'Super committee' fails to reach agreement

[TSD]

This should be the ultimate wake up call for the Senate and House members to be let go, voted out.......



The only hope we can possibly have is to unelect the same old, same old and once that is done we get the new recruits to vote in term limits. I mean that from both parties.



Get Rid Of Them!

But what good will that do? So we vote for a bunch of people that tlk a big game then roll right over into the same old shit once they are elected.

 

[mikita's helmet]

The only hope we can possibly have is to unelect the same old, same old and once that is done we get the new recruits to vote in term limits. I mean that from both parties.

In 1994 one of the big selling points of the Contract With America was candidates pledging to term limits, which 99% of the abandoned once elected.



-----------------------------

Contract With America: Remember the Term Limit Pledges?



By Kurt Kaletka



Here's a blast from the past: remember the Contract With America? Briefly, the Contract was a short list of priorities that Republicans seeking to oust Democratic incumbents in 1994 offered up. It was well responded to: Democrats were tossed out in great numbers that year, with Republicans taking over both the House and the Senate. I was out of the country when this happened, so I don't remember the circus that I'm told surrounded it, but I do harbor a certain amount of regret for having missed it--it's like the same feeling you get when you find out you drove by a railroad crossing five minutes too late to see a train plow into a stalled car: you didn't want to see it, but on the other hand, there's a bloody fascination to it at the same time.



Anyway, Item 10 on the Contract With America was called the Citizen Legislature Act, which proposed that all legislators be held to a maximum of twelve (12) years' service in government. It never became law, but the Citizen Legislature Act was a principle that these congresspeople got elected on, telling the voters that it was high time to boot out the entrenched (Democratic) incumbents and get some fresh faces in office. Admirable, huh?



Despite that, there are plenty of legislators who ran on the Contract With America in 1994--that's 12 years ago!--who are running for reëlection this year, thus exceeding their election pledge to stop at twelve years. Man! A broken campaign promise! Doesn't that just make you mad? Vote them out!



To help you out, here are the names of the Representatives who made this promise:



Charles Bass, NH-02

Steve Chabot, OH-01

Tom Davis, VA-11

Mark Foley, FL-16

Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ-11

Gil Gutknecht, MN-01

Doc Hastings, WA-04

J.D. Hayworth, AZ-08

John Hostettler, IN-09

Walter Jones, NC-03

Sue Kelly, NY-19

Ray LaHood, IL-18

Tom Latham, IA-04

Steven LaTourette, OH-14

Sue Myrick, NC-09

Robert Ney, OH-18

Charlie Norwood, GA-09

George Radanovich, CA-19

John Shadegg, AZ-03

Mac Thornberry, TX-13

Todd Tiahrt, KS-04

Dave Weldon, FL-15

Jerry Weller, IL-11

Ed Whitfield, KY-01

Roger Wicker, MS-01



Here are the senators elected that year who made the same pledge:



Mike DeWine, OH

Jon Kyl, AZ

Rick Santorum, PA

Olympia Snowe, ME

Craig Thomas, WY



All of these Republican Contract With America candidates are seeking reëlection! Of course, there were others elected in 1994 seeking reëlection this year who did not make this pledge, but they're not on they hypocrite list. Republican Representative Phil English, PA-3, comes to mind. While I'm no fan of Mr. English, I can't call him a hypocrite, since he didn't make this promise. I'd like to see English out of office, too, but the hypocrite alert applies to the congresspeople listed above, not him.



So, citizens, it's your civic duty to keep your government honest, no matter what. Simply by running to serve in excess of twelve years, the above hypocrites are breaking their promise and living that lie, whether they win or lose. The best thing to do is to make sure they lose, so they'll be kept at least a little bit honest. Because if they'll break such a basic promise, who knows what other promises they'll break? If these congresspeople are currently representing you in Congress, help them break the addiction to incumbency that they ran against in 1994 and vote them out. Voting them out will help you, and it will help them. You owe it to your country.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/...With-America:-remember-the-term-limit-pledges

 

[mikita's helmet]

http://news.yahoo.com/top-0-1-nation-earn-half-capital-gains-172647859.html

By Robert Lenzner | Forbes – 11 hrs ago

Capital gains are the key ingredient of income disparity in the US-- and the force behind the winner takes all mantra of our economic system.

In the 1986 Tax Reform Act capital gains were raised to 28% and income tax was lowered go 28%. I can't find the quote right now, but to paraphrase Reagan's attitude on Capital gains, it was: the CEO and the garbageman should be taxed at the same rate, be it income tax or capital gains.

 

[roshinaya]

It's a complete failure from both sides, Obama's idea of bipartisanship and the total unwillingness of the GOP to concede anything in regards to finding a compromise. Had Obama had any spine and genuine will to implement all that "hope and change" he harped on about during his campaign he would have forced through his various reforms and not given a damn about what the GOP had to say. He had a good amount of political capital starting his term, but quickly squandered it by bowing down to different business interests and appeasing the Blue dog dems and the GOP, who never had any intention of giving an inch after.

To me this looks like an example of what happens when you only have a two-party system and both sides are so polarized that no matter what is at stake no solution is offered.

 

[supraman]

I say we amend the constitution with the Toews amendment and elect him our new god.

 

[winos5]

The automatic cuts built into the deficit reduction in August don't start until 2013, giving Congress and the Senate a year and a half to legislate it away. Guess we will see if Obama wields his veto power as eloquently as he reads aloud his teleprompter. I see more US credit down grades in our near future, and probably from more than one institution.

 

[BiscuitintheBasket]

Coupla things:



Pete, this affects more than the Bush tax cuts. While it will provide reductions, there is no plan to adjust for the reductions...which means more politicking to nowhere.



TCD, can never underestimate the piece/peace of mind. While ousting the politicians may seem frivolous at this point, doing so shows that status quo is not accepted. Change rarely is quick w/o carnage, and is usually a battle of attrition.

 

[Tater]

Remember during the campaign when Obama promised transparency and said hearings like this would be put on C-Span?

It would have loved to see these morons in the "Super" committee debate the cuts.



Then again....... maybe it's best we didn't see it.

 

[Rex]

I remember when Obama said a lot of things during the campaign. Wake me up when any of them actually happen.

 

[BigPete]

Pete, this affects more than the Bush tax cuts. While it will provide reductions, there is no plan to adjust for the reductions...which means more politicking to nowhere.

I am aware but chose to bang the drum on that big point. What it will actually do though is increase the amount the super rich pay on their very large earnings. There-by increasing the amount of cash taken in by the government. A big reason the debt grew so fast as opposed to just grew a bit is because Bush reduced the amount of money coming in. Otherwise the debt would still be in the much more managable 3-4 tril$ range.

 

[BigPete]

It's a complete failure from both sides, Obama's idea of bipartisanship and the total unwillingness of the GOP to concede anything in regards to finding a compromise. Had Obama had any spine and genuine will to implement all that "hope and change" he harped on about during his campaign he would have forced through his various reforms and not given a damn about what the GOP had to say. He had a good amount of political capital starting his term, but quickly squandered it by bowing down to different business interests and appeasing the Blue dog dems and the GOP, who never had any intention of giving an inch after. To me this looks like an example of what happens when you only have a two-party system and both sides are so polarized that no matter what is at stake no solution is offered.

Did you see the Rebuplitards on tv whining that Obama casually dropped by once or twice and in doing that so few times he 'failed to lead'? Give me a fucking break, DO YOU GODDAMN JOB CONGRESS! Do you really need daddy Obama to come in and make sure you did your homework for the night? Take some personal accountability and admit that you and a dozen others were tasked with coming up with solutions and YOU FAILED! It is not the Presidents job to make you do yours. He set the expectations now fucking live up to them or QUIT....or get fired at the next election. JACKTARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

 

[klemmer]

This should be the ultimate wake up call for the Senate and House members to be let go, voted out.......



The only hope we can possibly have is to unelect the same old, same old and once that is done we get the new recruits to vote in term limits. I mean that from both parties.



Get Rid Of Them!

Unfortunately, that won't change a damn thing, not even with term limits. America needs a third party to break up this logjam

 

[Tater]

I am aware but chose to bang the drum on that big point. What it will actually do though is increase the amount the super rich pay on their very large earnings. There-by increasing the amount of cash taken in by the government. A big reason the debt grew so fast as opposed to just grew a bit is because Bush reduced the amount of money coming in. Otherwise the debt would still be in the much more managable 3-4 tril$ range.

Where did you get the 3-4b tril number from?

 

[BigPete]

America needs to take lobbying out of politics, stop the revolving door of government, and stop the career politician model. I would also like to see the 'natural born' requirement lifted from the Presidency. I don't want a President that just moved here two years ago, but to say that the person has to be born here 40, 50, 60 years ago, is limiting the talent pool so much.

 

[BigPete]

Where did you get the 3-4b tril number from?

What was it before the wars and before the tax cuts were voted in?

 

[BigPete]

Here is an interesting piece. I am trying to find out more about this guy (credibility - political slant), so if he is coo koo mae culpa.



http://www.shadowstats.com/article/federal_deficit_reality

"GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTS: THINGS YOU’VE

SUSPECTED BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!"

A Series Authored by Walter J. "John" Williams

"Federal Deficit Reality"

(Part Three in a Series of Five)

September 7, 2004

_____

​

U.S. Treasury Shows Actual 2003 Federal Deficit at $3.7 Trillion

Deficit Moves Beyond Any Possible Tax Remedy

Could U.S. Treasuries Face a Rating Downgrade?

​

The U.S. government’s fiscal ills have spun wildly out of control and no longer are containable within the existing system. As detailed in this article, the actual annual shortfall in U.S. government operations for fiscal year 2003 (September 30) was $3.7 trillion. Put in perspective, that means if the U.S. Treasury had seized all wages and salaries in 2003 with a 100% income tax, there still would have been a deficit! The outlook for fiscal 2004 numbers is even worse.

Considering that the popularly reported 2003 budget deficit was $374 billion, one-tenth the number cited above, this installment on government reporting concentrates on where the incredulous $3.7 trillion number comes from, how and why the Treasury is reporting it, and why the financial press and federal politicians are ignoring it.

Nonetheless, some implications of the current circumstance are touched upon briefly, here, conditioned by the promise of a full and separate analysis at a future date.

As brief background, the $3.7 trillion number is from government financial statements prepared using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and a large portion of the expanded deficit is from the annual increase in the net present value of unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations.

...

 

[IceHogsFan]

While ousting the politicians may seem frivolous at this point, doing so shows that status quo is not accepted. Change rarely is quick w/o carnage, and is usually a battle of attrition.

This

 

[R K]

I remember when Obama said a lot of things during the campaign. Wake me up when any of them actually happen.

Remind me when you move to the United States.

 

[Rex]

Remind me when you move to the United States.

oh, because someone who lives an hour from the border can't follow US politics?

like it or not, when Obama fucks up your economy more, it affects mine too. I'd be a fool not to follow.



and am I reminding you when I moved to the states, or telling you when I move to the States? Because I'm likely to move down in a few years once Emma gets her MD, since Doctors in MY country are paid shit.

 

[IceHogsFan]

Just remember folks.........



We do not have a spending problem in the United States. We have a revenue problem.