"domestic policy debate is being handled by a child trivia-champ"

[madfloridian]

This is a great article from the Christian Science Monitor.

SNIP..."Yes, we've come to the point where what is arguably the biggest domestic policy debate in the past 50 years is being handled by a child trivia-champ. Don't miss next week when Ken Jennings of "Jeopardy" explains how the president's foreign policy is a winner. And coming in April, a tap-dancing squirrel tours in support of tax reform.

This town's tether to reality is often frayed, but the opening of 2005 has been something to watch, even by Washington standards, with the Social Security debate proving to be the most surreal main show."

SNIP.."One of the biggest issues with the president's plan is the trillions of dollars it is likely to cost at a time when the nation is running record deficits.

But don't worry, there are solutions, of sorts, for that sticky issue, too. Last week at a Monitor breakfast with reporters, Newt Gingrich told the assembled that it was high time the nation got the budget back in balance. He also said he was in favor of the president's Social Security plan.

How did he square those two positions? Easy, he said, you just do the Social Security plan off-budget - meaning you just don't count the money against the deficit...."

Mr. Gingrich's idea is ingenious, and would have so many applications outside the government. Thinking of buying a new car? Go right ahead. When the loan company comes around, simply tell them the purchase was off-budget...."END SNIP

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0301/p09s02-codc.html

[K-W]

1. Im gonna order some off budget pizza tonight.

which is good, because im out of cash

[shraby]

2. I don't understand how an expenditure can be

"off budget". The government takes in X amount of dollars and it spends X amount of dollars. A budget helps to allocate those dollars. "Off budget" or not, the bills still have to be paid. We don't need Enron accounting from our Federal Government. After all, we all saw what happened to Enron.

An expense by any other name is still an expense needing to be paid. What are they going to do? Just keep spending and not writing it down? Falsely making the bottom line look better by not accounting for expenditures in any business would be a criminal act.

[madfloridian]

4. Definitely would lead to false accounting.

:hi:

[madfloridian]

3. Yeh, that off budget stuff is good.

No accountability at all. I could use a little of that.

:evilgrin: