Conservative Musings

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Showing posts with label congressional inaction. Show all posts

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Message To Congress and the President--No Workee, No Monee

We had to laugh when we read the second line of this AP posting this morning. It says :

"The Nevada Democrat says it's up to congressional Republicans to come up with a plan that both houses would pass and President Barack Obama would sign."

We did not realize that the "Congressional Republicans" had so much power that they could decide what the House and Senate can pass and the President can sign. If Reed is not the most stupid man in the US, he surely is in the top ten! Where is his responsibility as the Leader of the Senate? Where is the President on this? All of the blame is being placed on the Republicans and everyone else is throwing up their hands.

We blame both sides of the political spectrum. It is extreme dereliction of duty for them to have not passed and sent a budget to the President. They should be brought up on charges for not fulfilling their Constitutionally mandated responsibilities. Some times the only way to get a mule's attention is to hit them over the head with a 2x4! Ours is the following.

Over the past months we have posted several ideas about how to save the country money. We would like to add another. Cancel all Congressional and Senate salaries, benefits, perks. They and their staff receive NOTHING until they pass a balanced budget that reduces the deficit to 10% of GDP in ten years. The budget must have decreases starting in the first year and every year through the tenth. No accounting gimmicks will be allowed.

This means that now they personally will have to pay for their health club, their franking privileges, their parking at Reagan National, their phones, their staff and their office space. Most of these men and women are very wealthy so they can take a hit to their pocketbooks. It might get their attention.

The same goes for the President. The only benefit he will receive is Secret Service Protection and the use of Air Force One. However the use of the plane is for official Presidential duties only. No pleasure trips, no vacations will be allowed. He is rich, he can pay for the plane himself for those activities.

Until and unless we hit these guys in their greedy pocketbooks will we ever see any real action. This goes for both parties and the independents. Our new motto is: No workee, no monee!

Conservative Tom

Sen. Reid: nation appears headed over fiscal cliff

Senate Majority Leader Reid says government appears headed over "fiscal cliff"

By Associated Press | Associated Press – 30 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the government appears headed over the so-called fiscal cliff because of a lack of progress in bipartisan negotiations.

The Nevada Democrat says it's up to congressional Republicans to come up with a plan that both houses would pass and President Barack Obama would sign.

Reid says of missing the Dec. 31 deadline to avoid the fiscal cliff, quote: "it looks like that's where we're headed."

Major tax hikes and spending cuts will hit most Americans if Congress and the White House don't reach a compromise by the year's end.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Will Government Solve The Debt Crisis Before It Occurs?

In the following article, former Senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyoming) and one of the Chairmen of the Simpson-Bowles commission that President Obama did not listen to, says that neither candidate or party will address the approaching financial crisis. He is so right. We will hear sound bites but not legislation will be instituted. Instead, both parties are going to push the string as long as they can until they have used up every bit of capital they can put their hands on and then the world will come down on their heads. Only then will they find the guts to make the decisions that should be made now.

To make any moves now to prevent the catastrophe will be politically disastrous as the other party will claim their opposition is attacking poor people. In reality, it will be the poor people who will be hurt worst by a crisis. According to Simpson, “Where you talk about the most vulnerable in society and the odd thing is those are the people who are going to be hurt the worst by not doing anything.”

This article is good but also bad. It is frustrating to see that we know what we need to do but due to politics, we cannot or will not.

Maybe it is time to look for that "cave in the Adirondacks!" However, we would prefer something more nearby to which we could escape when the "s" hits the fan! Any ideas?

Conservative Tom

Fiscal Commissioner on Debt Crisis: 'You Better Get Yourself a Cave in the Adirondacks'

By Elizabeth Harrington

October 2, 2012

Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and Erskine Bowles, co-chairmen of the president's fiscal commission, at the National Press Clun in Washington, D.C. (AP photo)

(CNSNews.com) – Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) said Tuesday the first presidential debate will “be the biggest tap dance since Fred Astaire,” and that neither political party in Washington is willing to tackle the country’s fiscal problems.

"You better get yourself a cave in the Adirondacks," he mirthfully said when asked what would happen if politicians did not deal with the debt.

Simpson, who along with Erksine Bowles co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appeared at George Washington University for an event on the upcoming election and the approaching fiscal cliff.

After the event CNSNews.com asked Simpson what he expects to see during the first debate on Wednesday evening.

“I think it’ll be the biggest tap dance since Fred Astaire,” he said. “There’ll be marvelous dancing and oh, it’ll be a joy.”

CNSNews.com then asked, “You mentioned that the debt, that would be one of the big things that you would like to see out of the debate, why do you think there hasn’t been much discussion about this $16 trillion debt in this election?”

“It’s because it’s too sensitive, and when you have people say these people are more interested in the debt than they are human beings, and on and on it goes,” Simpson said. “Where you talk about the most vulnerable in society and the odd thing is those are the people who are going to be hurt the worst by not doing anything.”

When asked which candidate he believes would better approach the debt and deficit, Simpson said neither President Obama or his challenger Mitt Romney would fix the problems.

“If they were going to deal with it, they would’ve done it,” he said. “I mean there’s a campaign going on, and neither one of them are dealing with it in any positive way that gets anywhere. They both talk about it, and they both like Bowles-Simpson and you get into specifics, and they’re gone.

“So they’re not going to deal with it – it doesn’t matter which candidate or candidate for Senate or the House,” Simpson said. “They’re not going to deal with these issues because they will get eaten by rats, by the AARP [American Association of Retired Persons] and Grover Norquist and the realtors.

"everybody out there got hit. We hit everybody,” he said of his deficit plan. “And that’s the only way this can work, and when you have 105 groups out there to rip up anything you do, then they’re not going to do anything. They’re not going to touch it.”

CNSNews.com then asked, “What happens if nothing is done?”

“Well, you better get yourself a cave in the Adirondacks and learn how to eat watery gruel and herbs and berries,” he said. “No, I tell you what’ll happen. The markets will shoot the hole through us.”

“And at that point – and you don’t want it to happen, and I don’t – and they don’t care about Democrats or Republicans or presidents. They care about their money,” Simpson added. “And they’ll say if any country is stupid enough to borrow $16 trillion bucks in the hole, then we’re just stupid enough—smart enough, maybe—to loan you some more money.

“And when they do that, then our country will take a real hit, and inflation will go up and interest rates will go up, and you and your young people your age will be the ones most affected, while the seniors and the money guys, most of them, will take good care of themselves,” he said.

The Simpson-Bowles National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appointed by President Obama, proposed a six-part plan to “put our nation back on a path to fiscal health, promote economic growth, and protect the most vulnerable among us.”

Taken as a whole, the plan, which was released in December 2010, would have achieved nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction through 2020, more than any effort in the nation’s history.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

While Congress Plays Tiddlywinks, Washington Burns

Not that we are in love with the IRS however, the head of the agency made a strong point in saying that unless issues like Bush tax cuts are not addressed by Congress until after the 2012 elections, we will see a disaster occur in 2013. Heck, the economy is not doing well and to add this element of uncertainty is malfeasance.

We would add that the lack of a budget points out that Congress has lost its way. Our Senators

sit in Washington and have not passed a budget in over three years, that is

deplorable. In fact, that is dereliction of duty. They can pass meaningless bills to name libraries

and other government buildings but they cannot do one of the primary duties of a legislator which

is to pass a budget. What a crock and any sitting Senator running for re-election should be

shown the door in November!

The entire system seems to be a disaster. No one is doing what is "in the best interests of the

country." Instead they are either doing what is in their own best interests, doing what their

caucuses says to do, going to fund raisers, or missing in action. In other words, doing nothing

productive. This has to stop and it should stop now.

These upcoming elections are pivotal and we must install more people in Congress (and the

White House) who will do what is right for the country regardless of party affiliation! Are you

with me?

Conservative Tom

Congress inaction risks 2013 tax "disaster": IRS chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The commissioner of the U.S. tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service warned on Thursday of "a real disaster" for taxpayers next year should Congress miss a December 31 deadline to decide on billions in major tax provisions.

Congress is expected to wait until after Election Day, November 6, to take up whether to extend the individual income tax cuts passed under former president George W. Bush that expire at the end of 2012.

Most Democrats and President Barack Obama want to extend all but the top two tax brackets, allowing taxes to increase for high-income earners. Republicans want to extend the lower rates for all income groups.

A 2010 "lame duck" session deadlock to extend the Bush tax cuts delayed the start of the tax filing season in early 2011.

Allowing the pending tax decisions to lapse into 2013 will cause confusion for taxpayers, said Douglas Shulman, IRS commissioner, speaking at the National Press Club in Washington.

"We're going to have real risk in the system" if Congress delays, Shulman said.

"You could have a real disaster in the filing season where there's total confusion," especially for the alternative minimum tax "patch," he said.

The alternative minimum tax is a parallel tax system that applies to higher-income taxpayers. A legislative fix to index it for inflation must be approved before year's end to prevent the tax from hitting taxpayers in lower income brackets.

In the absence of congressional action by January 1, the IRS might be forced to delay the tax-filing season, which begins promptly with the new year, Shulman said.

As it is, Congress faces a huge workload for the two-month lame-duck period after the elections when about $650 billion of tax and spending provisions expire.

Shulman, appointed by President George W. Bush and now in the last year of a five-year term, defended IRS's regulation of 501(c)4 groups, including Tea Party organizations, which have received IRS letters asking questions about their political work.

For any non-profit groups that raise red flags, the IRS will "go out and do an audit and gather more facts," Shulman said in response to a question about IRS investigations into the non-profit groups.

Shulman also touted stronger IRS international enforcement efforts for businesses and individuals.

The agency has hired private-sector experts to better catch businesses that aggressively shift assets and profits offshore.

The new enforcers will help the IRS keep pace with corporations' evolving tax strategies, Shulman said.

Tax professionals have doubted whether the IRS has the muscle to enforce these "transfer pricing" disputes.

Transfer pricing is a booming field of global tax law. It involves multinational corporations moving goods, services and assets from one subsidiary to another in different countries and how they account for these "transfers."

(Rep

Congress inaction risks 2013 tax "disaster": IRS chief

Reuters – 2 hours 37 minutes ago