The bipartisan ‘Gang of Six’ group of Republican and Democratic Senators has been in the news with a plan to cut the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years. Of that total of $3.7 in reduced deficit spending, $2.7 trillion would come from ‘cuts’ and $1 trillion from tax increases. In Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, remind me of Wimpy, a character in the old Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons. Wimpy liked hamburgers and he frequently said,
- I’ll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.
However, with Wimpy, the payment on Tuesday never comes. With Congress, spending cuts never come.
Unfortunately, many Americans are falling for news reports that tell of budget slashing or Draconian cuts or whatever. Of course, the cuts are always going to come next Tuesday or next year or in 10 years, just never today. And, any cuts that are actually put in place are not cuts at all as a real human being would view them. Rather, they are cuts in the rate of spending growth. That is, Congress wanted a 10% increase, but only got a 5% increase, so that’s a cut.
If you doubt me, look at actual Federal spending, not the rhetoric. Do you see any cutting?
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