What the budget says about America

Washington Post by Ezra Klein | Feb. 14, 2011 (Opinion)

American politics is one long argument about what government should or shouldn't be doing, and how it should or shouldn't be doing it. It's rare that we step back, take in the larger picture and ask what it is doing. The release of the president's proposed 2012 budget is a good time to do that. If you want to know what the federal government is really doing, just look where it's spending our money. Full Story »

Posted by Jon Mitchell - via Salvador Sala (t), Megan Taylor (t)

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Subjects: U.S., Politics, Business, Living, Health, Community
Topics: U.S. Budget, Money and Politics, Obama Administration, Health Care, Taxes, Money, Jobs, Government, Social Security
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Posted by: Posted by Jon Mitchell - Feb 14, 2011 - 8:07 AM PST
Reviewed by: Jon Mitchell (review), Don Bertschman (review), Barry Grossheim (review), Roland F. Hirsch (review)
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Jon Mitchell - Feb 14, 2011 - 8:20 AM PST
Related Comments: Health Care (8) | Obama Administration (3)

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Jon Mitchell
3.9
 by Jon Mitchell - Feb. 14, 2011

Klein doesn't really provide much sourcing here, but the argument is very well constructed, and he offers many interesting ways to rethink one's conception of how the federal budget looks and what to do about it.

Jon posted this story.
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Don Bertschman
3.7
 by Don Bertschman - Feb. 14, 2011
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Barry Grossheim
4.0
 by Barry Grossheim - Feb. 14, 2011

Hard truths about budget deficits and spending. Klein clearly points out that social security, medicare, medicaid and the military make up the lion's share of the budget and that talk of cutting waste in other areas while ignoring these is an exercise in futility although it is politically expedient. Not mentioned here is lowering the deficit by increasing income, definitely not politically expedient!

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Roland F. Hirsch
1.6
 by Roland F. Hirsch - Feb. 14, 2011

This blog post has modest journalistic merit. The author, a Democratic Party activist, has done very little reading on the subject and seems poorly informed about it. Strangest of all is his citing Barney Frank and Ron Paul, perhaps the two most incompetent members of Congress, favorably. Frank, after all, caused the housing and financial crises largely by himself. And Paul Ryan is not even mentioned.

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  • Obama offers $3.7 trillion budget blueprint; deficit to hit $1.6 trillion this year

    Washington Post by Lori Montgomery | Feb. 14, 2011 (News Report)
    President Obama rolled out a $3.7 trillion budget blueprint Monday that would trim or terminate more than 200 federal programs next year and make key investments in education, ...
    Posted by Jon Mitchell
    3.5
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