Friday, July 15, 2011

Debt Ceiling Follow-Up: Sanity Comes to the Senate

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) took the floor of the Senate yesterday to announce his support for a highly sensible proposition: "There will be no 'unanimous consent' to allow votes on any appropriations bill until the Senate has first adopted a reasonable budget -- as the law requires us to do, in any event." Then he was joined by other Republican colleagues, who made the same point again and again: no votes to spend money until we have a framework -- a budget -- in which to put a limit on spending:






This is the way normal households take control of their finances. As one of the speakers stated, the Democratic majority in the Senate has not allowed a vote on a budget for 806 days -- more than two years. Is this any way to run a government? No matter what party one belongs to, one has to ask: who benefits from the lack of a budget?

President Obama refuses to offer a (balanced) budget; Senate Democrats refuse to offer a budget (balanced or otherwise); and that leaves everything to the Republican majority in the House, and the Republican minority in the Senate. Alone, they cannot get any legislation passed; but they can block proposals to spend without any budgetary limits. The media will try to excoriate them for doing so, but the people have to stick to fundamental principles. No spending without a balanced budget! Stop the madness, here and now!

Anyone who cannot support such a basic rule for government spending does not have America's best interests at heart. It is time to call our elected representatives to account for what they are proposing in the midst of this budgetary showdown. Whether Republican or Democrat, if they just want to keep spending without any controls or limits, they need to be blocked now, and voted out in November 2012.

3 comments:

  1. As always, thank you for clarifying the situation in terms all should be able to understand.

    This article gets sent to friends and associates far and wide.

    Enough is enough with the insanity that is going on in our country at this point in time. It is long overdue for reasonable people of all political persuasions to finally dig their heels in and stand firm, together.

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  2. Dear Mr. Haley,

    Your proposal that "if they just want to keep spending without any controls or limits, they need to be blocked now, and voted out in November 2012" leaves me a bit disappointed. Allow me to explain.

    I will attain my full retirement age under Social Security in a few months, but will need to replace some of my current income in order to stay afloat. I had hopes that, in the absence of finding suitable part-time employment I might be able to come up with a workable business idea that could be pursued for part of the year. One idea which had occurred to me was to open an online store selling such political supplies as solid bitumens, down from geese, ducks or chickens, and short sections of steel train rails.

    Now, with your eirenic proposal that we merely vote our irresponsible elected representatives out of office, irrespective of whether they are members of the Evil Stupid Party or the Stupid Evil Party, should it gain traction, you have scuppered that as a viable course of action. If you have any ideas as to how I might replace that idea, I would be most grateful.

    ;-)

    Pax et bonum,
    Keith Töpfer
    __________________

    (Of course, Sessions and company may lack the spine to resist the propaganda which is sure to ensue.)

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  3. Cuts have to be made, but the Dems are going to paint these well meaning Republicans as meanies, taking from widows and orphans, and many people will likely fall for the argument.

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