No real news here…apparently they agreed to increase a bit of current year funding but keep it deficit neutral by pushing offsetting cuts to 2023…Hah!!! Now that’s a great little trick….it’s almost like they’ve given up being sneaky. I haven’t (and don’t plan to) read the bill, but most of the news stories I’ve read note deficit reduction of maybe $5-10B….in what will likely be a $600-700B 2014 deficit…essentially a rounding error….and we can be certain the number was overestimated to begin with. Geez…I don’t even know why I’m writing about it.
I would like to note…to those complaining the “cuts” aren’t big enough…seriously…shut up!!….whatever pennies they claim they are willing to cut were immaterial too….as is nearly everything either party…even the “extremists” are proposing.
This problem does not get fixed by cutting billions, or even tens of billions from small inconsequential programs. Here in 2013..a year with actual cost reductions and nearly 14% surge in revenues…we have a $700B per year problem….on top of $17T in accumulated debt. We need to start talking about cutting Trillions…per year…not over a decade. Just remember that….until I hear some of these outraged Tea Party republicans talk about cutting Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare…say by 50% or more….I will know that they are either just as mathematically challenged as the democrats, or more likely… just as full of crap.
They won’t, and that’s why this whole game is nearly 100% certain to end in spectacular failure, with the only question left being when…
Catch up (June/July 2018 Cash Deficit)