The US Defector is as notable and damaging to US security as John Anthony Walker and his years of spying for the Soviet Union. Let’s leave Snowden wallowing in his infamy for a bit.
Jared Bernstein has published a running “Watch” of the continuing Sequester and its impact across the nation. We have linked (below) the “Sequester Watch” Series from April 29th through June 24th. You might recall the Congress passed legislation to extricate the FAA Air Traffic Controllers from sequester furloughs. How self-serving? And, they did so under the guise of “keeping our airways safe!” Yes, especially on weekends when the congressional journey home to their districts.
For those who remain aware of slow improvement in the nation’s economy, you probably have opinions on why we are seeing growth et al. We at the TPI do not agree the sequester is contributing to an improved economy.
Bernstein’s linked series includes sequester cuts in food programs for the needy through funding for schools across the entire nation. We watch as the nation crumbles under the scourge of a Tea Party laden House of Representatives (replete with “Blue Dog” Democrats) and the Senate refuse to enact deep cuts in subsidies to big business (particularly big oil).
Jared Bernstein’s “Sequester Watch”
Sequester Watch, #2 | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy Apr 29, 2013
Of course, for you and me the sequester is just sitting i-place and chipping away at the nation’s services programs foundation. No, we have not forgotten the sequester also hit national defense. Those cuts are of no concern for the “defense loving” GOP as its members of Congress know the nation funds national defense at a unimaginable level. (Click charts to navigate to sources)
A quick look at how the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Discretionary Spending Budget shows 64% for Defense Spending, it is always a good comparison to view defense spending of other nation’s.
The last graph clearly shows why the GOP will sit in pure glee as the sequester rolls along with adverse impact on all other economic sectors with ties to the federal budget.
Since we referenced 2014 above, let’s take a quick look at how the Administration and GOP proposals focused on ending the sequester.
National Priorities Dot Org (March 2013)
National Priorities Dot Org (March 2013)
COMPETING VISIONS: PRESIDENT OBAMA, REP. PAUL RYAN, SEN. PATTY MURRAY, AND HOUSE PROGRESSIVES RELEASE BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR 2014
March 14, 2013
National Priorities Project examines how new budget proposals stack up against what Americans want.
By Chris Hellman and Mattea Kramer
- UPDATE: Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget passed the House in a vote of 221-207, and Sen. Patty Murray’s budget passed the Senate in a vote of 50-49. The Congressional Progressive Caucus budget did not pass the House.
- UPDATE (April 10, 2013): Inserted President Obama’s budget proposal column.
- UPDATE (April 12, 2013): Check out our easily-readable one-page version.
| Public Opinion: What Do Americans Want? | President Obama | Rep. Paul Ryan and the House Budget Committee | House Congressional Progressive Caucus | Sen. Patty Murray and the Senate Budget Committee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Creation | 95 percent say restoring the job market is a top priority. | $166 billion over 10 years for job creation initiatives, including infrastructure repairs and tax credits for small businesses that hire or raise wages. | No new funding for job creation. | $4.2 trillion over 10 years for job creation through infrastructure investment, tax credits, and aid to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. | $100 billion in near-term spending for job creation, including $50 billion for transportation infrastructure and $10 billion for worker training programs. |
| Medicare | 88 percent say it is very important to preserve the long-term stability of Medicare. | Negotiates for lower prescription drug prices and raises premiums on wealthy retirees, among other changes, to save $392 billion over 10 years. | Beginning in 2024 seniors would receive a lump sum of money to buy private insurance. The lump sum would keep pace with inflation but not the rate of health care cost growth. | Negotiates for lower prescription drug prices to save $157 billion over 10 years. | Saves $275 billion over 10 years by accelerating health care reforms that reward quality of care rather than pay fee-for-service. |
| Social Security | 88 percent say it is very important to preserve the long-term stability of Social Security. | Proposes changing cost-of-living adjustments using an inflation measure known as “chained CPI” to reduce benefits over time and save $230 billion over 10 years. | Requires the president and Congress to submit plans for the long-term financial outlook of Social Security. | No proposed changes. | No proposed changes. |
| Tax Loopholes | 80 percent want to see loopholes closed for big corporations, while 66 percent want to see loopholes closed for wealthy taxpayers so that money can be used for deficit reduction. | Places limits on tax deductions for the top 2 percent of income earners (to raise $529 billion over 10 years). Among other changes, ends the “carried interest” loophole that benefits hedge fund managers ($16 billion) and eliminates special tax breaks for oil and gas companies ($44 billion). | Plans to close tax loopholes but does not specify which ones. | Closes loopholes that favor oil, gas, and coal companies, and that create incentives to move jobs overseas. Eliminates corporate loopholes for stock options, private jets, and meals and entertainment. Also eliminates the home mortgage-interest deduction for vacation homes and yachts. | Plans to close tax loopholes for $975 billion in deficit reduction but does not specify which ones. Plans to target loopholes that currently benefit the wealthy and major corporations. |
| SNAP (food stamps) | 75 percent oppose cuts to SNAP. | No proposed changes. | Makes deep cuts to SNAP funding and converts the program to a block grant administered at the state level. | Increases funding for SNAP as part of an overall increase of $312 billion over 10 years for income security programs. | No proposed changes. |
| Education | 73 percent say it’s very important to make a college education more affordable, while 83 percent oppose cuts to K-12 education. | Expands access to pre-kindergarten education to move toward a goal of universal pre-kindergarten education and expands mandatory funding for Pell grants. | Freezes the maximum Pell grant award at the same level for the next 10 years, provides financial aid to fewer families, and reduces general discretionary spending for education. | Expands the education budget and provides $25 billion over 10 years to hire back 300,000 laid-off teachers and modernize 35,000 public schools. | Calls for supporting elementary and secondary education and making college more affordable but does not specify how. |
| Individual Taxes | 70 percent want a simpler tax code with lower rates and 66 percent want to see higher taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers. | Places limits on tax deductions for the top 2 percent of income earners, as noted above. Also imposes a “Buffett rule” – a minimum tax rate on millionaires – to raise $53 billion over 10 years. | Steeply reduces tax rates for top earners by replacing the current tax brackets with just two brackets of 10 percent and 25 percent. | Ends the Bush-era tax cuts for families earning over $250,000, creates five new tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires, and ends special low tax rates for investment income. | Places limits on tax expenditures claimed by the top 2 percent of income earners. |
| Corporate Taxes | 64 percent want to see corporations pay more in taxes, while 73 percent want to prevent corporations from avoiding taxes by shifting profits overseas. | Proposes no new taxes on corporations. Would close some tax loopholes as part of tax reform to simplify the tax code and lower tax rates, thereby raising no new tax revenue from corporations. | Reduces the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and releases overseas profits from U.S. taxation. | In addition to closing tax loopholes (specified above), creates a “Wall Street sales tax” on financial transactions including the sale of stocks and bonds. | Proposes changing corporate tax provisions that allow corporations to avoid taxes with offshore operations. |
| War Funding | 60 percent favor removing troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible. | Does not specify. | Provides $47 billion for war funding in 2014, a cut of 53 percent below the 2013 level. Maintains annual war funding of $37 billion or more for the next decade. | Calls for an expedited troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and ends war funding beginning in fiscal 2015. | Based on current plans to end the Afghanistan war in 2014, provides $100 billion in fiscal 2013, $50 billion in fiscal 2014 and $25 billion in fiscal 2015. |
| Military Funding | 58 percent would like to see major reductions in military spending. | Prevents across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration from affecting the military budget. Proposes a Department of Defense base budget of $526.6 billion in 2014, a cut of 1.6 percent. | Prevents across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration from impacting the military budget. | Reduces military spending by $897 billion over 10 years through a smaller force structure and reductions in Cold War-era weapons. | Would gradually reduce military spending beginning in fiscal 2015, for a savings of $240 billion over 10 years. |
| Medicaid | 52 percent support the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, while 46 percent oppose any cuts to Medicaid. | Maintains the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare. | Makes deep cuts to Medicaid funding and converts the program to a block grant administered at the state level. | Maintains the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare and increases funding for Medicaid through supplemental grants to states over the next two years. | Maintains the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare. |
Budget Totals
| Public Opinion: What Do Americans Want? | President Obama | Rep. Paul Ryan and the House Budget Committee | House Congressional Progressive Caucus | Sen. Patty Murray and the Senate Budget Committee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Proposed Change in Spending | 56 percent want to see a mix of spending cuts and tax increases; 35 percent want cuts only. | $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. | $5.7 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. | $3 trillion in spending increases over 10 years. | $837 billion in spending cuts over 10 years. |
| Total Proposed Change in Tax Revenue | 56 percent want to see a mix of spending cuts and tax increases; 5 percent want only tax increases. | $583 billion in new tax revenue over 10 years. | No change in tax revenue. | $5.7 trillion in additional tax revenue over 10 years. | $923 billion in additional tax revenue over 10 years. |
| Total Deficit Reduction | 72 percent say deficit reduction is a top priority. | Reduces deficits by $1.8 trillion over 10 years. | Reduces deficits by $5.7 trillion over 10 years. | Reduces deficits by $2.7 trillion over 10 years. | Reduces deficits by $1.8 trillion over 10 years. |
SOURCES: All numbers and analysis drawn directly from budget proposals released by the White House , House Budget Committee , the Congressional Progressive Caucus , and the Senate Budget Committee.
The real shame beyond the information and graphics above is the lack of major angst from the pubic about the extent to which a do nothing, lowest rated Congress in US History has hog-tied opportunities to advance our economic well-being. conservatives do not care as their agenda is being satisfied progressives, Independents and Liberals are another story.
The Pardu's Scroll 