Reconciliation
Recap: The U.S. Government: An insurance conglomerate protected by a large, standing army; it's as if the Fiscal Commission never happened; and the Defense Department won the budget.
Elsewhere:
1) More on the Defense budget.
2) Why are Pell Grants getting cut?
3) Noam Scheiber's profile of Tim Geithner.
4) "The same way a spork makes an incomplete fork and an ineffectual spoon, this compromise budget provides for both incomplete investment and ineffectual deficit reduction."
5) "If I were the president, my line would be closer to the reverse: I don’t want to cut Social Security benefits for anyone, but if the Republicans want to tempt me into a compromise they’re going to need to make sure that their own core constituency — people born before 1955 or so — pay a fair share of the price."
Recipe of the day: Last-minute Valentine's Day menus.
By
Ezra Klein
| February 14, 2011; 5:48 PM ET
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Eliminate corn subsidies and then apply the full amount of the savings to Pell Grants.
Posted by: Patrick_M | February 14, 2011 7:27 PM | Report abuse
Patrick:
Again with the Pell Grant's, what is with you? LOL
"If I were the president, my line would be closer to the reverse: I don’t want to cut Social Security benefits for anyone, but if the Republicans want to tempt me into a compromise they’re going to need to make sure that their own core constituency — people born before 1955 or so — pay a fair share of the price."
You'd never make it in politics or advertising with slogans like that Ezra!
Posted by: johnmarshall5446 | February 14, 2011 8:03 PM | Report abuse
The president's plan would reduce the deficit-to-GDP ratio from 10.9 percent in the current fiscal year to 7 percent in 2012, on its way to 3.2 percent by 2015
So much for sustainable deficits during the Obama Presidency.
Posted by: krazen1211 | February 14, 2011 9:14 PM | Report abuse
Alright, Ezra, you're my go to guy for spotting budgetary bs, so is true or not true (or is it, as often is the case, a little of both): http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259528/federal-government-s-unspent-billions-deroy-murdock
Posted by: charri68 | February 14, 2011 9:21 PM | Report abuse
libs will not like Obama's budget.
I read one account where it claims DoD spending is actually going up next year before any cuts are later made.
And Hillary is sounding more and more like Cheney with her warmongering about national security concerns if the GOP gets their way.
He is going to be primaried, and if he wins that, he will lose the general if the GOP puts up a SMART moderate who can debate well.
Otherwise, he needs a miracle turn around in jobs to win.
And the proper SS sound bite for Obama is: "I will not join with the GOP in wanting to cut or privatize SS, except to put some emphasis on eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, because SS does not create one red nickel in debt and and generates surpluses every year and will continue to do so once we make some small tweaks in the payroll tax code to eliminate special benefits that only the wealthiest 1% receive."
Posted by: lauren2010 | February 14, 2011 9:36 PM | Report abuse
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