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Nightowl scrapper
Intl Assoc of Epic Length Posters - USA Chapter
PeaNut 103,889
August 2003
Posts: 24,976
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Loc: Colorado
 |  Posted: 3/1/2013 4:22:39 PM
2 bright spots -
VP Biden is taking Amtrak home each weekend to play golf in Delaware instead of flying AF2 as he has been, because it's cheaper. Hope they figure out a way not to inconvenience other passengers too much for security. But at least he's making an effort to understand what cutting government spending is, even if it's a teeny bit.
The IRS commissioner said that furloughs in his dept won't happen until after tax season so that refunds won't be delayed. It also gives the employees more time to plan their finances around the loss of pay.
Can we have more officials deciding that there are ways to implement budget cuts without sticking it to the public? |
"Until you put a thought into words, clearly and precisely, it is not a thought at all. It is a kind of fog rolling around inside the skull."
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IScrapCrap
PeaAddict
PeaNut 570,639
October 2012
Posts: 1,123
Layouts: 0
Loc: pea formerly known as GIPfunny
| Posted: 3/1/2013 4:33:45 PM
The IRS commissioner said that furloughs in his dept won't happen until after tax season so that refunds won't be delayed. It also gives the employees more time to plan their finances around the loss of pay.
My return is delayed because of decisions not made before the end of last year. I think both parties only care about themselves. There will probably be some last minute decisions made that won't solve much of anything. | |
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Hershey
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 23,335
October 2001
Posts: 2,632
Layouts: 110
Loc: Idaho
 | Posted: 3/1/2013 5:00:52 PM
My thought on this - the government needs to have some common sense!
I was watching the news and John Kerry said the US is sending something like $40 million to Syria for something or another then the next news story they were talking about the sequester, furloughs, cuts to senior centers etc.
My thought - Stop sending this money to all these other countries and start worring about our own. If we are $15 trillion + in debt in this country then where are they getting the $40 million to send to Syria?
Something was posted on Facebook the other day that said something along the lines - Stop sending these countries money, let them hate us for free! |
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Mrs_Tyler
Sorting Laundry
PeaNut 197,836
March 2005
Posts: 24,214
Layouts: 246
Loc: Enjoying the humid continental climate zone.
 | Posted: 3/1/2013 5:07:01 PM
Hershey, those are also excellent points. Syria does not need a dime from us. | |
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lucyg819
pearl-clutching nitpicker
PeaNut 201,774
April 2005
Posts: 14,449
Layouts: 15
Loc: gone to chemo with BethAnne
| Posted: 3/1/2013 5:37:34 PM
$40 million is to $15 trillion as approximately 3 pennies are to $100,000. We have bigger things to worry about than 3 pennies going to Syria.
What I wish is that all these politicians' pay checks would be withheld or at least cut by the same percentage as the rest of the sequestration cuts until this matter is settled. Actually that's not enough. Let's at least cut their pay in half until they do their damn job. If you want to cut the president's pay too, fine, go for it.
I can't believe this is happening because these people can't work out a compromise. |
LUCYG
northern california
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
--Bertrand Russell
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Mrs_Tyler
Sorting Laundry
PeaNut 197,836
March 2005
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Loc: Enjoying the humid continental climate zone.
| Posted: 3/1/2013 5:42:42 PM
Lucy, even 3 cents adds up. 40 Million is more than Syria deserves. I wouldn't send them three pennies if it were up to me. We can't afford to send Syria millions of dollars we DON'T HAVE. We can't keep spending. We can't continue on with no budget. Our government is so completely dysfunctional. | |
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Kymberlee
PeaAddict
PeaNut 32,544
March 2002
Posts: 1,800
Layouts: 1
Loc: where ever Uncle Sam sends us!
| Posted: 3/1/2013 5:45:44 PM
Three pennies add up over time. How about the "pocket change" we are sending to Egypt in the form of tanks and F-16s??? |
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TinaFB
the lunatics have taken over the asylum
PeaNut 25,135
November 2001
Posts: 25,720
Layouts: 349
Loc: Maryland
| Posted: 3/1/2013 5:47:49 PM
What I wish is that all these politicians' pay checks would be withheld or at least cut by the same percentage as the rest of the sequestration cuts until this matter is settled. Actually that's not enough. Let's at least cut their pay in half until they do their damn job. If you want to cut the president's pay too, fine, go for it.
And yet the 27th amendment protects them from taking a pay cut. Isn't that lovely for them?  |
Tina
Memorial Day 2013 ~ We Remember
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Kymberlee
PeaAddict
PeaNut 32,544
March 2002
Posts: 1,800
Layouts: 1
Loc: where ever Uncle Sam sends us!
| Posted: 3/1/2013 5:49:52 PM
Tina, that is just awesome. Clowns...all of them.  |
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Nightowl scrapper
Intl Assoc of Epic Length Posters - USA Chapter
PeaNut 103,889
August 2003
Posts: 24,976
Layouts: 0
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 6:37:50 PM
My return is delayed because of decisions not made before the end of last year. I think both parties only care about themselves. There will probably be some last minute decisions made that won't solve much of anything.
I think you are missing the point. yes, the parties did something stupid. The legislators did something stupid. The president did something stupid.
But the IRS commissioner is not using the budget cuts as an excuse to slow down tax refunds. He is using what flexibility he has to avoid additional delays due to furloughs. While the IRS is certainly no one's favorite outfit, I think this is a gesture he did not have to make and when someone does something RIGHT in this mess, it should be noted.
As for the 27th amendment, yes, it was poorly written. They shouldn't get a raise in the current term. They should be able to dock their own pay, however, or set up an automatic mechanism to do so. One such automatic mechanism would be: when there is no budget or the annual deficit projected is more than 3% of GDP, all executive and legislative branch salaries should be reduced by 50%. |
"Until you put a thought into words, clearly and precisely, it is not a thought at all. It is a kind of fog rolling around inside the skull."
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IScrapCrap
PeaAddict
PeaNut 570,639
October 2012
Posts: 1,123
Layouts: 0
Loc: pea formerly known as GIPfunny
| Posted: 3/1/2013 7:06:39 PM
I think you are missing the point.
No I didn't miss your point. I still felt like bitching about the government anyway. | |
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Nightowl scrapper
Intl Assoc of Epic Length Posters - USA Chapter
PeaNut 103,889
August 2003
Posts: 24,976
Layouts: 0
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 7:12:19 PM
No I didn't miss your point. I still felt like bitching about the government anyway.
Oh, okay. |
"Until you put a thought into words, clearly and precisely, it is not a thought at all. It is a kind of fog rolling around inside the skull."
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lucyg819
pearl-clutching nitpicker
PeaNut 201,774
April 2005
Posts: 14,449
Layouts: 15
Loc: gone to chemo with BethAnne
| Posted: 3/1/2013 7:22:01 PM
One such automatic mechanism would be: when there is no budget or the annual deficit projected is more than 3% of GDP, all executive and legislative branch salaries should be reduced by 50%.
I would never support an idea like this. Government isn't like a business or a family. There are times when it MUST spend more than it takes in. We never could have fought WWII without the ability to be creative about finances. |
LUCYG
northern california
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
--Bertrand Russell
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Nightowl scrapper
Intl Assoc of Epic Length Posters - USA Chapter
PeaNut 103,889
August 2003
Posts: 24,976
Layouts: 0
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 8:25:35 PM
I would never support an idea like this. Government isn't like a business or a family. There are times when it MUST spend more than it takes in. We never could have fought WWII without the ability to be creative about finances.
Isn't it liberals who complain about wars "being put on a credit card"?
I don't know how exactly to word it, but it seems there is always an excuse to whip out "the credit card" for government spending, and it never gets put away, nor does the bill get paid down. Even now, when we are winding down wars and have spent billions to boost the economy, our government a) is not working on a budget of any kind, balanced or not, and b ) seems to be completely unable to figure out how to cut back on discretionary expenses beyond the "layoff the fireman" threats.
I started this thread for the purpose of recognizing two government officials who have made decisions in the spirit of saving money and of trying NOT to affect the public service they offer. The idea of cutting legislator pay is being discussed on the Warren Buffet thread, so I'm sorry I brought it up here. |
"Until you put a thought into words, clearly and precisely, it is not a thought at all. It is a kind of fog rolling around inside the skull."
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lucyg819
pearl-clutching nitpicker
PeaNut 201,774
April 2005
Posts: 14,449
Layouts: 15
Loc: gone to chemo with BethAnne
| Posted: 3/1/2013 10:19:32 PM
Isn't it liberals who complain about wars "being put on a credit card"?
Yeah, that would be putting unnecessary wars on the credit card.  |
LUCYG
northern california
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
--Bertrand Russell
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Mrs_Tyler
Sorting Laundry
PeaNut 197,836
March 2005
Posts: 24,214
Layouts: 246
Loc: Enjoying the humid continental climate zone.
| Posted: 3/1/2013 10:27:02 PM
Of course who decides which wars are "unnecessary"?
Many Americans felt that the 9/11 attacks were just as horrific (if not more?) to the Pearl Harbor attack. I mean, the targets of 9/11 were not even military targets like Pearl Harbor was. So if we can justify going to war with Japan after Pearl Harbor (and then subsequently the European front fighting Germany as well) then I don't see why the war in Afghanistan and subsequently Iraq (funding terrorism is guilty by association) are any less "necessary" than war in Europe and the Pacific in WWII. 
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lucyg819
pearl-clutching nitpicker
PeaNut 201,774
April 2005
Posts: 14,449
Layouts: 15
Loc: gone to chemo with BethAnne
| Posted: 3/1/2013 10:43:39 PM
I don't think the war in Afghanistan was unnecessary at all. The war in Iraq was a vanity war and completely unnecessary, and had no business being put on any credit card.
I'm not sure if you're trying to push the Dick Cheney nonsense about Iraq hosting Al Qaeda within its borders but it was proven many times over to be 100% false.
If you're saying Saddam's Iraq implicitly/financially supported Middle Eastern terrorism in general, let's talk about Saudi Arabia. Do we need to invade them, too? |
LUCYG
northern california
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
--Bertrand Russell
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eebud
Doxie Pea Mom
PeaNut 52,841
October 2002
Posts: 31,225
Layouts: 25
 | Posted: 3/1/2013 10:48:55 PM
$40 million is to $15 trillion as approximately 3 pennies are to $100,000. We have bigger things to worry about than 3 pennies going to Syria.
This attitude when it comes to finances really drives me mad. It is the same type of thing that I hear when people are filing bankruptcy but still going on their vacation to Europe because after all, that few thousand is not going to help with the hundred thousand they owe so they might as well have fun. $40 million to Syria may not be a lot in comparison to the $15 trillion but it is a start. Then again, there are so many of these $10 million here and $40 million there that it would add up to quite a sum if people would quit dismissing it because it is ONLY $40 million and just a drop in the bucket.
Good for Biden! I am so disgusted with the IRS and their wastefulness, that I can't muster up anything for the IRS Commissioner. LOL |
 
Hans on left, Bud in middle, Gretchen on right | |
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Mrs_Tyler
Sorting Laundry
PeaNut 197,836
March 2005
Posts: 24,214
Layouts: 246
Loc: Enjoying the humid continental climate zone.
| Posted: 3/1/2013 10:52:13 PM
Not interested in invading Saudi Arabia. I am just saying this wasn't the first time we have declared war on one country and ended up fighting a second front against another country. And when you give Saddam Hussein years of warning before actually going in and searching for WMD's, of course you aren't going to find anything. | |
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tamhugh
Ancient Ancestor of Pea
PeaNut 12,875
March 2001
Posts: 7,943
Layouts: 11
 | Posted: 3/1/2013 10:59:47 PM
I started this thread for the purpose of recognizing two government officials who have made decisions in the spirit of saving money and of trying NOT to affect the public service they offer. The idea of cutting legislator pay is being discussed on the Warren Buffet thread, so I'm sorry I brought it up here.
I think it was great to bring those two examples to people's attention. When it is a personal budget, people always say that every little bit counts. If enough officials were willing to make these little cuts, it could make a difference.
As an aside, an article I read said that Biden was actually excited about taking Amtrak again. Back when his first wife died and he was newly elected, he rode the train home nightly so he could be with his little boys. | |
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freecharlie
Is the pool open yet?
PeaNut 109,127
September 2003
Posts: 19,493
Layouts: 4
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 11:03:23 PM
Can we have more officials deciding that there are ways to implement budget cuts without sticking it to the public?
$40 million is to $15 trillion as approximately 3 pennies are to $100,000. We have bigger things to worry about than 3 pennies going to Syria.
If we don't worry about those 3 pennies, which 3 pennies are we going to worry about?
If something saves our government $15, that is $15 that can be used elsewhere. There are many cost saving measures that could be put into effect, that when added together could make a difference even if small.
I'm not advocating withdrawing all help for other countries, but I don't see reasons that it can't be cut back a little.
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| Tribbey: I believe, as long as Justice Dreifort is intolerant toward gays, lesbians, blacks, unions, women, poor people, and the first, fourth, fifth, and ninth amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him! [to Ainsley] Nice meeting you | |
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Nightowl scrapper
Intl Assoc of Epic Length Posters - USA Chapter
PeaNut 103,889
August 2003
Posts: 24,976
Layouts: 0
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 11:23:30 PM
$40 million is to $15 trillion as approximately 3 pennies are to $100,000. We have bigger things to worry about than 3 pennies going to Syria.
Yeah, how many poor kids can we give breakfast to for that $40 million? I hear they may lay off head start teachers. I bet that $40 million would pay a few of those salaries as well. Or perhaps keep a few hundred Marines on the payroll? How about sending that ship out to the gulf that Obama decided had to stay in port due to the sequester? |
"Until you put a thought into words, clearly and precisely, it is not a thought at all. It is a kind of fog rolling around inside the skull."
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freecharlie
Is the pool open yet?
PeaNut 109,127
September 2003
Posts: 19,493
Layouts: 4
Loc: Colorado
| Posted: 3/1/2013 11:32:05 PM
Yeah, how many poor kids can we give breakfast to for that $40 million? I hear they may lay off head start teachers. I bet that $40 million would pay a few of those salaries as well. Or perhaps keep a few hundred Marines on the payroll? How about sending that ship out to the gulf that Obama decided had to stay in port due to the sequester?
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| Tribbey: I believe, as long as Justice Dreifort is intolerant toward gays, lesbians, blacks, unions, women, poor people, and the first, fourth, fifth, and ninth amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him! [to Ainsley] Nice meeting you | |
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Mrs_Tyler
Sorting Laundry
PeaNut 197,836
March 2005
Posts: 24,214
Layouts: 246
Loc: Enjoying the humid continental climate zone.
| Posted: 3/2/2013 8:40:26 AM
Amen, NightOwl! Let's deal with our own issues first and leave Syria hating us because they will hate us regardless of if we send them money or not. | |
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gottapeanow
Full of faith pea
PeaNut 79,417
April 2003
Posts: 9,900
Layouts: 57
Loc: Phoenix area
| Posted: 3/2/2013 10:28:12 AM
$40 million is to $15 trillion as approximately 3 pennies are to $100,000. We have bigger things to worry about than 3 pennies going to Syria.
Before she died, my grandmother used to say, "If you take care of the pennies, the dimes will take care of themselves."
Lisa
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kittymomma
PeaAddict
PeaNut 370,119
April 2008
Posts: 1,500
Layouts: 126
Loc: CT
 | Posted: 3/3/2013 6:41:17 PM
Even if it is equivalent to pennies--- I still say if we don't have it, then we can't send it. Honestly, if we do have 40 million dollars to spend-then why don't we spend it on our own country! Everyone else thinks we are selfish heathens anyway--so why not look out for our own first.
Also, the bogus 27th amendment thing-- our current President has been making executive orders left and right, trampling the constitution--why not make one here saying if no budget is passed-they all get a pay cut. |
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Iluvpeaing
PeaNut
PeaNut 565,337
August 2012
Posts: 12
Layouts: 0
| Posted: 3/22/2013 5:50:33 PM
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Fraidyscrapper
Serious Interlocutor
PeaNut 38,100
May 2002
Posts: 12,524
Layouts: 0
Loc: Jersey Strong
| Posted: 3/22/2013 5:54:37 PM
We don't give foreign aid on the basis of merit. We don't give foreign aid to be sweet and kind. We give foreign aid - and always have - to secure our own self-interests. I don't understand how a glimpse of history in the past 99 years can't adequately demonstrate the impossibility of drawing a circle around the US and declaring ourselves untouchable. |
| "The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country." - Robert F. Kennedy | |
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Fraidyscrapper
Serious Interlocutor
PeaNut 38,100
May 2002
Posts: 12,524
Layouts: 0
Loc: Jersey Strong
| Posted: 3/22/2013 5:59:23 PM
I don't know how exactly to word it, but it seems there is always an excuse to whip out "the credit card" for government spending, and it never gets put away, nor does the bill get paid down.
NOS, I know you know the distinction economics makes for good debt and bad debt. That's why a loan for college is good, and a loan for a car is bad. That's why debt for education or bridges is good, but debt to curry the favor of special interests... |
| "The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country." - Robert F. Kennedy | |
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desertpea
StuckOnPeas
PeaNut 359,474
January 2008
Posts: 2,468
Layouts: 41
Loc: Moving!
| Posted: 3/22/2013 8:01:41 PM
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