government spending

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If Congress Can't Pass Health Reform, Yank Their Coverage

Pols should be punished for 'longstanding and grievous breach of responsibility: Kristof

(Newser) - Nicholas Kristof has a modest proposal for lawmakers who vote down health care reform. If universal coverage is defeated, he writes, let’s take away the insurance of 15% of Congress, at random, and cut benefits to an inadequate level for another 8%. “I wouldn’t wish the trauma...

Rove: Health Care Bill Is Gift to GOP
Rove: Health Care Bill Is
Gift to GOP
OPINION
Oct 8, 2009 4:05 AM CDT

Rove: Health Care Bill Is Gift to GOP

Backlash against spending will be 'boon' to party in 2010

(Newser) - The GOP is winning the debate on health care and it'll win control of Congress as well if the Democrats manage to pass a health care bill, writes Karl Rove. Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus wants to "front-load" the bill with hefty tax hikes that will kick in...

Congress Votes to Boost Own Budget

Capitol Hill scoffs at belt-tightening, jacks funding 5.8%

(Newser) - With local governments around the country tightening their belts, Congress is loosening theirs. The House last week approved a 5.8% bump in the legislative budget, and the Senate is poised to do so as well. That’ll bring Capitol Hill’s annual budget to $4.7 billion, Politico reports....

Thousands of DC Protesters Blast Obama Policies

Demonstration stretches for blocks along Pennsylvania Avenue

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of people marched to the US Capitol today, carrying signs with slogans such as "Obamacare makes me sick" as they protested the president's health care plan and what they say is out-of-control spending. The line of protesters spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way...

Furloughs Freeze State Services

Strapped states try to balance budgets by shutting down

(Newser) - States across the country are slashing their labor costs by putting workers on furloughs and cutting services, the Wall Street Journal reports. California, Maine, Maryland and Michigan close state agencies on Fridays. Others are opting to remain open every weekday, but stretch services by placing thousands of workers on rolling...

Help Wanted: Fed Govt. Needs 600K New Workers

270K new hires deemed critical to make up for retirement

(Newser) - The federal government must hire 600,000 people over the next 4 years to balance a wave of retirement and keep pace with President Obama’s ambitions, the Washington Post reports. Nearly half of those positions are considered absolutely essential for agencies to provide their services, a new report states,...

Big Government Prevented Great Depression II
Big Government Prevented Great Depression II
OPINION
Aug 10, 2009 8:22 AM CDT

Big Government Prevented Great Depression II

...And Republicans kept demanding that it step aside and allow it

(Newser) - The economy isn’t in great shape, but we’re going to avoid Great Depression II, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. “What saved us? The answer, basically, is big government.” Unlike the private sector, the government didn’t decrease spending as its income decreased, which...

DC Deficit Fixer: Print on Both Sides of Paper

$102M in painfully obvious cuts shows how outdated gov't is

(Newser) - A short while ago, President Obama called on his Cabinet to make budget cuts in their departments totaling $100 million. They came up with $102 million, but some of the cuts were so obvious one wonders why it took a presidential edict to elicit them, the Wall Street Journal notes....

It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy
It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy
OPINION
Jun 15, 2009 9:42 AM CDT

It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy

If Washington cuts off the cash, recession will worsen: Krugman

(Newser) - With critics prematurely calling on Washington to scale back financial rescue efforts, economic history fans see “déjà vu all over again,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. This is the third time a major economy has been stuck in a liquidity trap, and both previous...

Don't Let 'Waste' Taunts Prompt More Waste
Don't Let 'Waste' Taunts Prompt More Waste
OPINION
May 14, 2009 9:01 AM CDT

Don't Let 'Waste' Taunts Prompt More Waste

Obama shouldn't scrap chopper deal just to appease McCain

(Newser) - Fearful of appearing wasteful, the Defense Department wants to dump a contract for new presidential helicopters and start fresh—but that means losing $4 billion already spent on the project. It’s the same old story when it comes to “wasteful procurement,” writes Gail Collins in the New ...

Iowans (Mostly) Still Smile on Obama

Residents support president's efforts, fear over-spending and Afghanistan

(Newser) - Iowa, arguably the state that launched Barack Obama on his path to the presidency, will always be a "special place" for him, says press chief Robert Gibbs. And the feeling is—mostly—mutual, Politico reports. Obama enjoys a 64% statewide approval rating, and Iowans are reviving their Obama for...

Obama Asks Workers How to Curb Spending

(Newser) - President Obama appealed to federal workers today to propose ways to make their agencies' and departments' budgets more efficient. The president said employees' ideas would be key as his Cabinet officials cut millions from the federal budget and trim the deficit. "After all, Americans across the country know that...

Opinion on 'Tea Parties' Split Down Party Lines

(Newser) - Evaluations of the effectiveness of yesterday’s anti-tax “tea parties” are split predictably down partisan lines, Chris Cillizza writes for the Washington Post. Republicans touted the protests, which brought out tens of thousands and garnered major media coverage, as a success. “I think something is going on out...

Why Waste Tea When Taxes Are Going Down?

(Newser) - Want to get in on the fun and excitement of the anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Party? Here’s how, writes Marc Cooper in the Los Angeles Times: “Go to a hobby store. Buy a scale model of a UN One-World-Government Black Helicopter and a tube of glue. Toss the model...

Tax-Day 'Tea Parties' Test Aversion to Obama Spending

Tens of thousands set to attend nationwide demonstrations

(Newser) - Fiscal conservatives across the country will reenact Revolutionary history today with tea parties in every state to protest taxes and increased spending, ABC News reports. Tens of thousands are registered to attend in major cities, testing whether anti-Obama budget sentiment, which has picked up steam on the Internet, with help...

Stimulus Sours Obama's European Honeymoon

US urges more spending; EU focused on regulation

(Newser) - European leaders’ love affair with President Obama has hit its first snag: Obama is pushing Europe to spend more to battle the financial crisis, while Europe would prefer to focus on stricter regulation, the Los Angeles Times reports. “The Americans should be more modest about giving lessons, because the...

GOP Guvs Right to See Stimulus Cash as 'Trap'
GOP Guvs Right to See Stimulus Cash as 'Trap'
OPINION
Feb 23, 2009 8:40 AM CST

GOP Guvs Right to See Stimulus Cash as 'Trap'

Say law is a 'budget trap' that will hook them on more spending

(Newser) - Five Republican governors are threatening to turn down much of their stimulus windfall, afraid of taking addictive doses of spending on education, welfare, and health care that the states would have to shoulder in 2011 and beyond. And they're right to worry, the Wall Street Journal says. Take enrolling new...

Obama Plans to Slash Deficit by 2013
Obama Plans
to Slash Deficit by 2013
Feb 21, 2009 10:33 PM CST

Obama Plans to Slash Deficit by 2013

Goal hinges on Iraqi withdrawal, letting Bush's tax cuts lapse

(Newser) - Having proved he can get the government to pony up $787 billion to stimulate the economy, President Obama will now attempt to highlight his frugal side. Obama will unveil a budget Thursday that aims to cut the deficit—which could climb to $1.9 trillion in 2009—to $533 million...

Don't Like the Stimulus? Don't Take the Cash
Don't Like the Stimulus? Don't Take the Cash 
OPINION
Feb 16, 2009 2:21 PM CST

Don't Like the Stimulus? Don't Take the Cash

Opponents can be 'guinea pigs' for alternate plans: Begala

(Newser) - Here’s a clear way for political leaders to oppose spending in the stimulus package: “refuse to take the money,” Paul Begala writes for CNN. Case in point: South Carolina’s governor, who opposes the plan, shouldn’t help his struggling state with federal cash. Instead, he can...

Gleeful Brown Is Acting Like a Drunk Dowager

Brits' PM 'swanks' and 'preens,' but the economy is his fault

(Newser) - Gordon Brown, "known as a gloomy old nail-biting misery-guts," has turned into the life of the party ever since the economic downturn hit Britain, writes Boris Johnson in the Telegraph. Deeming that the swooning market and plummeting home prices demand action, he's gleefully launched measures that will incur...

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