Can Our Government Pass Its Test?

We would like to know what you think and are posing this question.  Can the US government make the necessary cuts in spending to avoid a shut down of its services in December?  Another way of stating this is, will Congress and the President have the guts to make the tough decisions that will a) get the budget under control b) stop the ever-increasing debt c) cut inferior programs and policies that are no longer effective?

In other words, will Congress do its job?  

We doubt it and expect there will be a lot of grandstanding and chest beating with very little progress. These bums will not act until there is an absolute crisis and at that point in December, it won't be an emergency.

Additionally, if the Democrats win big this fall, there will be little movement as they will read the results as a condemnation of Republican actions in the House to cut spending and will want to wait until January to make their "necessary" tax increases. If the Republicans win, they will delay everything until the new Congress is seated to make changes to their way of thinking. 

So for these reasons, we doubt anything will occur in December.  What do you think?  We want to hear from you.

Conservative Tom

U.S. faces big tax, budget test at year end: Geithner

Reuters – 1 hour 14 minutes ago

RELATED CONTENT

• View Photo
  U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before a House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on the FY2013 at Capitol Hill in Washington March 28, 2012. REUTERS/Jose Luis Magana

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government will face a major test on whether it has the capacity to govern when it faces big tax and budget decisions at the end of the year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.

Before 2013, the country will be forced to deal with the expiration of tax cuts that affect nearly all taxpayers, automatic budget cuts, as well as another debate over raising the country's debt limit.

"It will be a big test in Washington, a big test of the country to govern itself in how Washington deals with those challenges," Geithner said ahead of a meeting on Friday of finance ministers from the Group of 20, representing the world's leading industrialized and emerging market economies.

A protracted fight over how to rein in the country's trillion dollar plus deficits and raise the debt limit in 2011 forced the government to the brink of several shutdowns and stripped the country of its top credit rating.

The Treasury expects the country to hit the debt ceiling or the legal limit it is allowed to borrow before the end of the year and individual tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush - known as the Bush tax cuts - will expire December 31.

As well, $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts are set to kick in early January, which will force the Obama administration and Congress to deal with the country's fiscal problems.

"Hopefully we use it as an opportunity to make another significant step towards long term fiscal reform at that time," Geithner said.

American Bridges Build By Chinese Companies and Labor

If you want to really lose your lunch or get "spittin" mad, view the link that I have posted below.  It is an ABC News report that describes the building of bridges in this country using American Dollars but being constructed by Chinese firms using Chinese workers. Huh?  Did I really hear that right? Yes, Americans are out of work and our money is going directly to China to rebuild our infrastructure.  Can you think of anything more stupid? I sure can't.

If this is the type of reconstruction that we need, we don't need it!  The Obama Administration should be ashamed of this and heads should roll in the Transportation Departments of the Federal and State governments.  But they won't.  Their excuse is that American companies could not get enough welders to do the jobs. Well, I know of several unemployed welders in the Detroit area who would love to work on this type of job.  I am sure you also know people who would like to work. This is full blown BS!

Again, the incompetency of the Obama Administration, the Congress and State Administrations is shining through.  I am not casting stones in any one direction, they all deserve to go to jail.

Before I explode, here is the link:


http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-bridges-roads-built-chinese-firms-14594513?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=14594944