Archive for the ‘Balanced Budget’ Category
State Sovereignty: The Roles of the States & the Federal Government
Monday, June 22, 2015 Presentation
KrisAnne Hall is an attorney and former prosecutor, fired after teaching the Constitution to TEA Party groups – she would not sacrifice liberty for a paycheck. She is a disabled veteran of the US Army, a Russian linguist, a mother, a pastor’s wife and a patriot. She now travels the country and teaches the Constitution and the history that gave us our founding documents. She is a dynamic speaker and she will share tremendous information and historical facts every American should know.
Watch The Presentation On The FEDERALEXPRESSION Youtube Channel.
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State Sovereignty: The Roles of the States & the Federal Government
Don’t Miss KrisAnne Hall
KrisAnne Hall is an attorney and former prosecutor, fired after teaching the Constitution to TEA Party groups – she would not sacrifice liberty for a paycheck. She is a disabled veteran of the US Army, a Russian linguist, a mother, a pastor’s wife and a patriot. She now travels the country and teaches the Constitution and the history that gave us our founding documents. She is a dynamic speaker and she will share tremendous information and historical facts every American should know. Click the Image to Download the Flyer !!! or Click Here.
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Debt Deal: Shame on you Pennsylvania
I am stealing this excerpt from Larry Greenley 8/5/2011. Larry has done an excellent job of cutting through all the confusion and summarizing the federal budget problem. See my reference link for the full article which includes a breakdown of votes from across the nation and a video clip from Ron Paul’s floor speech.
Congratulations to Michael Doyle and Patrick Toomey for being the sole voice in opposition to this legislation from each Pennsylvania house. The excerpt follows:
In exchange for congressional authorization for an increase in the debt ceiling of an amount between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion (in a two-step process), congressional leaders promise to cut approximately $2.5 trillion in spending over the next ten years.
So, even though our annual federal deficits have been averaging over $1 trillion per year for a few years now, which would lead us to expect an increase of over $10 trillion in our national debt over the next ten years, the much ballyhooed debt deal will only shave $2.5 trillion off the over $10 trillion expected increase.
The basic problem is that we’re experiencing an increase in the national debt in the area of $2.5 trillion every two years, but the debt deal only provides a reduction of spending of $2.5 trillion over the next ten years.
However, there is an even bigger problem. The unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are variously estimated at $60-$100 trillion dollars or more. So the official, current national debt figure of $14 trillion dollars is a gross underestimation of our federal debt problem.
Everyone knows that by early 2013 we’ll be back in the same situation as we were before the debt deal of 2011. That is, we’ll be knocking on the debt ceiling again.
Larry Greenley “Who Voted to Perpetuate Trillion Dollar Deficits?”
| Pennsylvania House | ||
| Aye | PA-1 | Brady, Robert [D] |
| Aye | PA-2 | Fattah, Chaka [D] |
| Aye | PA-3 | Kelly, Mike [R] |
| Aye | PA-4 | Altmire, Jason [D] |
| Aye | PA-5 | Thompson, Glenn [R] |
| Aye | PA-6 | Gerlach, Jim [R] |
| Aye | PA-7 | Meehan, Patrick [R] |
| Aye | PA-8 | Fitzpatrick, Michael [R] |
| Aye | PA-9 | Shuster, William [R] |
| Aye | PA-10 | Marino, Thomas [R] |
| Aye | PA-11 | Barletta, Lou [R] |
| Aye | PA-12 | Critz, Mark [D] |
| Aye | PA-13 | Schwartz, Allyson [D] |
| No | PA-14 | Doyle, Michael [D] |
| Aye | PA-15 | Dent, Charles [R] |
| Aye | PA-16 | Pitts, Joseph [R] |
| Aye | PA-17 | Holden, Tim [D] |
| Aye | PA-18 | Murphy, Tim [R] |
| Aye | PA-19 | Platts, Todd [R] |
| Pennsylvania Senate | ||
| Yea | PA | Casey, Robert [D] |
| Nay | PA | Toomey, Patrick [R] |
Reference: http://www.jbs.org/news/who-voted-to-perpetuate-trillion-dollar-deficits
Reference: Report: U.S. Spends 60 Percent Of Debt-Ceiling Increase In One Day
Balanced Budget Amendment: Be Careful What You Wish For
This is part 2 of a series of discussions designed to point out the fallacies behind some modern Amendment ideas. As the drive towards a Constitutional Convention heats up, it is a good idea to examine the many Amendment proposals that are being discussed. No one wants to see balanced budgets more than I. Just be careful what you wish for.
Without exception, every balanced budget amendment proposal I have seen has included built-in loop-holes to allow our legislature to circumvent the requirement. I suppose that’s to be expected in today’s short-sighted world. Every year a new budget is proposed and passed and in every instance the Congress can balance the budget with a simple majority vote. It never happens. I don’t believe an amendment will change that.
I have two great reservations about a balanced budget amendment.
Reservation #1:
There are two ways to balance a budget. First, cut spending. I assume that this is what most Americans would like to see. Second, raise taxes. Let me ask you a simple question. If Congress were under mandate to balance the budget today, which method do you think would be most likely to be used?
Reservation #2:
The frustration of the American people over the budget issue is being used to fuel a call for an Article V Constitutional Convention. The risk of doing so is hardly worth it. Especially since the outcome of a balanced budget amendment is likely to result in higher taxes and a still unbalanced budget. As soon as taxes are raised sufficiently to bring the budget in line, a war or similar crisis will result in the exercise of whatever loop-hole is included and the debt will continue to rise.
Conclusion:
We need to be very specific about how the budget is to be balanced. We cannot expect to make real progress on this issue unless we examine the true role of Government. If we want a welfare/warfare state we will have huge debts. Let us work to reduce the size of government. Let us enforce the Constitution, our contract of government, as it is written. Let us bind men down from mischief with the chains of our Constitution.
Reference My Previous Posts on the dangers associated with a Con-Con:
https://federalexpression.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/beware-of-con-cons-state-legislators-warn-against-a-constitutional-convention/
https://federalexpression.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/danger-rand-paul-to-push-for-a-constitutional-convention-to-force-balancing-the-federal-budget/
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