Has the Blue Dog Coalition given up on their version of fiscal responsibility? Jim Cooper (D-TN), leader of the Blue Dogs – the self-described fiscally-conservative group of congressional Democrats – was quoted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed announcing, “I’m not sure the old rules are relevant anymore… It would be unfair to the new President to put him in a budget straitjacket.” This effectively kills any plans for PAYGO budgeting in the 111th Congress. Apparently budgetary trade-offs no longer apply when liberals occupy the oval office. Interestingly enough it …
John McCain made a point of mentioning Citizens Against Government Waste during all three presidential debate. He cited the National Taxpayers Union in the last two. Today both organizations responded with a list of government waste that’s just waiting to be cut. NTU’s research arm, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, through its BillTally program has compiled a list of pieces of legislation in the current Congress that would reduce spending, including examples like H.R. 5957, which would eliminate $35 billion worth of agricultural subsidies over five years. NTUF also holds …
Last week the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit will reach $407 billion this year. This actually is not as groundbreaking as it sounds. The best way to measure budget deficits is as a percentage of GDP, the 2008 budget deficit is 2.9% of GDP compared to 30.3% during WW II and 6% in 1983. That does not mean there is no concern for what is scheduled to happen in the future. Since 2001, federal spending has surged by 59 percent—6.8 percent per year on average. Had spending …
