Visualizing $100 Million U.S. Budget Cut — President Obama has proposed cutting $100 million form the federal budget. Think that’s a big deal? Hardly. The video at this link puts it in perspective.
Thank you Cathy Craddock.
Category: Debt
$9,600 Debt Per Pennsylvanian
Every resident of Pennsylvania owes $9,600 in state and local debt as of 2009, according to Nate Benefield of Commonwealth Foundation. This does not account for the $3 billion deficit in unemployment compensation or the billions in debt assumed in the Gen Theft pension bailout .
And of course this doesn’t account for the money for which they are on the hook regarding the massive federal debt.
So Pennsylvanians, and the rest of Americans, are going to continue to become poorer until they develop skin thick enough to withstand being called “uncaring” and “hateful” by greedy government-connected types who use emotional blackmail as a means of acquiring wealth and power.
Benefield notes that Pennsylvania’s general obligation debt rose by almost $2 billion, or 28 percent, during Gov. Rendell’s reign of robbery.
On a related note, in Michigan, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has developed a plan in response to his city’s fiscal crisis that would end services — including trash collection, road repair and fire/police/ambulance responses — to about 45 square miles of the city. Call it urban planning by Mad Max.
Pennsylvania, do you see your future?
Pa Unemployment Fund Facing Interest Payments
Pennsylvania is going to have to start anteing up interest payments come January for its bankrupt unemployment compensation fund, according to Commonwealth Foundation .
The state owes Washington $3 billion for unemployment compensation but for now has been spared paying interest. Starting next month it will being forking over 3.9 percent on the debt.
Thank you Democrats. Thank you Obama voters. Wheeee. Money is freeeee.
Sacrifice, Leadership And Pa COLAs
Sacrifice, Leadership And Pa COLAs — Pennsylvania legislators, judges and other top officials are getting a 1.7 percent cost-of-living-allowance raise. This means that the salary for our state legislators will rise from $78,315 to $79,623, while salaries for the four legislative floor leaders increase from $113,468 to $115,364.
The cost of living allowance (COLA) raise did not require a vote. A1995 law bestows such raises automatically based on changes in the
federal government’s Consumer Price Index for the mid-Atlantic states.
Do you think that given the economic suffering and the state’s financial difficulties they might have voted to forgo the raise this year? I know, stupid question.
For some irony the extra $1,300 a state legislator will be getting next year is about what the average Pennsylvania household will soon be paying in extra taxes due to the “Gen Theft” legislative pension bailout bill that was just passed.
Basically, we have to make allowances for the cost of their living.
Sacrifice, Leadership And Pa COLAs
Beautiful Curve From Jim Bunning
Beautiful Curve From Jim Bunning  — Jim Bunning, whose Father’s Day perfect game gives many Phillies fans smiles even after 46 years, has thrown the Democrats and their enablers a curve that should bring smiles to all who care about this country.
The major-leaguer turned Kentucky senator has by his lonesome blocked a bill that would extend unemployment benefits and health insurance for the millions of Americas who have been out of work for months in the Obama economy.
Pretty mean, huh? Well Bunning points out that the bill he is blocking adds $10 billion to the deficit which is spiraling out of control under our president, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi — it’s projected to hit $1.6 trillion this year — and is violating a sworn oath made by our legislators to pay for new costs rather than use deficit spending.
Bunning points out that money to extend benefits can easily be found in unspent portions of last year’s stimulus package, and that he supports extending those benefits with that money.
Sen. Reid and his fellow Democrats strangely don’t. People should really start asking why.
Update: Bunning, under pressure from the media and his own party relented allowing the Senate to vote, 78-19 , last night, March 2, to extend federal unemployment benefits for 30 days.
Bunning voted against it.
Both Pennsylvania senators — Democrats Robert Casey and Arlen Specter — voted for it.
Their children and grandchildren will thank them.
Beautiful Curve From Jim Bunning
Pa Unemployment Fund $2 Billion In Red
Pa Unemployment Fund $2 Billion In Red — Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Fund has a balance of $125 million and a debt of $2.05 billion, which was borrowed from the federal government.
To try and pay it off the state’s employers will pay $48 more per employee in unemployment taxes in 2010 which will be $432 per worker. Which of course means the employers will be less likely to hire. Which of course means continued high unemployment.
Pennsylvania’s debt puts it behind California at $6.4 billion; Michigan, $3.29 billion; and New York, $2.3 billion.
Here’s how Pa. ranks regarding unemployment tax per worker.
Kudos to Nate Benefield for the tip.
Pa Unemployment Fund $2 Billion In Red
Senate Passes $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill; Sells Your Children Into Bondage
Senate Passes $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill; Sells Your Children Into Bondage — Obama voters — and all Democrats, I suppose — tell your children now that you love them. Do it while they still might believe it.
The Senate, today, passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill which doesn’t include money for the military, the money for which will be subject to another vote and is expected to be $626 billion.
The bill combines six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began on Oct. 1. Obama has already signed five others into law. If the defense money is passed as expected the U.S. budget for 2010 will be $3.55 trillion which is a $450 billion increase over last year.
Government revenue, please note, is estimated at $2.381 trillion. This estimate is pegged at 8.9 precent higher than 2009 when there was not 10 percent (okay, 17 percent) unemployment.
The vote for H.R. 3288 was 57-35 with three Republicans — Thad Cochran (Mississippi), Richard Shelby (Alabama) and Susan Collins (Maine) — voting for it and Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Tom Coburn and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, and George Voinovich of Ohio not being present.
Cochran, Shelby and Collins also voted for cloture, yesterday, which was the vote that mattered in stopping the drunken spending spree.
The vote against it included Democrats Evan Bayh of Indiana, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, all of whom are facing re-election in 2010; and who were consistent in voting against cloture, yesterday.
Not present, today, were Democrats Byron Doran of North Dakota, Patty Murray of Washington and Jeff Merkley of Oregon although they too supported Saturday’s cloture vote.
Pennsylvania’s senators Arlen Specter and Little Bobby Casey Jr. are Democrats and voted for both bills.
Senate Passes $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill; Sells Your Children Into Bondage
Senate Busts GOP Filibuster; Poised To Pass $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill
Senate Busts GOP Filibuster; Poised To Pass $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill — The Senate, this morning, beat a Republican-led filibuster paving the way for passage of a $1.1 trillion spending bill. The cloture vote was passed with Sen. Joe Lieberman(I-Conn) being the required 60th vote.
The bill, HR 3288, combines $447 billion in operating budgets with about $650 billion in mandatory payments for federal benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
The spending does not include a proposed $626 billion in defense spending on which a vote is still required.
The bill also:
–permits detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to be transferred to the United States to stand trial but not to be released.
— voids a long-standing ban on the funding of abortion by the District of Columbia
— phases out a D.C. school voucher program and opens the door for the city to permit medical marijuana.
— lifts a nationwide ban on the use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs which allows addicts to exchange needles used for injecting drugs.
— gives federal workers pay increases averaging 2 percent, with those in high costs areas getting slightly higher increases.
The bill is expected to be passed tomorrow and sent to President Obama’s desk for signature.
I don’t think your children will thank you, Obama voters.
Senate Busts GOP Filibuster; Poised To Pass $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill
US Deficit At Record $1.417 Tillion
The U.S. deficit has hit a record $1.417 trillion as of Sept. 30 according to the White House. In case you should happen to have missed the reporting of the milestone in tomorrow’s papers, well, at least you’ve see it here.