Stefan Molyneux Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWduCHFvq-Q] https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/WBLNL_TO57Wl9zMrsi792pjcIg8NCIHLxxJto5J4QGYsbtWKr-wdrdospFZVE1up_YgNnRT7mNiNxVsvhwxv4s18LPDF626J-H8MCz7ygN2v6a90BfhnThznCompletely Pathetic: Link LinkLinkhttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hh7AhjwS5ydkCkK3aG155BbcO2M9Q48Fy5TUaODAJqU2NikWpx3cR4sSllg0tWvUignF5najeqwQBvvlcd_8RzdPlqL08SIPHY8qxAAf9S9CgIBOn-txb_XSLink http://www.whoownstheworld.com/about-the-book/largest-landowner/ Random interesting facts: Link Automatic cuts will be borne over seven months and Congress can stop them at any time if the two parties agrees on how to do so. Link March 27th Deadline Unless Congress agrees to extend funding by March 27, the federal government will shut down. Since October 2010, the federal government has been funded by a series of “continuing resolutions,” temporary extensions of current discretionary spending on programs, other than mandatory entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare and some defense spending. The current measure, passed in October 2012, runs out March 27, meaning Congress is slated for another continuing resolution before then. Visualizing what $100 million in cuts look like with pennies Visualizing what $17 billion in cuts looks like as water in a bucket Link The Trend is continuing, cuts or no cuts Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)—Increase in government revenues during his tenure: 65 percent; increase in government spending: 69 percent; total GDP growth: 75 percent; national debt at the end of his presidency: $2.9 trillionGeorge H. W. Bush (1989–1993)—Revenue increase: 16 percent; spending increase: 23 percent; GDP growth: 22 percent; national debt: $4.4 trillionBill Clinton (1993–2001)—Revenue increase: 72 percent; spending increase: 32 percent; GDP growth: 54 percent; national debt: $5.8 trillionGeorge W. Bush (2001–2009)—Revenue increase: 6 percent; spending increase: 89 percent; GDP growth: 36 percent; national debt: $11.9 trillionBarack Obama (first term, 2009–2013)—Revenue increase: 38 percent; spending increase: 8 percent; GDP growth: 15 percent (estimated): national debt: $16.5 trillion. Link Washington can’t even cut non-essential spending Last year, the president proposed 210 cuts to save $24 billion in a year, which included eliminating a redundant Air Force satellite system and an entire fleet of C-27J cargo airplanes that the Pentagon didn't need.Similarly, both Presidents Bush and Obama wanted to pull funding for a non-essential agriculture program that made digital versions of public TV broadcasts for a rural audience. The funding still continues. Link More often, congress can make non-essential spending worse In 2011, for instance, Obama suggested scrapping Voice of America's radio broadcast in China, because studies showed few people were listening. But House Republicans wanted to send the program an additional $14 million to keep it on air. What do they affect? Link The cuts, known as the "sequester," will take $85bn from the US federal budget between Saturday and October 1. Link The US government is the nation's largest employer, with a workforce of roughly 2.7 million civilians spread across the country. If the cuts stay in place, more than 800,000 of those workers could see reduced work days and smaller paychecks between now and September. Link Pentagon -13% The Pentagon will be forced to slice 13 percent of its budget between now and September 30 Link Various Domestic Programmes” get -9% Link Gloom and Doom! (Reuters) - Delays of four hours or more at airports. - Exasperating wait times for people, and goods, crossing America's borders. - Reduced paychecks for thousands of civilians employed by the Pentagon. - The U.S. Coast Guard, crippled in its patrols of U.S. waters.- Meat shortages, thanks to cutbacks in food inspections. - Teachers of low-income children and special-education students losing their jobs. Link Air Traffic Controllers "There are going to be delays as a result of a reduction in man-hours and personnel among our air-traffic controllers," Carney said. Link Coast Guard "The Coast Guard will reduce its presence in the Arctic by a third," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared at a White House briefing on Monday. Link Homeland Security We will curtail our air and surface operations by more than 25 percent, affecting management of the nation's waterways, as well as fisheries enforcement, drug interdiction and migrant interdiction." Link Safety Net Untouched ...roughly $85 billion from about 30 percent of the programs funded by the government. The sequestration plan enacted by Congress in August 2011 left the rest of the $3.7 trillion U.S. budget untouched, including the Social Security program for retirees and the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs for seniors and the poor. What is the stated point of them? Why are they happening now? Link Automatic cuts cutting $85 billion in federal programs under the automatic "sequestration" cuts scheduled to take effect at 11:59 p.m. on Friday Link Sequestration debut The sequestration plan enacted by Congress in August 2011 When do they go into effect? Link Between Saturday and October 1 Link Nothing Specific "There's no calendar of dates for specific actions or cuts on specific dates," Department of Health and Human Services public affairs officer Bill Hall told ABC News. Some cuts won't be felt for a while because they have to do with government layoffs, which require 30 days notice, in most cases. Are more cuts planned for the future? Link From Medicare savings to tax revenues, the latest budget from President Obama includes scenarios that almost certainly will never play out... (CNN MONEY) Phantom savings from MedicareThe 2013 budget forecasts Medicare savings of around $48 billion a year by the end of the 10-year window. The projections correctly assume that the famous "doc fix," which is scheduled to lower physician payments by around 30% each year, will not occur, Congress always kills the provisionMade up future spending cuts divergent from 40 year trendThe budget projects that discretionary spending will fall 22% from 2013 levels, adjusted for inflation, to 3.4% of GDP, by 2022. That's far below the 40-year average of 4.7%, and a figure only reached or breached in seven years over that period.Made up GrowthThe budget reckons that GDP will expand at 2.7% this year, and 3% next year, then cruise at around 4% from 2015 to 2017. But those numbers are a lot higher than the scenario most forecasters expect. The CBO predicts far lower growth for 2012 and 2013 Interest rates need to stay low, but will they? Today, the U.S. is paying an average interest rate of just 2.1% on the $11.6 trillion in debt in the hands of investors. That's one-third of the average of 6.5% since 1986. To keep interest payments down, the Treasury has systematically reduced the average maturity on its bonds to benefit from the extremely low yields on short-term notes. Today, almost 60% of all U.S. debt needs to be repaid within four years. (Where is the money for the 60%!?!).Everything is possible through made up Interest rates What's far less convincing is the forecast for longer-term rates. The budget sees ten-year bond yields rising gradually to 5.3% over ten years. That's 0.5 points below the 30-year average. It's also highly possible, if not probable, that future rates will be above the norm because of America's elevated level of debt, even the level that the budget predicts. Consequences: If the average rate on America's mountainous, $19.5 trillion in debt is one point above the prediction, add $200 billion to the deficit. At two points, it's $400 billion, and the budget gap jumps far over $1 trillion once again. If rates rise more rapidly than predicted, the debt will also be far higher, compounding the problem. What are people’s reactions? Do they actually do any significant good? Link Cuts? More like reduced growth! ...the federal budget, excluding interest payments, will still grow by $13 billion in 2013 and $1.8 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The cuts, which will hit each year for a decade if they aren’t replaced, mostly eat away at projected increased spending, not the prior year’s level of outlays. All the same, some programs will see authentic cuts. The sequester slashed discretionary items like environmental protection and education by $72 billion, or 5.6 percent. But by 2019 this category of spending will once again be higher than it was in 2012. Link Mr.Don Dodge from Google writes...Amazing US Budget in personal terms; Income $24,690 minus Spending of $37,950 = New Debt 13,260. Existing credit card debt $143,000, Budget cuts so far $38. Would any reasonable person propose $38 of spending cuts when they are overspending by $13, 260, and already in debt by more than $143K?Oh, and the proposed US budget cut numbers are over 10 YEARS. The impact on the deficit for 2013 is insignificant. We will still have a huge annual deficit, and add at least $1 Trillion more to the long term debt. This insanity is hard to understand unless it is reduced to personal terms like above. It has been going on for 50 years, and has reached crisis proportions. Time to get serious before we end up like Greece, Italy, or worse. Link Not completely Recent but still very informative: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/A8UH3gEqL3kZR2tYpqT9mGt_sVUhkZrym0wtFXOhEZmPbX119R75u5OGuo4Ea-ABOua_Qy5FyhIsXpb2UOJ05K4zWEsCAjVh-XW_R_Mew4Dqhf9bA4i7wEOR Link Slightly Slowing the Acceleration of the Acceleration... “ Tens of billions do indeed sound enormous. They are not,” wrote Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter. “They are lost at the right of the decimal point in this stunningly large budget proposal.” The U.S. budget deficit has grown significantly in the past year, causing growing alarm among investors and economists. The deficit hit $188.2 billion in March, up $65.4 billion from the prior year. http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.ca/2013/03/obscene-government-waste.html
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