Obama Saving Our Economy!
Roger Haley retired from the US Navy with a degree in Aviation Management. He is a columnist and author, with two books to his credit.
His articles on money, personal finance, and the economy, are widely distributed on the web and are much sought after.
I literally had a hard time starting this article. The news is so stunning that even I was at a loss for words. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry, possibly both, when you read this.
It was announced this morning, 1-27-2010, that our tight- fisted, economizing president was going to… Ready? Here it comes… ‘Freeze salaries on white house staff making over $100,000!’
This move will save about $4 million this year. And, drum-roll please, he plans to announce it at his state of the union address. WOW! Savior of America’s economy.
Oh, but that’s not all. He also wants to freeze discretionary, get that word down, discretionary, spending for three years at a projected savings of 15 billion this year and 250 billion over 10 years.
If only he had come into office and announced these moves BEFORE the Dems raised discretionary spending by an average of about 24 percent… in one year!
Let’s put this in perspective. Suppose your spouse had come to you earlier and said, “I’m going to increase our budget for “discretionary” spending by about 25 percent this year.” “But,” you ask, “Do we have the money for that?”
“Oh no, we’re going to have to borrow it. I’m also going to give Chuck and Ginnie Mae a few million to save their business. We’ll have to borrow that, too.”
“Hmmm?” You’re beginning to worry. And then comes, “While I’m at it, I’m going to throw a few million out there to stimulate the family. Borrowed, of course. I’m not sure how to do that, but I’ll just toss it mostly toward neighbors who supported me during my run for block captain.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little too much?” You ask.
“Nah, not really, it just triples our debt! I’ll go to the basement and print more money saving coupons,” is the reply.
“The kids won’t like this,” you say. “We can never repay that, and they’ll get stuck with our debt. And, Tommy lost his paper route; the NY Times is cutting back.”
“No problem, I’ll tell them I’m freezing our spending now, after the fact, and saving $1,500 a year. They’re too stupid to know better. Isn’t that a great idea? They’ll be so proud of how I’m looking out for them!”
Yep, looking out for us. This administration has shown a real willingness for that. Freezing white house staff raises? Only if they make over 100K? I guess everyone else gets a raise so they can be counted as jobs saved or created.
Does our president not know that people on Social In-Security, military retirees, and many others, did not get a cost of living raise for 2010? Does he even care?
I’ve never seen an administration so totally out of touch with the people. He really thinks we are just too stupid to see the disingenuousness of these half-baked attempts to fool us into thinking his 4 million, or 15 billion, (supposed) savings are meaningful. They are nothing compared to the hole Washington is digging for us.
Our deficit TRIPLED from 484 billion to 1.4 trillion. In one year! If your calculator will go that far, figure how 15 billion compares to that. A proverbial drop in the bucket of debt our future generations will have to carry. And, 4 million!! That’s laughable!
This statement from the white house staff pretty well sums up how ignorant they think we are. After all, there are relatively few Harvard grads out here.
“Across the country, families and companies are making tough choices and the president is asking political appointees to be part of a government that is more careful and responsible with taxpayer dollars,” the official said. “These are tough times.”
Now, go cry or laugh, whichever makes you feel better. This is so asinine; I can’t stand it! I think I’ll cry. Tough times indeed!
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