Welcome ladies to our AP U.S. Government blog. I want this to be a way to continue our class discussions outside of school. Although your participation is required, this is YOUR blog! I will pick a majority of the topics for discussion, but please let me know about political topics you would like to talk about. Enjoy and have fun!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Spending Cuts (Please respond by January 28)
Please click the following link and the read this article published in The Washington Post about spending cuts:
I agree with the Republican's stance on this issue for the majority of the reason, but not all of the details involved. Over the past few years we have put an infinite amount of money into economy from the government and very little has changed overtime. We do need to make some kind of change that will allow us to recover from our current economic state. Although I feel that government spending should be cut, I don't think in such a drastic way. Cutting $100 billion dollars from the budget could have a major downfall in the end. I think that there should be cuts, but a little less than 100 billion at first, to experiment and see how it goes. I understand that there have been minor cuts over the past few years, but i believe there could be a happy medium. Also, I feel that with the gridlock in the system, it will be very hard for any cuts, or changes for that matter, to occur. The gap between the two influential parties of conservative republicans and democrats, is too extreme for anything productive to happen. Moreover, even if the cuts are announced, the Democratic Senate is more than likely to disapprove of it. The studies have even shown that the drastic cut would cost thousands of people their jobs, causing the unemployment rate to reach even higher levels then now. With the $100 billion dollar cut, numerous helpful programs such as childcare or education would be also cut as well, causing the average citizen's quality of life to decrease. The people do need help from the government in many ways of their life, that is why I am not sure if such a deep cut would be successful.
Going off of our conversation in class on Friday, cutting spending and creating jobs are vital to the American economy. I do agree that the Republicans plan to cut spending is drastic; however, if they cut a little bit at a time, then it will not affect citizens and agencies as hard as it could if it was to be done all at once. Cutting small amounts each time will allow agencies to adapt constantly and will force them to balance their budgets and only spend money on necessary topics. I think it is also important to recognize that spending will be cut from most agencies, so it is not favoring one agency over another.
On the top of cutting spending, we need to stop putting mass amounts of money into social problems, such as healthcare and the bailout plans. I understand that when referring to the bailout plans we pretty much had no other options; however, we need to learn from this mistake and take precautions to make sure it doesn't happen again, not continue to bail out companies that are irresponsible.
I think the most frightening thing is going to be watching the Democrats and Republicans try to compromise on this issue. My fear is that Republicans will be on their own when trying to cut spending. I hope the American public realizes how little the Republicans are going to be able to do with a Democrat controlled Senate and White House. However, if Republicans can continue to fulfill their promises that they made in November (such as repealing the healthcare bill), then hopefully the American electorate will recognize their efforts and realize they did as much as they could with the hand they were dealt.
Honestly, I think cuts in spending like these are the only hope for America to crawl out of the debt it has been consumed by. There are so many governmental programs going on, and as a country at war, it is necessary for politicians to determine which programs are truly vital to the survival of our nation and which are expendable. In peace time, marked by economic prosperity, the government can experiment with social programs and new uses for surplus money. However, in times when every spent dollar is crippling to our nation, politicians need to be more careful about how our money is spent.
These huge spending cuts are necessary to truly reverse our extreme national debt. Small cuts are fine, but it is time to take action and change something, instead of just pretending to downsize government by cutting a million dollars here and there. These minute improvements are outweighed by our nation's damaging tendency to spend $100 billion dollars without a thought on nutrition programs and ridiculous tax cuts. We spend big, so we need to cut big. Our cycle of spending needs to be stopped and these habits are so embedded in our political system that only a drastic cut can change anything.
Finally, both Democrats and Republicans are going to have to make sacrifices for our government to recover. Tax cuts for the wealthy, I feel, need to be eliminated on the Republican end, because a nation cannot function without taxation, and cuts to social programs, including the development of a more efficient welfare system need to be adopted on the Democratic end. Our nation is so entrenched in political parties that nothing is going to get done until Obama and our Congressmen decide to transcend the box of current political thought and decide to take some innovative steps to creatively end the current economic recession. The first step in correcting our economic situation is drastically modifying our spending.
(I just wrote out my whole thing on this article and it deleted....i hate technology)
This article placed emphasis on how spending cuts are vital when it comes to bettering the economy and eliminating a part of the $14 trillion debt America is currently in today. With the debt rising every second, it is fundamental that the government prioritize what its' money needs to be spent on and what it does not need to be spent on. If this focus remains to be tarnished by bickering politcal parties, the economy will greatly suffer, more jobs will be lost, and the current recession could have the potential to turn into a depression. The article mentioned how the GOP wants to cut $100 billion in governmental spending this year. The problem is that one party wants the money to be cut immediately and the other party wants the money to be cut gradually over a gradual period of time. Here is the thing, like I said before, America's debt is continuing to rise every second. The time it is taking to "compromise" and come up with a solution for this heavy burden is costing us A LOT of money if you think about it. The economy needs to be stabalized. By cutting the money given to some "less important" governmental programs, it will force them to re-organize and become more efficient to make due with the money they DO have. I do not think Americans realize that every dollar does count at this point. Governmental programs are handed over money that is not fully tracked by the government as to what it is being spent on and where it is going. By reducing budgets for these programs and not just giving them money to just "do their jobs," this will force change amongst these organizations. People will be forced to use the money they are given in ways they never deemed possible before because of the restrictions they have. There are too many loop holes in the current systems that are run under the government's "supervision." Action needs to take place now when it comes to reducing governmental spending. Less spending will result in less debt, which will then result in more jobs and a better economy.
There is no debate that our country is in serious debt and that we need to find a way to get the economy back on its feet. So far, there has been only talk and not too much serious action. I am happy to see that the Repulblicans are trying to take matters into their own hands and make this dramatic cut. It is good that they are trying to minimize our national debt and that they are keeping defense programs a priority. If these non - defense programs get their $100 billion cut all of a sudden, they might not know how to function without that money. I think spending cuts are completely necessary, but I also think that easing the programs into the cuts would be a fair plan. These programs are still important, and cutting $20 billion from each program would help them find better ways to run their program without spending so much money. By cutting $20 billion each year from each program for the next five years, the debt will decrease and each program will still be strong because they have had five years to re-design their platform and responsibilities so that it can fit within the economic means. Of course talk of this is nice, but I am unsure of it being passed. The House majority is Republicans, who are in favor of cuts and even deeper cuts. They will have to get this past the Senate, majority being Democrats. I think that this plan would end up being successful for our economy. After reading the Democrat's plan, it was exciting to see they were going to cut $2.5 trillion. Then I read that they would do this by firing 15 percent of the federal workforce. From reading and evaluating both plans, I personally feel that the Republicans have it better thought out and can do a better job on reducing spending to help our national economy. This is definitely unbiased because I am not sure which party I fall under. That being said, the Democrat's plan seemed too much as if they were just talking about it and drafting a plan. From what I read, the Republicans are ready to take action.
I completely agree with the whole cut spending to get our nation out of debt idea but it is a little worry some. The article says that the Democrats have estimated having to eliminate 5,700 correctional officers just for the federal prison system. That is so many people! Then I factor in the 4,000 for FBI agents, and 1,500 agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration. I can’t even imagine so many more people losing their jobs but I know it’s necessary to get out of debt. I know that there are some groups that are less necessary than others and can be cut back. I don’t think that we need to cut $100 billion this year though. I am feeling like that’s a really big number and would have more of a negative effect with so many people out of work when we are trying to get more jobs. I think $75 billion would be good to start with and then next year move it up a little bit more. We need to start smaller and show that it is making a difference with decreasing our national debt. Some may say that cutting a little won’t make that much of a difference in our national debt but to that I say that the groups that are getting their budgets cut need to figure out how to function with less money. I would think it would be quite a shock to all of a sudden lose $20 billion. I am also really happy that Congress is working to get rid of the Obama health-care plan. I think that it was silly and any money put into it would have been wasted. I am also really interested to see how the Republicans and the Democrats work this out.
We are in a trend right now of spending money on things we cannot afford. In the article, it laid out many of the jobs that would be eliminated with these new spending cuts. However, the jobs should have never been created in the first place if we do not have the money to pay for them. As we have said several times in class, we are owned by other countries because of our debt. We, as Americans, have a tendency to want to push for all these programs, yet we want to continue cutting taxes. I think this is awesome that members of the House are finally starting to really push for some cuts. We have to stop relying on government jobs so much and start working to adjust our economy so that we are exporting more products again. We import four times more than we export, which proves how much reform is needed. As far as health care, I think that new regulations for insurance companies was long overdue, but I do not think that we can spend any money to provide health care people. As much as I would love to see a perfect system in which everyone gets the proper care, I think that we are rushing into it and it will end up getting back at us in the long run. Reform is a long and slow process because we need to be able to give ourselves time to learn from mistakes and fix the parts of the system that are not working. I fear that we will end up throwing a ton of money into the plan, money that we do not have, and digging ourselves into a deeper hole. I also think it is important to point out that this is not just a Republican v. Democrat fight. We, as a whole, are in debt. In fact, President Clinton, a Democrat, was huge on balancing the budget. We have to stop looking at these party lines because in reality, they are so insignificant when you look at the big picture. This is not a battle over Republicans wanting to take people's work away or cut programs which are beneficial to some Americans. This is simply recognizing the facts and understanding that we all must make some sacrifices for the good of our country as a whole. We need to reevaluate what is and is not necessary and what is and is not working. Yes, the quality of some people life may decrease, but we could not afford to make it any better to begin with. If we do not get the budget under control and cut big now, we will be paying for it later. Basically, China is going to invade the U.S. and take over everything if we don't cut spending by a hundred billion dollars.
I agree with what Emily and Alannah stated in their posts. I realize the amount of debt we are in and the negative impact it is having on our coutnry. However, I still feel that such an immediate and deep cut is too risky for the time we are currently in. As Alannah said, it was would roughly 5,700 correctional officers and another 4,000 FBI agents, which can be terrifying. I do not think that during this time or war and terrorism that that would be beneficial. Moreover, the risky cut could send our economy crashing, and it is unpredictable. Alannah also suggested a start at a 75 billion cut and then increase that number every year, and Emily said for 20 billion from different programs to make the cuts less drastic. I could see either of these plans working to still make the cuts, but have a positive outcome. Overall, I do understand and hope that our country will make the necesary changes and cuts to improve our economy, but I would rather see a slow and gradual change for the benefit of all the people and programs involved.
I feel like the only way we can begin to even make a dent in our outrageous national debt is to cut spending by at least this much. It's been way too long that America has listened to it's government say they plan on doing something to reverse this recession and it's been way too long that America's seen it's government actually act on it to any drastic results. We can't keep taking small baby steps that will eventually lead to something that will lead to something else that might save us a little money. We need something direct and something as big as 100 billion dollars, at this point. I do understand that a lot of jobs are going to be lost and that's obviously not something our country needs right now. But sacrafices have to be made either way, and at least by temporarily sacraficing these jobs to cut spending, our government can eventually (sooner, rather than later, if the cuts are large enough) improve our economy to the point where those jobs will be returned. There has to be some give-and-take to this decision and it's already been way too long for us to have anymore time to try and compromise. The longer we take, the more in debt we become.
I agree that Democrats and Republicans need to work together on this. For one thing, nothing will get past the Senate if the Democrats aren't on board. But it also really is effecting everyone; national debt is a bi-partisan issue and the biggest challenge is going to be getting everyone on the same page.
While $100 billion seemed like a lot of money to reduce our budget by at first, I soon realized that when you consider the $14 trillion we are in debt, the number suddenly looks a lot smaller. Reducing debt has become vital in today’s economy because before we can go and attempt to fix other issues around the world, we must first concentrate on ourselves. However, I do believe that $100 billion all at once could be a bit drastic, and I agree with John Boehner’s top budget lieutenant that it might be a little too much too soon. Since Senate is still controlled by the Democrats, I think the House needs to keep that in consideration and be willing to find a compromise, otherwise nothing will be accomplished.
In my opinion, making more and more money is accomplishing nothing. The dollar is simply losing its value and that isn’t helping the rich or the poor. However, I do believe that budget cuts are going to make people think about the money their department receives a lot more closely, and they will strive even harder to put this money to good use and make it last. Less drastic cuts from each department could be good, and we could begin to focus on the most important issues at hand.
Ryan’s approach, involving cuts of about 15% rather than 30% seems a lot more reasonable to me. However, I fear that compromise between the Democrats and Republicans will be hard to come by, and this could result in no action being taken. Either way, what we need right now is action. What we’re doing right now isn’t working so I don’t think that trying the Republican plan could do much more harm. I think if it was implemented correctly, we could actually benefit a lot from what it had to offer.
I definitely agree with what Claire said about other countries practically owning us because of all the money we owe them. Exporting goods, another topic she mentioned, is something I definitely also agree on. Rather than importing four times more than we export, maybe we should start to concentrate on making goods we can sell to other countries and make a profit on in return. The numbers of people fired that Alannah provided definitely shocked me as well. The idea of losing that many police officers and correctional facility officers and even agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration left me speechless. The risks of taking away these jobs are huge, and we can’t afford to cut when it comes to jobs involving people’s safety in America. I can understand some cuts but I definitely agree that we need to prioritize the importance of jobs and can’t just go firing people left and right. Overall, I hope that our country can begin to weed out unnecessary jobs and funding but that we won’t go too overboard with trying to jumpstart the economy and firing everyone and taking money from every department so that it ends up completely backfiring.
I agree with what they Republicans in that we need to cut our spending and that action needs to be taken immediately. Our debt is digging America in such a deep hole that it would be practically impossible for us to dig ourselves out of it unless we take action immediately. If we can’t start pulling ourselves out of this debt, the results be completely detrimental. So much time is being wasted in deciding what to do since the parties can’t agree on anything. The spending cuts the Republicans are proposing may be quite harsh. If we are going to cut spending, it needs to be more gradually then just taking out huge chunks of money from departments. It has been so stressed recently about trying to create more jobs for people and lowering the unemployment rate but huge spending cuts will be setting us backwards because so many people will lose their jobs once the departments have their spending cut. I understand that the Republicans are trying to take immediate action and pull ourselves out of debt quickly but unfortunately it will be not be a fast process. Getting out of a debt of $14 billion will take time. Unfortunately, it also means that many jobs will be lost. If we are not careful about cutting spending, it could end up backfiring on us. When a country is that much in debt, it is nearly impossible to find a happy medium between cutting spending by so much and creating new jobs. However, the differences between the Democrats and Republican need to be settled if there is going to be any chance in cutting anything. The Democrats don’t agree with the huge spending cuts so it would have troubling getting passed in the Senate. Somehow they need to figure out a way to work together because in the end it’s not about your party, it’s about America as a whole digging ourselves out of the immense hole we are in.
Like the majority of my classmates who posted on the blog before me, I agree with the Republican parties take on this issue. Although, I feel like they are rushing it. The "freshman" coming in are majority Republican and those who voted them in are excepting quick and efficient changes to be made. Coming into Congress like they are on top of the world and can easily take down the Democratic Party will get them no where. I completely agree that the fastest way to eliminate the national debt is through spending cuts. My only worry is that they are starting out with too high of standards. Dealing with something as fragile and important as our economy, things need to be tested before putting into action. Automatically cutting $100 billion dollars is a little too much at first. These people need to slow down and gradually cut the spending in the America, or else we might end up in a worse off situation then we already are.
Another major thing that stood out to me in this article and had me a little worried was the lack of bipartisan agreement within Congress. Yes, I understand that everyone wants to get their values and beliefs on top and want their policies passed. But in reality, everyone in America knows that is no where close to happening. The Republicans and Democrats are in this for the fight. If they really want to do their job well and improve America as a nation, they must work together. Something as simple as cutting spending in the country should be an easy way to start off the next two political years together, but the parties are proving all critics in the nation to be right. I strongly believe they need to start working together or trying to compromise immediately.
I agree with the Republican's plan of action stated in this article. The proposed $100 billion dollar cut in government spending is necessary to solve the issue of $14 trillion dollar debt, but I don't particularly think that the cuts should be taking place immediately. The Republicans make a good point with their proposition, but I believe that cutting money that quickly from many different agencies could prove harmful to the government. A more gradual reduction in funds might be a more appropriate route to take so that the government and its agencies may grow accustomed to the new budgets. Adapting to a more balanced budget will allow the government to really think about what is important and necessary to spend their money on. Taking into those concerns and the Republicans' concerns about time constraints, Ryan's option for cutting $60 billion seems to be the more reasonable course of action at this point in time.
The only downsides to the proposal are the estimated job losses that could occur if this plan was put into action and the disagreements and gridlock that will most likely occur between the two parties. The number of jobs that could be potentially lost is astounding. To me, it seems ironic (although necessary) to cut jobs during the process of putting in place a plan that will create new ones in the future while cutting government spending. Both federal workers and the rest of American society will be affected by these losses, especially in the area of education. Also, because of the disagreements between parties, this proposal most likely will not be enacted. This is unfortunate because the only way to lead America out of debt is to cut the excess spending. Overall, I agree with Rep. Joe Walsh's statement in the article that big changes must be done in order to fix the situation that the American government is in today. Cuts, no matter if they are immediate or gradual, are much needed in order to improve the state that the nation and its government are currently in.
I agree with the basis of this article. As a nation we need to make adjustments in order to slowly bring ourselves out of the overwhelming debt we are currently in. I also agree that the best way to do this would be to make cuts and limit spending. However, I think that the republican approach is a bit extreme. It makes sense to jump right into things, but this is going to affect a lot of people and many will loose their jobs. I think as a nation we need to reach an equilibrium; a way to make cuts, but ease into it so it doesn’t affect everyone at once. There also needs to be a common ground between the democratic and republican view points in Washington. Without support from both sides, these next few years will be very rough on the nation as a whole in regards to getting financially stable. This article made some reasonable points as to where cuts can afford to be made and how to balance the amount of money cut, but it did not do a good job on establishing ways to limit government spending. We seem to forget the $14 trillion of debt we are currently drowning in when we invest in things we don’t need. As a nation we are spending way too much money overseas and need to make some plan to cut back on our overindulgence. With that being said I think that the republican plan is strong, and that the democrats are right to be concerned but need to focus on the big picture of getting America back on track and out of debt. And to better strengthen this plan, both parties should try to find ways to limit foreign spending and keep more money flowing within the nation.
I also agree with the Republican stance on the spending cuts. The amount of debt the United States is in continues to increase by the second. Republican Jim Jordan made a statement regarding the cuts in which he expressed that we should find some ways to get at least $100 billion (the proposed amount of cuts) from the $14 trillion owed. I agree with Jordan, it does seem like a small amount compared to our debt. I think these cuts made be made gradually, though, not in one large chunk. Making cuts is an important part in reducing America's debt and create many concerns of the people as well. These cuts would result in the loss of jobs for at least 14,200 people in various departments. This large estimation seems very contrasting to the hopes of creating jobs from the spending cuts. As the article states, in order to meet the goal of cutting $100 billion from non-defense programs, funding for federal angencies would have to be reduced. My mom works for the Internal Revenue Service, one of the angencies that is effected by the reduce of funding. The annual pay is now frozen for two years. This example of the cuts effecting my familes life causes me to relate to those families conceded about the chance of losing their jobs because of the spending cuts. Another concern with the debate on cuts is the stubbornness of both political parties. With Congress and the Senate under the control of opposing parties, it is hard to predict whether or not the Republicans and the Democrats will actually come together and provide a logical plan to reduce the trillions of dollars in debt that our country faces today.
After hearing some of the main points President Obama described in his State of the Union speech, do you believe he is taking America in the right direction?
16 comments:
I agree with the Republican's stance on this issue for the majority of the reason, but not all of the details involved. Over the past few years we have put an infinite amount of money into economy from the government and very little has changed overtime. We do need to make some kind of change that will allow us to recover from our current economic state. Although I feel that government spending should be cut, I don't think in such a drastic way. Cutting $100 billion dollars from the budget could have a major downfall in the end. I think that there should be cuts, but a little less than 100 billion at first, to experiment and see how it goes. I understand that there have been minor cuts over the past few years, but i believe there could be a happy medium. Also, I feel that with the gridlock in the system, it will be very hard for any cuts, or changes for that matter, to occur. The gap between the two influential parties of conservative republicans and democrats, is too extreme for anything productive to happen. Moreover, even if the cuts are announced, the Democratic Senate is more than likely to disapprove of it. The studies have even shown that the drastic cut would cost thousands of people their jobs, causing the unemployment rate to reach even higher levels then now. With the $100 billion dollar cut, numerous helpful programs such as childcare or education would be also cut as well, causing the average citizen's quality of life to decrease. The people do need help from the government in many ways of their life, that is why I am not sure if such a deep cut would be successful.
Going off of our conversation in class on Friday, cutting spending and creating jobs are vital to the American economy. I do agree that the Republicans plan to cut spending is drastic; however, if they cut a little bit at a time, then it will not affect citizens and agencies as hard as it could if it was to be done all at once. Cutting small amounts each time will allow agencies to adapt constantly and will force them to balance their budgets and only spend money on necessary topics. I think it is also important to recognize that spending will be cut from most agencies, so it is not favoring one agency over another.
On the top of cutting spending, we need to stop putting mass amounts of money into social problems, such as healthcare and the bailout plans. I understand that when referring to the bailout plans we pretty much had no other options; however, we need to learn from this mistake and take precautions to make sure it doesn't happen again, not continue to bail out companies that are irresponsible.
I think the most frightening thing is going to be watching the Democrats and Republicans try to compromise on this issue. My fear is that Republicans will be on their own when trying to cut spending. I hope the American public realizes how little the Republicans are going to be able to do with a Democrat controlled Senate and White House. However, if Republicans can continue to fulfill their promises that they made in November (such as repealing the healthcare bill), then hopefully the American electorate will recognize their efforts and realize they did as much as they could with the hand they were dealt.
Honestly, I think cuts in spending like these are the only hope for America to crawl out of the debt it has been consumed by. There are so many governmental programs going on, and as a country at war, it is necessary for politicians to determine which programs are truly vital to the survival of our nation and which are expendable. In peace time, marked by economic prosperity, the government can experiment with social programs and new uses for surplus money. However, in times when every spent dollar is crippling to our nation, politicians need to be more careful about how our money is spent.
These huge spending cuts are necessary to truly reverse our extreme national debt. Small cuts are fine, but it is time to take action and change something, instead of just pretending to downsize government by cutting a million dollars here and there. These minute improvements are outweighed by our nation's damaging tendency to spend $100 billion dollars without a thought on nutrition programs and ridiculous tax cuts. We spend big, so we need to cut big. Our cycle of spending needs to be stopped and these habits are so embedded in our political system that only a drastic cut can change anything.
Finally, both Democrats and Republicans are going to have to make sacrifices for our government to recover. Tax cuts for the wealthy, I feel, need to be eliminated on the Republican end, because a nation cannot function without taxation, and cuts to social programs, including the development of a more efficient welfare system need to be adopted on the Democratic end. Our nation is so entrenched in political parties that nothing is going to get done until Obama and our Congressmen decide to transcend the box of current political thought and decide to take some innovative steps to creatively end the current economic recession. The first step in correcting our economic situation is drastically modifying our spending.
(I just wrote out my whole thing on this article and it deleted....i hate technology)
This article placed emphasis on how spending cuts are vital when it comes to bettering the economy and eliminating a part of the $14 trillion debt America is currently in today. With the debt rising every second, it is fundamental that the government prioritize what its' money needs to be spent on and what it does not need to be spent on. If this focus remains to be tarnished by bickering politcal parties, the economy will greatly suffer, more jobs will be lost, and the current recession could have the potential to turn into a depression.
The article mentioned how the GOP wants to cut $100 billion in governmental spending this year. The problem is that one party wants the money to be cut immediately and the other party wants the money to be cut gradually over a gradual period of time. Here is the thing, like I said before, America's debt is continuing to rise every second. The time it is taking to "compromise" and come up with a solution for this heavy burden is costing us A LOT of money if you think about it.
The economy needs to be stabalized. By cutting the money given to some "less important" governmental programs, it will force them to re-organize and become more efficient to make due with the money they DO have. I do not think Americans realize that every dollar does count at this point. Governmental programs are handed over money that is not fully tracked by the government as to what it is being spent on and where it is going. By reducing budgets for these programs and not just giving them money to just "do their jobs," this will force change amongst these organizations. People will be forced to use the money they are given in ways they never deemed possible before because of the restrictions they have. There are too many loop holes in the current systems that are run under the government's "supervision." Action needs to take place now when it comes to reducing governmental spending. Less spending will result in less debt, which will then result in more jobs and a better economy.
There is no debate that our country is in serious debt and that we need to find a way to get the economy back on its feet. So far, there has been only talk and not too much serious action. I am happy to see that the Repulblicans are trying to take matters into their own hands and make this dramatic cut. It is good that they are trying to minimize our national debt and that they are keeping defense programs a priority. If these non - defense programs get their $100 billion cut all of a sudden, they might not know how to function without that money. I think spending cuts are completely necessary, but I also think that easing the programs into the cuts would be a fair plan. These programs are still important, and cutting $20 billion from each program would help them find better ways to run their program without spending so much money. By cutting $20 billion each year from each program for the next five years, the debt will decrease and each program will still be strong because they have had five years to re-design their platform and responsibilities so that it can fit within the economic means. Of course talk of this is nice, but I am unsure of it being passed. The House majority is Republicans, who are in favor of cuts and even deeper cuts. They will have to get this past the Senate, majority being Democrats. I think that this plan would end up being successful for our economy. After reading the Democrat's plan, it was exciting to see they were going to cut $2.5 trillion. Then I read that they would do this by firing 15 percent of the federal workforce. From reading and evaluating both plans, I personally feel that the Republicans have it better thought out and can do a better job on reducing spending to help our national economy. This is definitely unbiased because I am not sure which party I fall under. That being said, the Democrat's plan seemed too much as if they were just talking about it and drafting a plan. From what I read, the Republicans are ready to take action.
I completely agree with the whole cut spending to get our nation out of debt idea but it is a little worry some. The article says that the Democrats have estimated having to eliminate 5,700 correctional officers just for the federal prison system. That is so many people! Then I factor in the 4,000 for FBI agents, and 1,500 agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration. I can’t even imagine so many more people losing their jobs but I know it’s necessary to get out of debt. I know that there are some groups that are less necessary than others and can be cut back. I don’t think that we need to cut $100 billion this year though. I am feeling like that’s a really big number and would have more of a negative effect with so many people out of work when we are trying to get more jobs. I think $75 billion would be good to start with and then next year move it up a little bit more. We need to start smaller and show that it is making a difference with decreasing our national debt. Some may say that cutting a little won’t make that much of a difference in our national debt but to that I say that the groups that are getting their budgets cut need to figure out how to function with less money. I would think it would be quite a shock to all of a sudden lose $20 billion.
I am also really happy that Congress is working to get rid of the Obama health-care plan. I think that it was silly and any money put into it would have been wasted. I am also really interested to see how the Republicans and the Democrats work this out.
We are in a trend right now of spending money on things we cannot afford. In the article, it laid out many of the jobs that would be eliminated with these new spending cuts. However, the jobs should have never been created in the first place if we do not have the money to pay for them. As we have said several times in class, we are owned by other countries because of our debt. We, as Americans, have a tendency to want to push for all these programs, yet we want to continue cutting taxes. I think this is awesome that members of the House are finally starting to really push for some cuts. We have to stop relying on government jobs so much and start working to adjust our economy so that we are exporting more products again. We import four times more than we export, which proves how much reform is needed.
As far as health care, I think that new regulations for insurance companies was long overdue, but I do not think that we can spend any money to provide health care people. As much as I would love to see a perfect system in which everyone gets the proper care, I think that we are rushing into it and it will end up getting back at us in the long run. Reform is a long and slow process because we need to be able to give ourselves time to learn from mistakes and fix the parts of the system that are not working. I fear that we will end up throwing a ton of money into the plan, money that we do not have, and digging ourselves into a deeper hole.
I also think it is important to point out that this is not just a Republican v. Democrat fight. We, as a whole, are in debt. In fact, President Clinton, a Democrat, was huge on balancing the budget. We have to stop looking at these party lines because in reality, they are so insignificant when you look at the big picture. This is not a battle over Republicans wanting to take people's work away or cut programs which are beneficial to some Americans. This is simply recognizing the facts and understanding that we all must make some sacrifices for the good of our country as a whole. We need to reevaluate what is and is not necessary and what is and is not working. Yes, the quality of some people life may decrease, but we could not afford to make it any better to begin with. If we do not get the budget under control and cut big now, we will be paying for it later. Basically, China is going to invade the U.S. and take over everything if we don't cut spending by a hundred billion dollars.
I agree with what Emily and Alannah stated in their posts. I realize the amount of debt we are in and the negative impact it is having on our coutnry. However, I still feel that such an immediate and deep cut is too risky for the time we are currently in. As Alannah said, it was would roughly 5,700 correctional officers and another 4,000 FBI agents, which can be terrifying. I do not think that during this time or war and terrorism that that would be beneficial. Moreover, the risky cut could send our economy crashing, and it is unpredictable. Alannah also suggested a start at a 75 billion cut and then increase that number every year, and Emily said for 20 billion from different programs to make the cuts less drastic. I could see either of these plans working to still make the cuts, but have a positive outcome. Overall, I do understand and hope that our country will make the necesary changes and cuts to improve our economy, but I would rather see a slow and gradual change for the benefit of all the people and programs involved.
I feel like the only way we can begin to even make a dent in our outrageous national debt is to cut spending by at least this much. It's been way too long that America has listened to it's government say they plan on doing something to reverse this recession and it's been way too long that America's seen it's government actually act on it to any drastic results. We can't keep taking small baby steps that will eventually lead to something that will lead to something else that might save us a little money. We need something direct and something as big as 100 billion dollars, at this point. I do understand that a lot of jobs are going to be lost and that's obviously not something our country needs right now. But sacrafices have to be made either way, and at least by temporarily sacraficing these jobs to cut spending, our government can eventually (sooner, rather than later, if the cuts are large enough) improve our economy to the point where those jobs will be returned. There has to be some give-and-take to this decision and it's already been way too long for us to have anymore time to try and compromise. The longer we take, the more in debt we become.
I agree that Democrats and Republicans need to work together on this. For one thing, nothing will get past the Senate if the Democrats aren't on board. But it also really is effecting everyone; national debt is a bi-partisan issue and the biggest challenge is going to be getting everyone on the same page.
While $100 billion seemed like a lot of money to reduce our budget by at first, I soon realized that when you consider the $14 trillion we are in debt, the number suddenly looks a lot smaller. Reducing debt has become vital in today’s economy because before we can go and attempt to fix other issues around the world, we must first concentrate on ourselves. However, I do believe that $100 billion all at once could be a bit drastic, and I agree with John Boehner’s top budget lieutenant that it might be a little too much too soon. Since Senate is still controlled by the Democrats, I think the House needs to keep that in consideration and be willing to find a compromise, otherwise nothing will be accomplished.
In my opinion, making more and more money is accomplishing nothing. The dollar is simply losing its value and that isn’t helping the rich or the poor. However, I do believe that budget cuts are going to make people think about the money their department receives a lot more closely, and they will strive even harder to put this money to good use and make it last. Less drastic cuts from each department could be good, and we could begin to focus on the most important issues at hand.
Ryan’s approach, involving cuts of about 15% rather than 30% seems a lot more reasonable to me. However, I fear that compromise between the Democrats and Republicans will be hard to come by, and this could result in no action being taken. Either way, what we need right now is action. What we’re doing right now isn’t working so I don’t think that trying the Republican plan could do much more harm. I think if it was implemented correctly, we could actually benefit a lot from what it had to offer.
I definitely agree with what Claire said about other countries practically owning us because of all the money we owe them. Exporting goods, another topic she mentioned, is something I definitely also agree on. Rather than importing four times more than we export, maybe we should start to concentrate on making goods we can sell to other countries and make a profit on in return. The numbers of people fired that Alannah provided definitely shocked me as well. The idea of losing that many police officers and correctional facility officers and even agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration left me speechless. The risks of taking away these jobs are huge, and we can’t afford to cut when it comes to jobs involving people’s safety in America. I can understand some cuts but I definitely agree that we need to prioritize the importance of jobs and can’t just go firing people left and right. Overall, I hope that our country can begin to weed out unnecessary jobs and funding but that we won’t go too overboard with trying to jumpstart the economy and firing everyone and taking money from every department so that it ends up completely backfiring.
I agree with what they Republicans in that we need to cut our spending and that action needs to be taken immediately. Our debt is digging America in such a deep hole that it would be practically impossible for us to dig ourselves out of it unless we take action immediately. If we can’t start pulling ourselves out of this debt, the results be completely detrimental. So much time is being wasted in deciding what to do since the parties can’t agree on anything. The spending cuts the Republicans are proposing may be quite harsh. If we are going to cut spending, it needs to be more gradually then just taking out huge chunks of money from departments. It has been so stressed recently about trying to create more jobs for people and lowering the unemployment rate but huge spending cuts will be setting us backwards because so many people will lose their jobs once the departments have their spending cut. I understand that the Republicans are trying to take immediate action and pull ourselves out of debt quickly but unfortunately it will be not be a fast process. Getting out of a debt of $14 billion will take time. Unfortunately, it also means that many jobs will be lost. If we are not careful about cutting spending, it could end up backfiring on us. When a country is that much in debt, it is nearly impossible to find a happy medium between cutting spending by so much and creating new jobs. However, the differences between the Democrats and Republican need to be settled if there is going to be any chance in cutting anything. The Democrats don’t agree with the huge spending cuts so it would have troubling getting passed in the Senate. Somehow they need to figure out a way to work together because in the end it’s not about your party, it’s about America as a whole digging ourselves out of the immense hole we are in.
Like the majority of my classmates who posted on the blog before me, I agree with the Republican parties take on this issue. Although, I feel like they are rushing it. The "freshman" coming in are majority Republican and those who voted them in are excepting quick and efficient changes to be made. Coming into Congress like they are on top of the world and can easily take down the Democratic Party will get them no where. I completely agree that the fastest way to eliminate the national debt is through spending cuts. My only worry is that they are starting out with too high of standards. Dealing with something as fragile and important as our economy, things need to be tested before putting into action. Automatically cutting $100 billion dollars is a little too much at first. These people need to slow down and gradually cut the spending in the America, or else we might end up in a worse off situation then we already are.
Another major thing that stood out to me in this article and had me a little worried was the lack of bipartisan agreement within Congress. Yes, I understand that everyone wants to get their values and beliefs on top and want their policies passed. But in reality, everyone in America knows that is no where close to happening. The Republicans and Democrats are in this for the fight. If they really want to do their job well and improve America as a nation, they must work together. Something as simple as cutting spending in the country should be an easy way to start off the next two political years together, but the parties are proving all critics in the nation to be right. I strongly believe they need to start working together or trying to compromise immediately.
I agree with the Republican's plan of action stated in this article. The proposed $100 billion dollar cut in government spending is necessary to solve the issue of $14 trillion dollar debt, but I don't particularly think that the cuts should be taking place immediately. The Republicans make a good point with their proposition, but I believe that cutting money that quickly from many different agencies could prove harmful to the government. A more gradual reduction in funds might be a more appropriate route to take so that the government and its agencies may grow accustomed to the new budgets. Adapting to a more balanced budget will allow the government to really think about what is important and necessary to spend their money on. Taking into those concerns and the Republicans' concerns about time constraints, Ryan's option for cutting $60 billion seems to be the more reasonable course of action at this point in time.
The only downsides to the proposal are the estimated job losses that could occur if this plan was put into action and the disagreements and gridlock that will most likely occur between the two parties. The number of jobs that could be potentially lost is astounding. To me, it seems ironic (although necessary) to cut jobs during the process of putting in place a plan that will create new ones in the future while cutting government spending. Both federal workers and the rest of American society will be affected by these losses, especially in the area of education. Also, because of the disagreements between parties, this proposal most likely will not be enacted. This is unfortunate because the only way to lead America out of debt is to cut the excess spending. Overall, I agree with Rep. Joe Walsh's statement in the article that big changes must be done in order to fix the situation that the American government is in today. Cuts, no matter if they are immediate or gradual, are much needed in order to improve the state that the nation and its government are currently in.
I agree with the basis of this article. As a nation we need to make adjustments in order to slowly bring ourselves out of the overwhelming debt we are currently in. I also agree that the best way to do this would be to make cuts and limit spending. However, I think that the republican approach is a bit extreme. It makes sense to jump right into things, but this is going to affect a lot of people and many will loose their jobs. I think as a nation we need to reach an equilibrium; a way to make cuts, but ease into it so it doesn’t affect everyone at once.
There also needs to be a common ground between the democratic and republican view points in Washington. Without support from both sides, these next few years will be very rough on the nation as a whole in regards to getting financially stable. This article made some reasonable points as to where cuts can afford to be made and how to balance the amount of money cut, but it did not do a good job on establishing ways to limit government spending.
We seem to forget the $14 trillion of debt we are currently drowning in when we invest in things we don’t need. As a nation we are spending way too much money overseas and need to make some plan to cut back on our overindulgence. With that being said I think that the republican plan is strong, and that the democrats are right to be concerned but need to focus on the big picture of getting America back on track and out of debt. And to better strengthen this plan, both parties should try to find ways to limit foreign spending and keep more money flowing within the nation.
I also agree with the Republican stance on the spending cuts. The amount of debt the United States is in continues to increase by the second. Republican Jim Jordan made a statement regarding the cuts in which he expressed that we should find some ways to get at least $100 billion (the proposed amount of cuts) from the $14 trillion owed. I agree with Jordan, it does seem like a small amount compared to our debt. I think these cuts made be made gradually, though, not in one large chunk. Making cuts is an important part in reducing America's debt and create many concerns of the people as well. These cuts would result in the loss of jobs for at least 14,200 people in various departments. This large estimation seems very contrasting to the hopes of creating jobs from the spending cuts. As the article states, in order to meet the goal of cutting $100 billion from non-defense programs, funding for federal angencies would have to be reduced. My mom works for the Internal Revenue Service, one of the angencies that is effected by the reduce of funding. The annual pay is now frozen for two years. This example of the cuts effecting my familes life causes me to relate to those families conceded about the chance of losing their jobs because of the spending cuts. Another concern with the debate on cuts is the stubbornness of both political parties. With Congress and the Senate under the control of opposing parties, it is hard to predict whether or not the Republicans and the Democrats will actually come together and provide a logical plan to reduce the trillions of dollars in debt that our country faces today.
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