In the past election, the Republicans promised to cut 100 billion dollars from government spending in this year alone. The latest proposal cuts approximately 74 billion dollars. The House Republicans state that the reason for the reduction from 100 billion to 74 billion is due to the fact that the government’s fiscal year is nearly half over as it starts October 1st and runs through September 30th.
So what?
If you promise to cut 100 billion in the first year, you cut 100 billion. Not 74. Is it more difficult because the fiscal year is well underway? Sure. But that’s not news. They knew this when they made the promise. They knew the new Republican majority would not be seated until January, 3 months after the fiscal year started. They knew there’d be a continuing resolution until at least February or March. Seems like a bunch of hog wash!
I know this isn’t what the Tea Party was expecting. In fact I know it’s not. A promise is a promise, if you mean it, and you’re not just using it as a campaign slogan. So here I sit, feeling lied to, and none too happy about it.
If you can’t cut 100 billion dollars out of a budget that grew to record proportions (read trillion with a “T”,”) during Obama’s first two years in office, then exactly what did we send the Republican majority to the House for?
Where’s the proposal to slash Congressional salaries? Where’s the proposal to reduce the size of the IRS by two-thirds? Where’s the proposal to eliminate the Department of Education? I’ll bet there’s a good deal more than 100 billion dollars there alone.
No, it appears those who’ve been in Congress for a number of years haven’t changed as much as they’d like us to believe. I’m really tweaked!
I would’ve expected the new house majority to cut no less than 100 billion. But instead I read a story today about them talking about cutting back on bottled water. It’s a good idea, but it tells but one story of the corruption in Washington.
It seems that last year the House of Representatives spent nearly 1 million dollars on bottled water for Representatives and staff. Yes, you read that right. In fact the actual number for the House (the figures for the Senate were not released,) was $860,000. I’m sure once you add the Senate in you’re well over a million dollars.
I don’t know about you, but I buy my own bottled water. If not, I drink from a faucet or a water fountain. Hell for that matter the House could’ve put in a few dozen filtered water coolers (we use one where I work that costs all of $28.00/month,) and maybe paid a bill or two. It’s sickening, isn’t it?
So why am I whining about one million dollars when I started by complaining about a 26 billion dollar shortfall in the Republican budget reductions? Cause there’s an underlying theme to the entire mess. How much more bottled water elitist B.S. is going on in our nation’s capital? A million here, a million there and pretty soon it’s not chump change.
If the privileged on Capitol Hill are living high on the hog on our money, why would we expect they’d be able to make the really hard decisions necessary to bring our nation’s budget under control?
Don’t you feel silly now?
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