Obama bringing back PAYGO

[DrToast]

With the budget deficit soaring toward a record $1.8 trillion, the Obama administration is planning to propose tough new rules that would require lawmakers to pay for new initiatives -- including an overhaul of the health system -- or face automatic spending cuts.

The new rules, which could be rolled out as soon as today, come amid growing anxiety among the nation's foreign creditors and some of its top economic policymakers about the tide of red ink. Surveys show ordinary citizens, too, are growing concerned, with the public divided in a new Gallup poll on President Obama's handling of the deficit.

Obama has said since taking office that he would support a push to enact budget rules similar to those that were in effect during the Clinton administration, when big deficits were briefly transformed into surpluses. Obama plans to make good on that promise by proposing his own set of pay-as-you-go initiatives, known as PAYGO, according to congressional sources.

If approved by Congress, the rules would forbid lawmakers from expanding entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security, creating new entitlement programs or cutting taxes unless the cost is covered by spending cuts or tax increases. If lawmakers fail to pay for their initiatives, Obama's rules would subject entitlement programs to automatic cuts, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has yet to be announced.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060804114.html

He's talked about this before, but I'm glad to see him going forward with this.

[MarjorieG]

1. Politically important as GOP critical, despite their waste. Still, don't we need more stimulus to

create jobs? What kind of short term jobs could we create, if we didn't get PAYGO PR/real benefit? Lost so much industry, realistic to hope for infrastructure jobs?

[DrToast]

5. It's not a spending freeze. It just means you have to pay for new stuff.

Our deficit is out of control and it's going to be worse than Obama's forecasts because the economy is worse than expected.

[Oregone]

13. How do you pay for trillions in needed stimulus without borrowing?

Should we waste away into a deflationary spiral while saving up pennies at a time?

[invictus]

2. K&R

[DJ13]

3. This is the WRONG TIME to begin caving in to the GOP over spending

The government cant save its way out of this kind of economic crisis.

The GOP pulled the same crap back in 1937 and FDR listened to them.......it threw the economy back into the depression just as it was really beginning to recover.

[DrToast]

4. Caving in to the GOP? You mean protecting us from the GOP

If only PAYGO was in place in 2001 and 2003.

[DJ13]

6. Yes, caving in

Who's been doing all the bitching over deficits the last several months?

[DrToast]

7. Hopefully you were...

...because the deficit is way too big.

I never thought I'd have to argue the wisdom of paying for spending.

[DJ13]

8. Go back and study the Great Depression

Seriously, now is not the time to worry about the deficit.

[DrToast]

9. They CUT spending during the Great Depression

This isn't even cutting spending.

By the way, this isn't the Great Depression.

[Better Believe It]

12. True. That's what Herbert Hoover did. FDR changed that.

[Oregone]

14. The depression didn't end in 1933

I take it you aren't a Keyenes fan, eh?

[Better Believe It]

26. No, but the economy began to improve in 1933 until 1937.

Do you know what happened in 1937 that stopped the recovery and caused unemployment to shoot up?

[Oregone]

29. nevermind

I sort of jumped down your throat at first. :)

Yes, I know why they slid back. Its another example of why this is a crappy idea.

[Nite Owl]

10. How about PAYGO for

funding the wars?

[Autumn]

28. That is just crazy talk, we

need to cut entitlement programs for the lazy unwashed masses.:sarcasm: But yeah that would be one hell of a good solution. Too bad it will never happen..

[Better Believe It]

11. The government will cut social security, Medicare and other benefits

which Republicans like to label "entitlements".

Isn't that the Republican agenda?

Yes folks, this is the change we voted for.

[Oregone]

15. And now there is a tidy excuse not to seek any health care reform that requires subsidizati

[JeffR]

16. "If approved by Congress, the rules would forbid lawmakers from expanding entitlement programs

such as Medicare and Social Security."

From that, you parse out "The government will cut social security, Medicare and other benefits"?

Nice work, Kreskin. Keep us posted on everything that's going to happen, OK?

And BTW, if any of those things were to happen, I'd be screaming blue murder right along with you. But I lack your strange certainty about how things will unfold.

[Better Believe It]

20. You need to follow the news more closely. Want me to do your research for you?

And why are you defending conservative proposals to stop any improvement (expansion) in social security, expanded Medicare and other benefits?

Yes, they are preparing to cut entitlement programs by changing the COL provisions, increasing the retirement age, means testing and other measures. It's been in the news if you care to look.

I'd like to keep you posted on every news article concerning this subject, but you'll need to do your own research as I and others are doing. However, I will post some material, hopefully later this week, on plans to cut these so-called "entititlement" programs.

Would you like me to send you a private message alerting you to that post so that you don't miss it like you've missed other posts on the planned attack on social programs?

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dawgs]

17. Huh? Are we pulling shit our of our asses now?

What happened to this place?

[ClarkUSA]

18. You'd Better Believe It.

[Peacetrain]

22. Actually the exact opposite.. It will give impetus to raise caps

for SS thereby stabilizing to for the next 50 or so years... The medicare maddness that the Bushes shoved through was their attempt to legislate the destruction of SS. But there will be changes to that also, demanding competition from the drug companies.

Not to be confrontational ,but exactly where did you come up with the idea that Obama and the Democrats were going to cut SS?

[Better Believe It]

27. I got that idea from Democratic party leaders who claim we need to cut entitlement programs.

They are going top write a bi-partisan proposal that can pass the current Congress.

I'll try to post an article with several links regarding this by the weekend.

Remind me if you don't see the article!

This is real and it's serious.

[TheKentuckian]

19. The GOP is of course crying up a river

but I believe the real concerns are loaner countries. I suspect we're getting some heat to clean up our act or money will get tighter and rates will be less friendly. Even stuff that flows from the tap has to come from somewhere.

[tridim]

23. Legalizing cannabis could be PAYGO project number one.

[Michigander4Dean]

24. And he's keeping torture, and endless war, and DADT

[bvar22]

25. I get it...

AFTER showering $Trillions on Wall Street Millionaires,
and AFTER expanding the WAR and INCREASING Military Spending....

...NOW its PAYGO.

[Lyric]

30. PAYGO is only a good thing if we're making cuts in the right places.

Cutting the bloated military and defense contracts? Great.

Cutting TANF, Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, and public education? Not so good.