The world didn’t end on Friday.

[apodixis]

Despite some Democrats and the lamestream media running around early last week crying that the sky was falling because the sequester cut 2 1/2 % from the federal budget over the next 6 months, the world did not end when the sequester took effect at the end of last week. And the CBO says the nation’s economy will continue to grow at about 1 ½ % over the next year.

The sequester cuts government spending by $85 billion, and since it reduces the budget back to a pre Obama level, it was a victory for the limited government, deficit hawk Tea Party movement that took over control of Congress in 2010.

The main problem with the sequester was that it cuts spending across the board, rather than giving the administration or Congress the option to selectively cut useless waste while preserving programs that have a net public benefit.

The President’s job is supposed to be that of the chief executive; the manager of the federal government. So now the question is whether he has got the ability and influence to work with congress to manage the sequester effectively.

[apodixis]

Is Mother Nature a Tea Party supporter ? - Snowquester shut government down in Washington today !!

[apodixis]

Sequester cuts Obama’s public approval ratings ?

Public opinion polls across the board showed about a 10 % drop in Obama’s public approval rating, apparently over his handling of the sequester taking effect last week:

http://tinyurl.com/ahfl7v2

And a poll released yesterday shows that 60 % of Americans support the general sequester cuts in federal spending:

http://tinyurl.com/apysltl

Obama’s private dinner at a hotel with 12 Republican Senators last night suggests that he has realized that he is going to have to change his approach if he doesn’t want to further lose public support.

[apodixis]

Their handling of the sequester budget cuts has been a disaster for Obama and the Democrats.

Their credibility crashed when media fact checkers pointed out that their wails of gloom and doom about the sequester were simply factually untrue.

The Obama team apparently thought that his winning re-election meant that he was still such a celebrity idol that he could stage manage the sequester situation. But they should have noticed the clear indicator of his declining popularity stature in that attendance at his second inaugural was only 1/3 of that at his first.

And the latest opinion polls show public approval of the Republicans on handling the budget rising above that of Obama . Excerpt from a Washington Post article on a WaPo/ABC poll:

“When asked who would do a better job ‘finding the right balance between cutting government spending that is not needed and continuing government spending that is needed’, 44 percent named Republicans in Congress while 43 percent chose President Obama.

That’s a reversal from an October 2011 WaPo-ABC survey — the last time we asked the question – when 44 percent said they trusted Obama to do a better job making the right decisions about government spending while 39 percent opted for Congressional Republicans.”

Read more:

http://tinyurl.com/bje8o5m

[resigned]

How the GOP Will Cave on a Budget Deal

By JIM MCTAGUE


The budget-balancing plan offered by Paul Ryan last week will make it easier for Republicans to jump ship, as it relies on Obama's tax increases as well as the tax revenues and Medicare reductions under Obama.
The latest idea from market pundits is that investors need not heed the political antics in Washington, D.C., because the U.S. economy is more resilient than the dysfunctional federal government and able to leap tall buildings without a single Ben. I've heard this sentiment in recent days on cable and seen it on Twitter and on the cover of a financial magazine.

I come from the camp that says the stock market would not be at its current lofty levels except for Ben, and that the sequestration law is going to hurt as much as President Obama says it will hurt, setting off a public-relations disaster for the GOP. Furthermore, the Republicans already have lost the budget war, and if you miss the story, you miss some investment opportunities, particularly in defense.

As voters begin to howl about long airport lines and other inconveniences in coming months, I expect enough GOP defections to give Obama his compromise deal.


The Republican budget-war defeat became evident last week when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin introduced a fiscal blueprint to balance the federal budget in 10 years. Ryan could not have done it without cribbing from Obama. As Steven Dennis of Roll Call pointed out, Ryan relied on Obama's $600 billion tax increase, tax revenues from Obama, and $700 billion in Medicare reductions under the same law. Ryan would repeal Obama -- except for those features. Ryan advertized his plan as a rebuke to the president's fiscal policies, but it grudgingly came across as a concession to some of the president's arguments. This will make it easier for Republicans to jump ship and support an Obama compromise budget that cuts entitlement spending in return for eliminating tax breaks for high earners.

As I wrote two weeks ago, the GOP leadership does not have firm control of its troops, and Obama needs only 17 House Republicans to join up with House Democrats for a deal. As many as 60 Republicans have opposed the House leadership in votes this year, for a variety of reasons. Some of them don't think Speaker Boehner is conservative enough. Some think he's too inflexible and should compromise more.

As the chart*(@ link) accompanying this story shows, there are exactly 17 Republicans in districts that went for the president in 2012. They are up for election in 2014. That's not to say these are the ones who will defect; but if I were the president, these are the members of Congress with whom I'd be breaking bread. And I would be running intensive get-out-the-vote drives in their districts as well.

The conventional wisdom is that Republicans have a midterm election advantage because turnout will be about half of what it was in the general election. The powerful Obama grass-roots political organization could turn that wisdom upside down in 2014, especially if voters are as angry about budget cuts as I believe they will be. These 17 Republicans must be uneasy, including ones who ordinarily don't face serious election foes -- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Peter King, Frank LoBiondo, and Gary Miller, for example. Their constituents voted for President Obama. They demonstrated a willingness to split their ticket, not blindly vote for one party's slate. Lawmakers in Florida and New Jersey -- states that went big for Obama -- would strike me as most promising prospects for presidential outreach.

In the Senate, Obama needs only five of the 45 Republicans for the required 60 votes in that chamber, assuming that the 55 Democrats, including two independents, support him. South Carolina's Lindsey Graham already has broken with his GOP leadership by trying to broker a deal with Obama. Susan Collins of Maine has never been a GOP stalwart. Three more won't be a problem when sequestration nudges the misery index higher.

Under the compromise, defense spending likely would be cut back more gradually and less deeply, under the cover of provocative actions by the Chinese, the Iranians, and the North Koreans.

That axis of lunacy is the best lobby our defense industry has had in ages.

So go ahead and loathe dysfunctional Washington -- but ignore it at your financial peril.

http://tinyurl.com/apkvzbk

[apodixis]

“Obama zombies’ invade CPAC after dark”

http://tinyurl.com/cr6o4jb

( CPAC, the conservative political action committee, the leading Republican ideological political organization, has been holding its annual meeting this past weekend. )

Washington couldn’t have come up with a better set up for political satire than the budget debacle.

[resigned]

“Obama zombies’ invade CPAC after dark”

http://tinyurl.com/cr6o4jb

( CPAC, the conservative political action committee, the leading Republican ideological political organization, has been holding its annual meeting this past weekend. )

Washington couldn’t have come up with a better set up for political satire than the budget debacle.

The 60 Plus Association, a conservative advocacy group for senior citizens, hosted a zombie-themed party that brought in professional makeup artists who created a horde of CPAC's very own "Obama zombies" (aka college students in search of free booze).

Good CPAC values....

....and watch Sarah Palin swill a Big Gulp as the 'next President' takes a stand on Gay Marriage. Go GOP!

[apodixis]

Despite all of Obama’s grandstanding against it earlier, The Democrat controlled Senate voted 73-26 today to accept the $85 billion in sequester spending cuts designed to restrain soaring federal deficits. The Republican controlled House of Representatives will likely vote tomorrow to likewise accept the sequester spending cuts.

[resigned]

"As the House was voting, the Senate by a vote of 73-26 passed a spending measure that caps spending for programs within Congress’s annual discretion at $984 billion. The House is expected to pass the measure as soon as Thursday, eliminating any current threat of a government shutdown.

The final Senate bill did ease the hit of the automatic cuts known as sequestration somewhat, especially those that could hurt vulnerable Democrats. For instance, an amendment adopted Wednesday transferred $55 million to federal meat and poultry inspectors from other agriculture programs to make sure food plants can stay in operation, a plan championed by Senator Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat facing re-election next year.

Another amendment shifted money to hard-hit tuition assistance programs for military service members, a push championed by Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, another swing-state Democrat up for re-election."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/us/po ... .html?_r=0

[apodixis]

“Democrats join push to dump Obama care tax”

Excerpt:

“The Senate voted 79-20 to get rid of the law's 2.3 percent sales tax on medical device-makers.”

Read more:

http://tinyurl.com/avggbmt

[resigned]

Speaking of non-binding legislation......................





Senate approves Democratic budget after marathon 'vote-a-rama'

March 23, 2013FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON – An exhausted Senate approved its first budget in four years early Saturday, calling for almost $1 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade while sheltering safety net programs targeted by House Republicans.

Despite the fanfare -- and the spectacle of senators lingering for hours into the weekend to vote on dozens of amendments before the final tally -- the budget passed by the smallest of margins, 50-49. Four Democrats facing tough re-elections voted against it.

<........>


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03 ... z2ON4BkC5H

[apodixis]

Obama today quietly signed the 2013 Sequester deficit reducing, budget cutting bill that locks in spending cuts he opposed, but which was overwhelmingly approved by both houses of Congress and the American public. The funding bill that became law today, was approved by a 318- 109 vote in Congress a day after it was passed by a 73-26 vote in the Senate.

The bill signed today makes $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts through September of this year - 5 percent to domestic agencies and 8 percent for the Defense Department.

Congress in 2011 had mandated $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts spread over nine years. Negotiations on spending, taxes and deficits for fiscal year 2014, which begins on October first, will resume after Congress returns from a two-week break.

[resigned]

by Laicie Olson

Fact Sheet: The Budget Control Act and Sequestration

August 2012

The Budget Control Act

The Budget Control Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on August 2, 2011 after being supported by a majority of Republican Members of Congress and many Democrats. The bill raised the United States debt ceiling after a series of congressional battles that tested the United States’ full faith and credit.

The law established budget enforcement mechanisms that were estimated to reduce federal budget deficits by a total of at least $2.1 trillion from 2012-2021.

$900 billion of that total would come from yearly caps on discretionary appropriations.

A Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, frequently called the "supercommittee," was created to produce a plan by November 2011to achieve at least an additional $1.2 trillion in savings. If the supercommittee failed to come to an agreement, across-the-board automatic spending cuts would come into force. The supercommittee failed.

Sequestration

Those automatic spending cuts, otherwise referred to as “sequestration,” will come into effect in January 2013, should Congress fail to act in the interim.

Sequestration requires across-the-board cuts to defense and non-defense programs, spread over nine years. The cuts would be automatic; every program would be required to be reduced by a set percentage. The federal agencies were not permitted to determine where the cuts should or should not be made, although certain budget segments are exempt, such as military personnel accounts.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that sequestration cuts would produce the following outlay savings:
• $454 billion from new discretionary appropriations for defense programs.
• $294 billion from new discretionary appropriations for non-defense programs.
• $0.1 billion in mandatory spending for defense programs.
• $170 billion in mandatory spending for non-defense programs such as Medicare.
• About $31 billion stemming from the reductions in premiums for Part B of Medicare and other changes in spending that would result from the sequestration actions.
• An estimated reduction of $169 billion in debt-service costs. Under sequestration, the base Pentagon budget would fall to $472 billion, or approximately the same level of funding as fiscal year 2007 after adjusting for inflation. After 2013, defense spending would steadily rise.

Sequestration budget caps are designed so that money can be moved between programs. Thus, domestic discretionary spending could potentially take more or less of the budgetary burden than defense discretionary spending.

However, savings required in any year cannot be deferred or accelerated, say from Fiscal Year 2014 to Fiscal year 2015.

Afghanistan war-related funding is specifically exempted from sequestration.

Most mandatory spending is exempt from the sequester, including Social Security, retirement programs, veteran’s benefits, Medicaid, unemployment, and food stamps.

Medicare is subject to the sequester in the form of provider payment cuts, but such cuts cannot exceed 2 percent.

A number of Members of Congress are unhappy with their handiwork. Some are proposing to defer the sequester, or place the entire burden on domestic social programs rather than defense.

Congressional action to adjust sequestration could take place before the end of the year as part of a mega-deal that involves discretionary spending, taxes and entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare.

http://armscontrolcenter.org/publicatio ... estration/


Wiki:

The House passed the Budget Control Act on August 1, 2011 by a vote of 269–161. 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted for it, while 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against it.

House Speaker Boehner then announced that he got "98% of what I wanted" in the deal.

The Senate passed the Act on August 2, 2011 by a vote of 74–26. 6 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it.[23]
President Obama signed the bill shortly after it was passed by the Senate.[14] In doing so, the president said, "Is this the deal I would have preferred? No. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_Control_Act_of_2011

[apodixis]

Since everyone reading here will be affected by failure to control the U.S. debt., thanks for posting the background information on the 2011 debt reduction legislation, resigned.

The economic disaster in Europe is where the U.S. is heading unless it gets its now almost $ 17 trillion national debt under control. Greece’s economic disaster started in 2009, when its national debt topped 113% of its economic output (GDP). The U.S.’s national debt will hit 113% of GDP this year.

Most Americans realize that the sequester was a modest, reasonable process to deal with the problem. So when Obama engaged in his histrionics opposing it, his public approval rating fell 6-8 % in a week. Since that embarrassment, he has been silent on the debt problem; But the White House is presenting its 2014 budget proposal on April 10 as Congress reconvenes next week; and the debt will be an even bigger issue in the 2014 budget than it was in the 2013 budget which was just approved.

That’s because most of the Obama care law takes effect in 2014, and there are projections that it will greatly increase the current U.S. debt. And because 2014 is an election year where 35 Senate seats, mostly those of Democrats in fiscally conservative red states supportive of debt reduction, are up for election.

So the political battle over the 2014 budget, which will resume next week, is probably going to have more impact on the U.S. than the 2012 presidential election did.

[apodixis]

“Liberals balk at Obama budget outside White House”

http://tinyurl.com/cdpfkqw

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

“The Real Budget Action Won't Come Until Tonight's Dinner With the GOP”

Excerpt:

“Already, there are a few, small reasons for optimism. Republican senators seem pleased that the president is willing to cut roughly $230 billion in government benefits, including Social Security, by changing the cost-of-living calculations for benefits. ‘Chained CPI,’ means-testing, and age adjustment, I think, will save these programs from bankruptcy and avoid us becoming Greece,’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who attended the previous private dinner with the president.

‘In return, I would raise revenue by flattening the tax code, paying down debt, and lowering some rates,’ he added.

Republicans also seem open to the president’s broad budget ideas of cutting roughly $400 billion in health care entitlement programs, closing loopholes, and overhauling the corporate tax code in a revenue-neutral way, though the two parties disagree on the details.”
Read more:

http://tinyurl.com/d2axvxn

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

The first major public back and forth over the Obama 2014 budget proposal, details of which were released today, will take place tomorrow when Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients testify about it during a series of hearings beginning before the Congress' Ways and Means Committee.