If You’re Surprised, Shame On Ya
Washington Post in non-breaking news (because we expected it).
This makes me so mad that I could jump start my car without any cables. The cuts go to Medicare, medicare research, the National Science Foundation, the social safety net, and anything that’s gonna cure anything.
The National Cancer Institute would be hit with a $1 billion cut compared to its 2017 budget. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute would see a $575 million cut, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases would see a reduction of $838 million. The administration would cut the overall National Institutes of Health budget from $31.8 billion to $26 billion.
Oh damn, the Canadians are going to build a wall to keep us out.
Look, the rich already don’t pay their fair share of taxes because they hide their money in off-shore accounts. They don’t need help.
“I’m not really concerned about how many billions billionaires have,” said Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.
Holy crap, y’all, when even Republicans are concerned, there’s a big problem.
Candidate Donnie had no policies of note, except his tax “plan,” better described as a gift to Donnie, his family, and other wealthy tax cheats. I shudda taken a screen capture of that gem that was on his GMAFB and elect me web page.
You are so correct, Ms. JuanitaJean Herownself. Anyone surprised by Destructive Donnie placing his oligarch-kleptocrat boot on the necks of those least able to survive not only should be ashamed, but should go for blood tests to check their O2 levels. That’s like questioning why McTurdle and Lyin’ Ryan still support Disaster Donnie. Screw the 99.99% into the ground for the .01% and all is forgiven.
1I hate everything about the concept of tax cuts.
Research is all about spending time and money looking for an ah ha moment. One cannot envision penicillin. One stumbles over it while looking for whatever one can find.
I hope in my lifetime researchers will stumble over miracle substances for other dread diseases: cancers of every kind, heart and lung diseases, etc. But these researchers will not make these necessary discoveries if their labs, equipment, and time isn’t funded. This budget is worse not only because it takes from those least able to afford the taking, but because it fails to spend in areas where substantial, long-term spending is required.
Or put another way, with one cruise missile going for about $745,000, how many cruise missiles would have to not buy in order to discover a cure for say, breast cancer?
2They don’t understand scientific research because they don’t like science, and they don’t like poor people because poor people are icky, like those awful gays. All they do like are people exactly like themselves: rich, white, “Christian,” straight (or closeted), able-bodied, and male. So those folks will get lots of dosh, and everyone else can go pound sand.
Fortunately town halls are putting the fear of People into at least some of these fools, and chunks of that budget may well be tossed.
3Why not go all the way?
Outlaw camels at the zoos, so rich people don’t have to feel uncomfortable should they be reminded the animals can’t fit through the eye of a needle.
Trump can claim the real reason is that camels are the preferred transportation method for Radical Islamic Terrorists.
4According to Mulvaney . We are looking at the recipients of the programs ( as he says the backend) and not the tax payers! Maybe we should actually find out who are the recipients of the programs give them names. No one wants to pay more taxes but when you know where this money goes most people have compassion for the recipients. All these cuts are not compassionate to me! Fortunately i am not a recipient but I gladly pay taxes for those who need these programs. Reminder THIS is why America is Great, not whatever garbage they are coughing up.
5“…a government of the people, by the people, and for the people…”
No, darn it. Not YOU people!! US people!! Sheesh.
6Maymoon, there are others like yourself and sociologists who can state what I am about to type with far more clarity. So, please feel free to add, amend and better say what I am trying to say.
Recipients and welfare have never been the problem. Paucity of funding is the problem and has always been the problem. “Aid” to mere subsistence levels or less is cruel; stupid also. Genuine aid that covers beyond basic necessities to include educational support, training or whatever it takes on an individual basis to break the cycle of poverty would be a step toward the goal. I can’t give a specific figure. Whether it be 110% or 120% of too little, it would be money better spent.
As Micr noted, take a few of those cruise missiles out of the budget, we could do so much more. I’d also posit that we would create fewer next generations of people with cause to harm us.
As for taxes, if ours went up a little to pay for doing the “right” things, I’d be more than OK with that. If the tax cheats actually paid a fair share, I’d be ecstatic. Honestly, I’d probably cringe a little if we returned to the Eisenhower era tax rates, but would suck it up if there was hope for true economic recovery and a path forward in the next ten years.
7This is the nirvana that Rethuglicans have been dreaming of.
8Their greedy little souls have wanted unfettered access to untaxed income and deregulated Wall Street shenanigans.
They are setting us up for another Deep Repression, and will expect more bailouts, while millions lose even more of their pensions, jobs and healthcare. A pox be upon them
I know there are others here who have worked in social services so I hope you have additional and/or different thoughts on cheaters.
In my experience, cheaters make up 5% or less of recipients and they are perhaps the smartest ones. Generic cuts will do great harm to the 95% who really need the help, while those few cheaters will figure out a way around the new rules. The social services system is already pretty good, but if they want to make it even cleaner provide More Money to hire More Workers so their caseload shrink and they actually have time to investigate their clients.
In the meantime, the problem is not at all those few welfare cheats or lack of money. The problem is the Wealthy Tax Cheats who are hoarding billions of bucks. The latter is what is wrong with the American economy. There is enough money to help people in need, provide good, free educations through 16 years, cradle to grave health care and take care of infrastructure, all while protecting the environment. The wealthy bastards need to pay their fair share.
America’s problems all lie at the foot of the wealthy bastards, excluding the few wealthy who are not bastards.
9Debbo, what I do know is that Reagan’s mythical “welfare queen” was a Fig Newton of his imagination. I know nothing about welfare fraud. But if I had to guess, it’s probably similar to Medicaid or Medicare fraud which is NOT committed by the recipients at any discernible level. But if Congress is serious about reducing fraud, they might want to start in Florida with Rick Scott. The rare man or woman who receives an extra $5 or $10 dollars to feed their children is not the problem.
One BIG problem is Congress quibbling about rare and mythical coinage, while their sponsors are hauling in the big bucks scamming us.
10Here is the irony: He is diverting money from the safety nets in order to funnel it to “the military”.
However, here is the twist: it actually goes toward the defense contractors, not the military men. In fact, we pay them so little that their families depend on the safety net programs to survive. The very programs he wants to cut. Ironic? Who is going to fly/drive those fancy machines, Donny?
11What Cheryl said. Upvote!
12Nope. No surprises at all. If Republican Congressvarmints want to keep their seats, I trust this disaster will be DOA. Gifts to his family and his buddies don’t seem to bother Trump supporters much, but even they should be able see that this budget gives them by taking from the social programs they need and use.
13We can’t discuss welfare fraud without a dishonorable mention for Jughead Kushner.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jared-kushner%E2%80%99s-other-real-estate-empire/ar-BBBssv3?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
Charming. Evict and then feloniously sue the victims for profit.
“distress-ridden, Class B” sounds more like an indictment of Jughead and Ivanka’s “character” than a property description.
14You know how 18 year-olds ride motorcycles without helmets? And 8 year-olds, unless they are actually sick already, can’t imagine ever getting sick? That’s because they perceive themselves as immortal.
Welcome to Tweety’s world. HE’S not sick right now, so this nation don’t need no stinkin’ Cancer Institute or Blood and Lung Institute, neither. Or Kidney program.
And, on the off-off-off chance he ever needs such a thing he can go to Australia where the health care system is better than ours anyway.
15Here’s the damned smiling villain allegedly ‘splainin’ himself:
http://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/budget-to-balance-the-books/article_1ce0ddca-3f28-11e7-91a6-4f2ccd34229d.html
Nancy LeTourneauy’s take on this guy is dead-on.
16“LeTourneau” . . . here:
http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/05/23/quick-takes-republicans-are-still-intent-on-protecting-trump/
17what did anyone expect from a delusional, psychopath who is incapable of any decent human emotion? If the rethugs know what is good for them, the won’t touch that toxic attempt to end democracy. Do they seriously want responsibility for it? And they will be responsible. That is something rethugs don’t want. They are craven cowards who don’t want any s**t to stick to them. They’ll never wash themselves clean. Impeach the whole bloody lot. Traitor trump first.
18And the bleating from the Budget Office is this: Only those who really qualify for the help will get it. That’s an admission to planning to commit homicide. There are states who have ridiculous requirements for disability coverage. In most of them, you are never disabled enough. Doesn’t matter if you are confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life and have only one hand, it ain’t enough. Doesn’t matter if you are on oxygen till the day you escape this mortal coil, you ain’t disabled enough. And when you do get the coverage, its a pittance.
19‘Course, the rich who are doling all this out, could care less inasmuch as they have theirs and its damn sure you never will. I know I am an old school Irish granny but I call that homicide.
Earlier today Bernie Sanders referred to this piece of scheit as “grotesque.” Yeah, that’s fitting.
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