I will also be receiving an autographed copy of his new book Rumsfeld’s Rules
Admitting to the public that the consequences are the faults of the others might be a great political strategy for everyone in government. Since Obama has no third term, he can play this game and not necessarily take the blame since budget issues are not his problem, he only executes the legislation and cuts that are already in law.
As for the Congress, they can continue to blame each other and say that the Senate or the House is sitting on their asses and all will continue as did the last few years.
These cuts, however devastating, may be necessary for the long-term spending trends since increasing revenues is much harder than cutting programs. This type of politicking is just riding off the laziness of the others, at least in press conferences. In reality they are fighting difficult battles with debate and voting on the Hill.
Blaming it all on one another may be the easiest thing our representatives can do right now as they face the reality of spending cuts and increasing taxes during difficult times.
These cuts can of course be reversed if the legislatures provide funding again soon, but perhaps it is in the best interest of the budgeting to continue this blame game and take it now rather than over the lengthy period of time. Perhaps now we can focus on increasing efficiency rather than increasing overall revenue and spending.
There are plenty of places where our government can cut back or reform (entitlements, defense) and still manage to maintain power. 8% cut now, and more over the next decade. That’s horrible for re-election, unless they continue to play the same politics of the blame game. It’s 2am please don’t take me too seriously.
First week of spring semester!
Calculus homework finished to my satisfaction near 3AM and I’m reading one book a week (possibly more if I had some time or if I had shorter books), and watching anime to catch up for Anime Expo 2013.
As suspected, my first accounting class has a dull textbook.
Goddamn I love anime soundtracks. Beautiful and EXCITING music.
Current book is Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates
"It is quite legitimate to argue that modern governments have grown excessively large, and that they thereby limit economic growth and individual freedom. People are right to complain about unresponsive bureaucracy, corrupt politicians, and the unprincipled nature of politics. But in the developed world, we take the existence of government so much for granted that we sometimes forget how important it is, and how difficult it was to create, and what the world would look like without certain basic political institutions."
— Francis Fukuyama, The Origins of Political Order - pg. 12
rknjl:
The economy is not a car.
The economy is not a bathtub.
The economy is not a house.
The economy is not a tree.
The economy is not a factory.
The economy is not a boat.
The economy is not a living being.
The economy is not anything in Green Eggs and Ham
The house analogy is #1 when it comes to talking about deficit spending. It’s really fucking annoying.
