Chris Christie enacts a real spending freeze in NJ

OK, now I am impressed. As you all know, I had some doubts about how conservative Chris Christie was going to be. While he did promise fiscal responsibility, I was never really sure he meant it. Now I know he means it.

From CBS News: 

Calling New Jersey's budget a "shambles," Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday he is immediately freezing all state spending. 

Saying New Jersey is on the verge of bankruptcy, Christie declared a fiscal emergency, announcing drastic cuts. Among them, aid to school districts that have excess surpluses. 

"Today we are going to act swiftly to fix problems too long ignored. Today I begin to do what I promised the people of New Jersey I would do," Christie said. 

New Jersey Democrats are squealing!  They are livid because, Christie did not bother going through the legislature, instead he issued the freeze via executive order. It is a good thing he did, because already the Democrats are playing the same old game of “you can’t cut that”.   They are using the same old flimsy excuses for leaving their sacred cows untouched. 

Currently New Jersey is facing a budget shortfall of about $2 Billion. Under Corzine we have tried the raising revenue route and we still ran out of money. The problem is and always has been, that government spends too damn much.  Every time you turn around, there is New Jersey’s government creating new programs for this or a new program for that, more spending for this or more spending for that. At some point, you just have to break out the budget ax and start whacking at everything.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: CBS News

The Budget: Obama is living in The Matrix

In the movie The Matrix, machines were able to enslave the entire human race for use as an energy source. The machines were able to keep the humans in check by project a false reality to the humans. In this false reality, humans lived life at the height of the 20^th century, completely oblivious to the true holocaust around them. In terms of spending, Obama is clearly living in the false reality of the Matrix.

Today President Obama has released the new budget for fiscal year 2011. It comes in at a staggering $3.8 trillion and carries an unheard of deficit of $1.6 trillion. In other words, almost half the money being spent will have to be borrowed.

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama will propose on Monday a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011 that projects the deficit will shoot up to a record $1.6 trillion this year, but would push the red ink down to about $700 billion, or 4% of the gross domestic product, by 2013, according to congressional aides.

The deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, would eclipse last year's $1.4 trillion deficit, in part due to new spending on a proposed jobs package. The president also wants $25 billion for cash-strapped state governments, mainly to offset their funding of the Medicaid health program for the poor.

Obama speaks of investments in our future like we actually have the money to pay for these things. He believes that all this new spending will some how pay for itself down the road. Obama even wants to freeze the current level of spending for the next three years as though we could possible afford to sustain those levels.

For now Obama only offers toothless commissions, rosy economic projections, the puniest of cuts and another dose of “Blame Bush” as though any of that is sufficient to address the massive debt we are carrying today.

Obama is also proposing a new $100 billion jobs program, even though last year he told the American people that the $787 billion dollar stimulus was a jobs program designed to hold unemployment at 8%.  Despite the stimulus  failing miserably to keep unemployment in check and still has hundreds of billions left to be spent, Obama still wants another $100 billion to throw away.

Just the other day, Obama talked about cutting the budget and Washington living within its means. 

  

Clearly, these were just words and just speeches. The man hasn’t a clue as to the real world consequences looming large if we do not serious reverse course with spending.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Wall Street Journal

Video H/T: Gateway Pundit

Obama’s so-called spending freeze

At his first State of the Union address, Obama is going to propose a so-called spending freeze. The spending freeze is supposed to be a three-year freeze on domestic spending, with only inflationary increases after that. The freeze would not apply to defense spending, entitlements or foreign aid.

This move is designed to appeal to the independent voter who has loss support for Obama and who does not pay much attention to the details. The details are key to understanding why this so-called freeze is utter BS.

First, the amount of the Federal budget that this freeze actually applies to is about 1/8^th the entire budget. Worse yet, entitlements which is what is really breaking our budget remains untouched. Second, Obama is applying the freeze to the 2011 budget. Currently the portion that the freeze applies to is already 27% higher that 2008! So the idea that spending will not keep up with inflation during the 3 years is nonsense, it is already factored in there.

Projected savings from the freeze will about to about $15 billion a year. Meanwhile we will be running budget deficits of $1.5 trillion a year. So we are not even talking about in 1% savings or reductions. Thus this freeze is purely political and irresponsible.  

Despite the smoke and mirrors behind the freeze, the left seems to be apocalyptic.  They are treating this bogus freeze like they were spending cuts. I cannot imagine with our $1.5 trillion a year deficit spending why they are crying over cuts, both real or imagine. How irresponsible  is it not to realize that we are on an unsustainable path?   

During the 2008 elections, Obama repeatedly ridiculed John McCain for proposing a spending freeze.

This video is probably one of the best tools for opening the eyes of the uninformed so that they don’t fall for Obama’s political gimmick.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Via: Breitbart TV

Via: Hit and Run