. Pepper tastes exactly the same as regular Dr. Pepper, fyi, you diabetic fools!

 

[ElJuski]

Hey...wow, I should really adopt that quarter pounder idea......

also, agreed with liking the taste of diet pepsi.

 

[Chazwozel]

Hey...wow, I should really adopt that quarter pounder idea......

also, agreed with liking the taste of diet pepsi.

yeah man. At the worst, the calories and fat of 2 burgers equals that of the fries (say eating two big macs), but you stay full cause let's face it, fries really don't do shit for hunger.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

ughhhhhhhhhhhh all pepsi is disgusting


why yes, I am from the dirty souf, thanks for askin

 

[Tinwhistler]

Hey...wow, I should really adopt that quarter pounder idea......

also, agreed with liking the taste of diet pepsi.

yeah man. At the worst, the calories and fat of 2 burgers equals that of the fries (say eating two big macs), but you stay full cause let's face it, fries really don't do shit for hunger.[/QUOTE]

I used to work near a Subway, and i used to get a foot-long veggie sandwich for lunch, with brown mustard and no cheese (470 calories). One day this little skinny bitch looked at me like "a foot long sandwich? That's why you're fat" and then proceeded to order a 6 inch tuna sandwich (530 calories) with bacon (+45 calories), cheese (+40 calories) and double mayonnaise (+220 calories) for a whopping 835 calories

Fucking twat. I'm fat because i'm old and my metabolism is in the crapper. When I was 25, I was a little hotbody too. I just wanted to slap her in the face. Heh

 

[GasBandit]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

 

[Chazwozel]

Hey...wow, I should really adopt that quarter pounder idea......

also, agreed with liking the taste of diet pepsi.

yeah man. At the worst, the calories and fat of 2 burgers equals that of the fries (say eating two big macs), but you stay full cause let's face it, fries really don't do shit for hunger.[/QUOTE]

I used to work near a Subway, and i used to get a foot-long veggie sandwich for lunch, with brown mustard and no cheese (470 calories). One day this little skinny bitch looked at me like "a foot long sandwich? That's why you're fat" and then proceeded to order a 6 inch tuna sandwich (530 calories) with bacon (+45 calories), cheese (+40 calories) and double mayonnaise (+220 calories) for a whopping 835 calories

Fucking twat. I'm fat because i'm old and my metabolism is in the crapper. When I was 25, I was a little hotbody too. I just wanted to slap her in the face. Heh[/QUOTE]

Oh jeez, when I was 18 I could pound like three subway footlongs and still be hungry and never gain a pound. I'm 27 now, and can take down 1 and a half without the weight gain. I feel for ya.

 

[Soliloquy]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

Well, we could say that Obama could curb spending by having congress buy lunch from Subway.

$5 footlongs could save us millions!

 

[GasBandit]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

Well, we could say that Obama could curb spending by having congress buy lunch from Subway.

$5 footlongs could save us millions![/QUOTE]
Meh, none of the GOOD subs are 5 bucks.

 

[Soliloquy]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

Well, we could say that Obama could curb spending by having congress buy lunch from Subway.

$5 footlongs could save us millions![/QUOTE]
Meh, none of the GOOD subs are 5 bucks.[/QUOTE]
We're gonna have to make sacrifices, true.

 

[Covar]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

Well, we could say that Obama could curb spending by having congress buy lunch from Subway.

$5 footlongs could save us millions![/QUOTE]
Meh, none of the GOOD subs are 5 bucks.[/QUOTE]

The Ham sub is $5. Who dislikes a good ham sandwich?

 

[Seraphyn]

Secret Muslims..

>_>

 

[Tinwhistler]

This was not my intention, but I'm proud to be the source of yet another Halforum topic derailment.

Well, we could say that Obama could curb spending by having congress buy lunch from Subway.

$5 footlongs could save us millions![/QUOTE]
Meh, none of the GOOD subs are 5 bucks.[/QUOTE]

The Ham sub is $5. Who dislikes a good ham sandwich?[/QUOTE]