Easy Peasy sequester fix, ala Alan Grayson:

We need more like him. K and R

And signed the petition.

Really, government doesn't have to be complicated.

and I told my congressman that I had signed it.

Thank you Mr, Grayson.

+ 1.

Love, Peace and Shelter. lmsp

when he headed the Office of Accountability and was investigating the fraudulent activities surrounding W's s-called re-election. He is a great old soldier

Aside from a few very rational congress-critters like Grayson and Sanders, for the most part, our federal politician do NOT want to stop the sequester. It gives cuts in federal spending like RepubliCONS want and it gives Democrats cover for doing what RepubliCONS want. It's a win-win for both parties.

The only problem is the sequester does NOT give cuts in Social Security and Medicare. But I think Obama has a plan up his sleeve to take care of that too.

Sequester, or as most of the world calls it AUSTERITY, is just what the corporations and Wall Street love. See how the stock market went up? Because it allows for an impoverished desperate workforce that corporations can take advantage of. It ensures the majority of people will never get ahead and be forever at the mercy of corporate overlords.

Austerity, sequester, paying off the deficit with cuts in federal spending, is exactly how Herbert Hoover would have done it during the Great Depression.

..... while it ostensibly does not cut Medicare BENEFITS, it dues cut Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and physicians by 2% starting April 1st.

While this does not cur benefits directly, a lot more doctors are going to opt to NOT see Medicare patients, since many of them already complain that their reimbursement from Medicare does not even cover their cost.

K&R.

First of all, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 doesn't actually exist in law, it was ruled unconstitutional and was replaced by the 1987 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act. One would think that a couple of Congressmen would know that.

Second, I suppose that he believes that by suspending that clause of that act he will eliminate the debt ceiling. It won't because he has the wrong bill, one which was ruled unconstitutional and was voided. Not sure what he plans to eliminate, because the text of these bills is not readily available. Maybe he intends to eliminate the sequester in that bill, since it did contain one. That would be irrelevant, because today's sequester is not a product of that bill, ir was created by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Now for the deal. I'll pay you $5000 for your car. After you deliver your car then I'll pass a resolution that says I'm repealing the part of the deal that requires me to pay you $5000, but not the part of the deal that requires you to give me your car. Sound good?

That's what Conyers/Grayson is suggesting in canceling the sequester. The Budget Control Act of 2011 contained two essential parts which are pertinent here. It contained an immediate increase in the debt ceiling, and it contained the sequester. Those two things were trade offs, just as my $5000 is a trade off for your car. Obama (and Conyers/Grayson) got the debt ceiling increase, and now with the debt ceiling increase in hand Conyers/Grayson want to cancel the payment which is the trade off.

If, Conyers/Grayson think that be eliminating the debt ceiling the sequester becomes moot, think again. There is a concept in law called "good faith." It's the law that if one party delivers in good faith then the other party is bound by his side of the bargain. Even if the debt ceiling were to be eliminated today, it was in effect at the time of the deal, and it was raised as agreed, so the benefiting party has to deliver on his part of the agreement and the sequester stands.

Grayson is, as usual, grandstanding with rhetoric that sounds good and is not based on fact.

to the debt of the United States, is simply a fucking idiot.

You do realize you took a left turn and ended up here...Should have taken a right.

Congress has every authority (and more obligation to the well being of the country) to nix the thing whether you think it is fair or not.

The suicide pact should be what is illegal. Horrid governance, all involved should resign due to lack of competence, the deal is not dissimilar to me rigging a bomb to blow up as an effort to make sure I meet a deadline I imposed on myself. "If I don't get this done I'm going to blow up my office" insanity here.

going to solve the essential structural problems in our economy -- like outsourcing, importing too much, relying on expensive, nonrenewable forms of energy and dealing with new economic realities like computers replacing jobs with out-of-date solutions like stagnant wages.

First step: figure out the real causes of the problem. Only after you have figured that out can you solve the problem. The sequester will make things worse. It won't solve the problem. That is because it does not fix what is wrong but just moves the pain from one part of our economy to another.

We need to reduce the number of hours in our workweek without reducing wages. Workers do not need to work as long to produce the same result. All workers should benefit from the labor-saving devices and structures. The profits from computers, etc. should not all be going to Wall Street of the bosses. And we should not import so much cheap stuff from other countries without charging import taxes on it. Our trade policies only benefit the rich. They don't benefit the people who need work to make a living.

Like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are already funded into the future.

Is Defense? NO.
Is Homeland Security? NO.
Are any other federal programs? Maybe, but none I know of.

So the entitlement programs (I hate that name - they are actually EARNED programs) are not bankrupting anything. They are already fully-funded years into the future.

The problem is the cost of medical care in this country. And that problem is caused largely by the insurance companies.

Insurance companies = one of the real causes of the problem (but only one)

We need to address the problems, not simply cut without thought.

everyone is great friends and making sure promises are kept.

Repeal 85 and 87 disappears.

The budget control act of 2011 contained the two parts you describe.

These things and the current situation are nothing like agreeing to pay 5k for a car, and then deciding not to pay but still demanding the car.


If you really want to oversimplify and use household finances as your analogy, Its a lot closer to sitting down with your wife and agreeing that because your car is dead, you need to replace it, so you will cut your spending on other things.

And then realizing that You still need to pay for car insurance, electricity, and food, or you wont be able to feed your kids, do your budget after dark, or get yourself to work on time. So borrowing the 5k to pay for the car and continuing to pay for the other things important to daily life.

Possibly the best thing would be to stop eating out (hiring private companies at exorbitant rates to accomplish things we are perfectly able to do via government like offering student loans, incarcerating prisoners, and educating students) and cut our cable package back to basic instead of the full sports and movies and porn version (ie have a defensive military force instead of a world police force, complete with full Mercenary package)

But your analogy is roughly analogous to looking at a chihuahua and saying that due to what you see, mountain lions are a safe pet to have with small children.

Getting close!

"Repeal something from 1985??? That was from,... (insert heavenly choir)...The REAGAN Years!!! Hey,...you!!! Yes, YOU!!! Bow down you heathen!!!"

Face it. The Republicans have become maniacs.

and signed. Thanks.

if it would take republican votes to make it..forget about it.

The simplicity of common sense - or the common sense of simplicity? We can't be having that, now, can we?

Why would the controlling body, the Republicans want to stop the sequester? They WANT these budget cuts, they want less government, and deep down inside in places where we never get to go, they want the defense budget cut too. LESS GOVT is the battle cry of the Tea Party backed Republican house... No... you won't see this bill passed, you won't see an end to this situation unless President Obama caves in on things the democrats want....this is the only way the sequester will be stopped....

Over 202,000 now.

K&R