GOP Doesn't Care about Deficits ... Especially When It Comes to Defense Spending
May 18, 2011 by Gary Therkildsen*
With release of their cut-to-the-bone 302(b) suballocations last week, the House Appropriations Committee provided yet another display of how Republicans in general - and conservatives in particular – don't care about deficits, as the defense budget received zero scrutiny.
read in fullThe False Sense of Balance of a Balanced Budget Amendment
Apr 27, 2011 by Craig Jennings
With federal borrowing rapidly approaching its statutory limit, Washing politicians are falling all over themselves to figure out how to extract more budget concessions from President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in exchange for not throwing the world's financial markets into a panic.
Spending Caps: The House Budget Resolution by Another Name
Apr 25, 2011 by Craig Jennings
As the date approaches when the Treasury will meet the debt ceiling, the demands of the hostage takers House and Senate conservatives who are playing hard-to-get for their vote to up the ceiling are becoming known. And naturally, rather than put forth ideas that would make a serious attempt at reducing the federal budget deficit, these MOCs are demanding budget mechanisms designed to only limit spending.
Data Viz Challenge Brings Style to Federal Budget
Apr 20, 2011 by Sam Rosen-Amy
The Budget Brigade here at OMB Watch clearly loves the budget. We also love pretty visualizations. Sadly, there’s a distinct lack of pretty budget visualizations out there. Lucky for us, into this void has stepped the Data Viz Challenge, which this week announced its winner.
GOP Shields Rich Friends from IRS
Apr 15, 2011 by Gary Therkildsen*
For those that followed the fiscal year (FY) 2011 spending debate, you know that compromise pulled most of the more obnoxious riders, like those aimed at Planned Parenthood and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), out of the continuing resolution (CR). But House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) succeeded in slipping a few riders into the final budget agreement, including one that bans funding for President Obama's initiative to hire additional Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents to crack down on high income tax cheats.
read in fullHouse Votes to Shift Funds from Medicaid to High-Income Households
Apr 15, 2011 by Craig Jennings
In approving (235-193) House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposed budget resolution. The spending blueprint, if enacted, would turn Medicare into a voucher program and drastically cut Medicaid funding as a means to cutting income tax rates for upper-income households (from 35 percent to 25 percent). Although the plan has no chance of becoming law, it does illustrate the Republican-controlled House's priorities - namely tax cuts for the rich and spending cuts for low-income programs and seniors.
Press Release: OMB Watch Statement on FY 2011 Continuing Resolution
Apr 15, 2011 by Craig Jennings
The continuing resolution agreement to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, which was reached by President Obama, Senate Democrats, and House Republicans, is extremely disappointing. At a time when unemployment is close to nine percent, 23 million Americans are either underemployed or unemployed, and economic growth sputters, policymakers have decided that the most pressing problem facing the nation is the budget deficit. Rather than making adjustments where the pain will be felt the least, their solution is to cut nutrition, housing, and education spending, let tax cheats off the hook, and spend more money on an already bloated defense budget.
read in fullStiff Cuts to E-Government in Compromise CR
Apr 12, 2011 by Gavin Baker
The details of the compromise continuing resolution (CR) agreed to late last Friday, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown, have been released. While more analysis is forthcoming, at this point we can say that the CR doesn't look good for e-government.
read in fullPaul Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity' ... for the Rich
Apr 7, 2011 by Gary Therkildsen*
Released Tuesday morning amid great fanfare, Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget proposal is turning out to be a grab bag of right-wing economic crankery. In fact, that's too nice: the proposal is flat out awful. And when I say "awful," I don't just mean evisceration-of-two-very-popular-social-safety-net-programs or two-thirds-of-proposed-spending-cuts-from-low-income-programs awful, but tax-hikes-on-middle-and-low-income-folks-combined-with-tax-cuts-for-the-rich awful.
read in fullThe Ryan Plan: Budgeting for Big Business
Apr 7, 2011 by Craig Jennings
The House Budget Committee approved last night Rep. Paul Ryan's budget resolution proposal. What would House Republicans' do given their way? Write big checks to big businesses, cut taxes for the rich, and cut off health care, nutrition, and housing assistance for the poor.
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