Senate Democrats' budget: $5.2 trillion in additional debt

Republicans' House budget isn't perfect, but it is far more practical than the Democrats' Senate fantasy. (Graph: U.S. Government)Democrats in the U.S. Senate must have finally read their job descriptions, having passed their first budget since 2009. House Republicans have a different budget.

The Dem budget is nothing more than an exercise in futility, growing U.S. debt by more than $5 trillion.

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Sequester theatrics should take back seat to alarms raised in GAO report

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Report: U.S. Government/GAOAt the moment, President Barack Obama’s administration is focused on sequester theatrics, scheduling for release thousands of detainees from Immigrations and Customs facilities, and canceling White House tours.

Instead of working to make sure cuts were practical, Obama held out for another tax hike.

The theatrics played out between the president and Congress recently, while a key report with alarming findings is being ignored.

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Real reason for Obama’s sequester: GOP refused more Democrat tax hikes

Democrats and Republicans should look at potential “revenue” sources from properties U.S. taxpayers lease to corporations, including in Sen. Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada where gold mining companies do not pay any royalties for deposits claimed on federal public lands. That arrangement, by the way, dates to 1872.Republicans submitted a plan to avert the sequester President Obama and the White House first conceived, as did Democrats. The U.S. Senate, led by Harry Reid (D-Nev.), shot both plans down. As the deadline for a solution drew near, Reid made muddled remarks on the Senate floor, muttering something about his fingers.

The real reason the sequester will happen is simple—tax hikes. The White House admits that.

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Leftist clergy bring God into politics; improper payments more than sequester

Taxpayers funded the federal employee tasked with coming up with this tribute to Treas. Sec. Time Geithner. Obviously, the federal government has money and labor to burn. (Snip: U.S. Treasury website)President Barack Obama’s sequester is the very large chicken that is coming home to roost in the White House. Many of us won’t even notice a measly $85 billion in cuts, but some states may feel the pinch if they’re heavily reliant on increased spending in sectors like the defense industry.

Fact is all the cuts won’t be immediate and the cuts are actually mostly reductions in spending President Barack Obama and the Democrats increased with their now infamous and failed “Recovery Act.”

Even an op-ed writer at The Washington Post noted fears are overblown.

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Sen. Paul resurrected Penny Plan—worth a second look?

Photo: U.S. MintIn 2011 as various Republicans competed for the nomination to oppose Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.) in the 2012 election, contender Connie Mack promoted the concept of The Penny Plan.

The Penny Plan was conceived by Georgia businessman Bruce Cook. Sen. Rand Paul resurrected the idea during his response on behalf of the Tea Party to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. There’s a lot to be said for the plan, but unfortunately, the messaging was skewed by politics and media.

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In Illinois pension fracas, even Democrat control doesn’t yield solutions

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid routinely blames Republicans for his own party's ineptitude. (Screen snip from C-SPAN)How many times have we heard Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blame Republicans for not moving quickly on solutions to the federal financial nightmare?

Even as Leftist criticism continues, Illinois Democrats are mired in a pension problem that, despite their party’s control of the Legislature, has no solution in sight. In Illinois, the pension reform Gov. Pat Quinn (D) promised is nowhere in sight.

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Pork goes wild in Sandy relief bill muddled by bureaucratic ineptitude

Please see the updated article on Sandy relief. The House will vote on funds to be expended in 2013 on Friday, January 4.

There’s so much pork in the Sandy disaster relief bill that a cute little pink pig isn’t an adequate symbol. This wild boar more accurately symbolizes what Senate appropriators did with a bill that was supposed to be aimed at helping the real victims. (Photo: ‘Invasive Species’/U.S. Government)The maxim about never letting a crisis go to waste reared its head in a federal bill aimed at providing aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The U.S. Senate is expected to take up the bill today. At 94 pages, the bill is written in typical bureaucratic language enabling pork and waste along with necessary aid.

This bill is a perfect example of the lack of common sense budgeting and spending skills in the U.S. Senate. Toss in a large measure of government cronyism as well.

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