#fiscal responsibility

[democratthatlovesguns]

SAVE YOUR MONEY!

This holiday season, there is no excuse for impulsive buys.

There is no valid reason that you'll need cheaply made five dollar Christmas lights from Wal-Mart more than you'll need health insurance next year.

There is no valid reason you need anything from Amazon, more than you'll need milk and eggs next year.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!

What bitch boy Elon means by "hurt a little" is that you will be completely fucked; the government will not assist you in paying for anything as prices skyrocket.

Pundits on Faux News will try to convince you really hard that everything will be okay, don't be stupid enough to fall for it. Remember that a lot of them have massive investments in Wal-Mart, Amazon, Home Depot, etc. and have a HUGE incentive to motivate everyone to spend before the shit storm they know is coming.

[mastermark1960]

I am a proud American that is shocked by the stupidity of both the left and right.  The left for having no clue about how money works and the right for not stopping the insanity. Abraham Lincoln once said a house divided against itself can not stand. Truer words were never spoken. We are a divided nation due to the political manipulations of the one world order. Our great nation is being eaten alive by the ignorance of the left and right. Ignorance is curable and stupidity is terminal. Please do not be stupid. Contrary to how the left and right thinks deficit spending is not ok. I'm here to inform you that it needs to stop NOW. The way to stop this is not with ever higher taxes but through sound fiscal policies. Corporations need to bring our jobs home. Corporations need to invest in training programs to teach welfare recipients skills allowing them to be productive members of society. A collage education is not a necessary prerequisite to prosperity and in fact has harmed way to many young people.

Ever hear of student loan forgiveness?  Working to better your life and to have pride in their accomplishments needs to be an important goal in rebuilding our great country. Remember this proverb. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

It is an old proverb and should have included women. We as a nation need to teach every American how to fish. We need to dismantle the nanny state so every American, no matter their race, creed, color, or religion, is proud of their country and themselves. The only people we should take care of are those with sever physical or mental disabilities. We also need to stop foreign aid that gives the United States of America no direct benefit. Corporate greed needs to end. Personal greed needs to end. We all need to work together to repair our great country ASAP.  Please read the website main street economics. Get educated on how we are spending ourselves out of a country. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am a fiscal conservative. We are currently borrowing money to service the debt and this is not sustainable. If you hate the United States of America please leave. We don't need or want you among us. There is no room for hate of any kind in my great country. We Americans need to work together towards this common goal or face the same fate as the Roman empire.. Thank you for reading my post. I hope everyone has a bright and prosperous future.

[more-flotsam-and-jetsam]

[tomorrowusa]

« Not only is the United States safer when it is engaged, but it is also more fiscally responsible. It is expensive to deter a war, yet it is more expensive to fight one. Washington is facing a multitude of global threats, and so it is understandable that officials would second-guess the cost of helping Kyiv. But given the stakes, Americans must have clarity on the long-term costs, not just the upfront expenses. Supporting Ukraine is not only morally right but financially right. It is a prudent investment in U.S. interests. »

— Elaine McCusker, Acting Undersecretary of Defense in the first Trump administration, writing in the journal Foreign Affairs (archived).

Ms. McCusker argues that aid for Ukraine is much cheaper in the long run than having to deal with an emboldened Putin. And she provides specifics in her article.

She is a reminder that there is still a notable anti-Putin segment of the GOP. Though in the minority, their votes are key in the House and Senate where Republicans are barely in control.

[sinensis26]

As a reminder to those Americans who dont remember this: taxes are where we all pitch in a little money to pay for bigger stuff. Kids school lunches, libraries, roads and sidewalks. Stuff that makes everyone's lives better. If some folks living here are going through a rough time, they should be able to borrow from that pot of money, and then when things get better they can pay it back with their own taxes.

When everyone is doing better and theres a lot of excess money in the pot, THEN we get to buy toys we dont really need. Like shiny fighter jets and political positions. But we shouldnt buy toys until all those kids have food and the roads are nice and libraries are comfortable.

My kids are in grade school, and learning about Wants vs. Needs. I think we need to send some of our politicians back to elementary school for a refresher on this stuff.

[etakeh]

Word on the street is that these glasses are pretty ok. And cheap inexpensive as hell.

[npi]

Washington Republicans are demonstrating that they've learned nothing from the failure of their 2024 revenue-slashing initiatives

With the results of the 2024 presidential election now certified, elected leaders and activists across Washington are turning their attention to the upcoming legislative session, which begins January 13th. As they have since late 2017, Democrats will have trifecta control over state government, with the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. But they’ll also have…

[dosesofcommonsense]

If your business failed a financial audit FOR THE SIXTH TIME, would you still be in business?

[commonsensecommentary]

This is pure and simple insanity! What the hell is wrong with the voters in California who are putting their state on the road to a complete collapse?

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 2, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 3, 2023

Three years ago today, on June 2, 2020, days after then–Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, Martha Raddatz of ABC snapped the famous and chilling photograph of law enforcement officers in camouflage, their names and units hidden, standing in rows on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Mr. Floyd’s murder sparked protests across the country, and Trump used those protests as a pretext to crack down on his opponents. Just the day before, after a call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump told state governors on a phone call: “You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time.... You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again.” Then he used a massive police presence wielding tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang explosives to clear peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters from Lafayette Square across from the White House. Tonight, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office to emphasize that democracy depends on bipartisanship.” [W]hen I ran for President,” he began, “I was told the days of bipartisanship were over and that Democrats and Republicans could no longer work together. But I refused to believe that, because America can never give in to that way of thinking…. [T]he only way American democracy can function is through compromise and consensus, and that’s what I worked to do as your President…to forge a bipartisan agreement where it’s possible and where it’s needed.” While he noted that he has signed more than 350 bipartisan laws in his time in office, his major focus today was on the bipartisan budget agreement passed by the House and Senate after months of wrangling to get House Republicans to agree to lift the debt ceiling. Biden will sign it tomorrow, averting the nation’s first-ever default. Biden characterized those threatening to force the U.S. into default as “extreme voices,” who were willing to cause a catastrophe. The economy, which continues to add jobs at a cracking pace—another 339,000 in May, according to the numbers released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor—would have been thrown into recession. As many as 8 million Americans would have lost their jobs, retirement savings would have been decimated, borrowing for everything from mortgages to government funding would have become much more expensive, and “America’s standing as the most trusted, reliable financial partner in the world would have been shattered.” “It would have taken years to climb out of that hole,” he said. But the extremists were sidelined, and the House Republicans and the White House reached an agreement. Biden went out of his way to praise House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his team, saying that the two negotiating teams “were able to get along and get things done. We were straightforward with one another, completely honest with one another, and respectful with one another. Both sides operated in good faith. Both sides kept their word.” This was not entirely true—McCarthy constantly attacked Biden in the media—but Biden was hammering on the image of bipartisanship. Yesterday, Jonathan Lemire, Adam Cancryn, and Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico reported that Biden and his team plan to make the case for reelection on their ability to negotiate deals that get things done for the American people, acting as the “adults in the room” in contrast to Republican extremists. The budget deal that led to the suspension of the debt ceiling is a major illustration of that position. Biden also praised House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), claiming that “[t]hey acted responsibly and put the good of the country ahead of politics.” The solution to the debt ceiling crisis is a major victory for Biden’s team not only because it happened, but also because it leaves Biden’s key priorities intact, not least because they are popular and Republicans did not want to go into 2024 having demanded unpopular cuts. Biden noted that the measure will cut spending as Republicans wanted (although not necessarily through the measures they insisted on adding), but reiterated that it is the Republican Party that has been on a spending spree. “We’re all on a much more fiscally responsible course than the one I inherited when I took office,” Biden said. “When I came to office, the deficit had increased every year the previous four years. And nearly $8 trillion was added to the national debt in the last administration,” while the deficit fell by $1.7 trillion in his first two years in office. Biden laid out that the deal protects his reworking of the U.S. economy to support ordinary Americans. It protects Social Security and Medicare, as well as healthcare and veterans’ services. It protects the investments in the economy that have enabled the country to add more than 13 million new jobs, including 800,000 jobs in manufacturing. It protects investments in addressing climate change. Finally, Biden vowed to make the wealthy—those who earn more than $400,000 a year—pay their fair share in taxes. “I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard,” he concluded, “but we can never stop trying, because in moments like this one—the ones we just faced, where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing—there is no other way. “No matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Treat each other with dignity and respect. To join forces as Americans to stop shouting, lower the temperature, and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity, and keep the promise of America for everybody.” What a difference three years can make.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[govtshutdown]

I was worried about this. A deal is only a deal as long as both sides benefit. The ink is barely dry and the spending cuts are already in flux.

[4taxfairness]

[resistance-is-imperative]

Novel concept: use the money to HELP instead of HARM.

Make that make sense. People have to quit blaming the poor for being poor.

[filosofablogger]

Some Memes To Brighten Your Sunday Morn!

I’m half-heartedly working on a couple of projects at present, but for the most part I’m beginning to feel that anything I write is repetitive, is something I’ve already written about ad nauseam.  Probably just my mood of the moment added to the fact that it’s so cold I can almost see my breath even in the house with the heat running 24/7!  So, lucky for you, rather than ramble on about…

[michigantopnews]

Michigan Lawmaker Blasts $4,500 Coffeemaker in Budget Battle!

Michigan’s projected revenue increase reignites budget debates. Rep. Joe Aragona calls for cutting waste, boosting road funding, and returning surplus to taxpayers.

State Rep. Joe Aragona criticizes past spending and calls for reforms to eliminate waste, prioritize infrastructure, and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Rep. Aragona Criticizes Past Spending, Calls for Accountability CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — State Rep. Joe Aragona, R-Clinton Township, strongly opposed increased spending following Michigan’s latest revenue projections from the…

[hypelens]

House Elects New Speaker After Intense Debate: Mike Johnson Secures Leadership

In a historic turn of events, the U.S. House of Representatives has elected Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the 57th Speaker of the House after several rounds of voting and intense deliberations. The decision, finalized on January 3, 2025, concludes weeks of political gridlock, restoring leadership to the lower chamber of Congress.

The Path to Leadership

Johnson's path to the speakership was anything but straightforward. Following the resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a turbulent selection process, Johnson emerged as a consensus candidate capable of uniting various factions within the Republican Party.

Garnering 216 votes in the final round, Johnson secured the necessary majority to clinch the speakership. His election was celebrated by GOP leaders as a win for party unity, though it followed a contentious battle that underscored deep divisions within Congress.

Who is Mike Johnson?

Representing Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District since 2017, Johnson has built a reputation as a staunch conservative and a skilled constitutional lawyer. As Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, he has been instrumental in shaping party policy and strategy.

Known for his focus on fiscal responsibility, Johnson has promised to address pressing issues such as:

Government spending reform.

Strengthening national security.

Addressing the border crisis.

In his acceptance speech, Johnson stated, “We will restore faith in the people's House and work tirelessly to serve all Americans.”

Key Challenges Ahead

Johnson assumes the speakership amid significant challenges:

Budget Deadlines: The House faces a looming government funding deadline, with temporary measures set to expire in February 2025. Johnson must navigate bipartisan negotiations to avoid a shutdown.

Policy Divisions: Bridging gaps within the Republican Party on issues like defense spending and entitlement reform will test his leadership.

Bipartisan Relations: Johnson's conservative stance has drawn criticism from Democrats, who may resist cooperation on key legislative priorities.

Democratic Response

Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have expressed skepticism about Johnson’s ability to govern effectively. Jeffries stated, “The American people deserve a Speaker who will prioritize unity over partisanship. We will hold him accountable.”

A Historic Election Process

This speakership election was one of the most prolonged in modern history, drawing comparisons to the 1856 impasse when 133 ballots were required to elect Nathaniel Banks. Johnson’s election came after 15 ballots, reflecting heightened polarization in Congress.

Public Reaction

The public and political analysts have been closely watching the proceedings, with social media abuzz over the implications of Johnson’s leadership. Supporters praise his steadfast conservatism, while critics question his lack of experience in high-level leadership roles.

Looking Ahead

Johnson’s tenure as Speaker will likely set the tone for the Republican Party heading into the 2026 midterm elections. His ability to deliver on campaign promises and manage intra-party dynamics will be critical to his success.

Conclusion

Mike Johnson’s election as Speaker of the House marks a significant moment in U.S. political history. As he takes the gavel, all eyes will be on his ability to unify Congress and address the nation’s most pressing challenges. Whether he can rise to the occasion remains to be seen, but his leadership will undoubtedly shape the legislative landscape for years to come.