Disclaimer: This is an informational note which is political in nature, if this offends you, take a deep breath and then read. However, you must read!
Some facts about the current state of affairs in our government and why it seems drastic change must occur
It is important to remember that the money our government collects, is not their money to do with whatever the hell they want! It is our money buying the government that we elect. America needs to wake up before it is too late. It is sad really when you can run your own life so well, pay your bills, save, be responsible and the people who run the infrastructure in which we live, are fretting it away so irresponsibly. It ought to piss you off!
Delaware Residents: You have until October 31st to change your party affiliation if you want to vote Republican in the primary. I encourage you put aside past alliances or prejudices and take a real look at Ron Paul for the sake of the country and your children. Apathy does not change paradigms.
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
FUN FACTS You will LOVE some of these:
(well maybe not so fun)
1. Energy prices: Crude closed at $92/per barrel last Friday; when Bush took office it was $18/barrel, you have to wonder how all of his big money oil friends like that little fact?
2. Budget Fact: $3.74 million went to fund research into the Formosan Subterranean Termite, what the hell is that all about?!?
3. Budget Fact: $1.7 million for the Centers for Disease Control to fund a Hollywood liaison to advise doctor dramas. Would you vote yes to that? Can you imagine any sane person doing so? Can you say ER anybody? Good show, but c’mon…actually they probably spent it to make Scrubs more realistic…
4. Budget/War Fact: Including both funding provided through 2007 and projected funding under the desired Bush doctrine scenario, total spending for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other activities related to the "war on terrorism" will amount to between US$1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion for fiscal years 2001 through 2017. This is in addition to the annual $500,000,000,000 annual military budget.
5. Budget/War Fact: The Department of Defense (DOD) currently is obligating an average of almost $11 billion a month for expenses associated with its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other activities related to the "war on terrorism". Most of that amount (more than $9 billion per month) is related to operations in Iraq.
6. Amy Belasco of the Congressional Research Service, had a slightly higher figure than the CBO. She said that CRS estimated that Congress had provided about $615 billion to date for Iraq, Afghanistan and enhanced security at defense bases
Sold one too many lies…remember WMD’s? That was only the start of lies about our wars…
On Jan. 19, 2003, before the March invasion, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld what the war would cost.
Rumsfeld responded, "The Office of Management and Budget estimated it would be something under $50 billion."
Stephanopoulos countered with, "Outside estimates say up to $300 billion."
Rumsfeld shot back, "Baloney."
This is all important to remember because this week, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a deep and prolonged occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion by 2017. In presenting the report to the House Budget Committee, CBO director Peter Orszag said, "We are on an unsustainable fiscal path and something has to give."
The White House refuses to give up its delusions. Asked about the CBO report, White House press secretary Dana Perino rejected it as "a ton of speculation" and "pure speculation."
Five years ago, Lawrence Lindsey told us "That's nothing." Daniels said Lindsey's "nothing" was "very, very high." Today, Perino says $2.4 trillion is a ton of speculation. The footnotes to war continue to march us along the unsustainable path.
7. Budget Fact: According the National Priorities Project, the war cost could provide an estimated 277 million children with health care for the year, 22 million students could receive four-year scholarships at public universities, 61 million children could attend Head Start, or we could build 4 million additional housing units. Clearly there is more than enough to rebuild the homes ravaged by the fire in Southern California, or we could fix Social Security. This makes the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" the gold standard for good government. Must we bankrupt the nation before we can openly admit we were wrong?
8. BIG Spender: George W. Bush, despite all his recent bravado about being an apostle of small government and budget-slashing, has spent the most of any president since Lyndon B. Johnson. In fact, he's arguably an even bigger spender than LBJ. "He's a big-government guy," said Stephen Slivinski, director of budget studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research group. The numbers are clear, credible and conclusive, added David Keating, executive director of the Club for Growth, a budget-watchdog group. "He's a big spender," Keating said. "No question about it."
When adjusted for inflation, discretionary spending -- or budget items that Congress and the president can control, including defense and domestic programs, but not entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare -- shot up at an average annual rate of 5.3% during Bush's first six years, Slivinski calculates. Including costs for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense spending under Bush has gone up 86% since 2001, according to Chris Hellman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Current annual defense spending -- not counting war costs -- is 25% above the height of the Reagan-era buildup, Hellman said.
9. BIG Spender: Homeland security spending also has soared, to about $31 billion last year, triple the amount before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, points to education spending. Adjusted for inflation, it's up 18% annually since 2001, thanks largely to Bush's No Child Left Behind act.
10. Budget Fact: The 2003 Medicare prescription drug benefit -- the biggest single expansion in the program's history -- whose 10-year costs is estimated at more than $700 billion.
11. Budget Fact: And the 2005 highway bill -- into which individual lawmakers included thousands of earmarks, or special local projects -- cost $295 billion. "President Bush has presided over massive increases in almost every category ... a dramatic change of pace from most previous presidents," Slivinski said.
12. Budget Fact: We currently pay 15% interest on previous years deficits, that means that 15% of your 15-45% tax rate is collected due to poor government spending
13. Budget Fact: This year we spent $15 billion in farm subsidies! This includes subsidies that have existed for the war effort since the 1940’s.
The 2002 farm bill caused agriculture spending to double its 1990s levels.
14. Budget Fact: 1.2 billion in census data.
15. Budget Fact: Postal Service 3.77 billion ( why do we need this service again? We already pay them yet they run their business at a $3.7 shortfall, would your business survive with those net losses?)
16. Budget Fact: SEC, $1 billion! How many people do we need to manage the financial markets?? At 150k yearly salary each, this will buy almost 7,000 of them. Maybe one per public company is about right, yeah that’s a good goal!
17. Budget Fact: Equal Opportunity Commission $328 million, does it really take this much money to ensure that we have equal opportunity in this country??
18. Budget Fact: Almost $5 billion is paid to support the people, buildings and salaries of our federal government. How many Congressmen and Justices do we have again??
19. Budget Fact: Bureau of Indian Affairs 2.3 billion (this does not include reservations or housing).
20. Budget Fact: Department of the Interior: 10.6 billion (80,000 employees and counting, with 2400 locations)
21. Budget Fact: US Attorneys $1.75 billion!! (that’s right your taxes pay for 1.75 bill worth of lawyers).
22. You and I don’t get to play: All previously elected congress people continue to get their salary for the rest of their lives (regardless if they served one term or twenty), oh, and they do not pay Social Security, they voted themselves a much nicer windfall.
23. Most agree that conservatively we are $9 trillion dollars in debt with obligations totaling tens of trillions more…
To help put this into perspective: If a mere two-hundred million citizens (just about all American adults) each gave the government $45,000, we could get out of debt, sorry married couples that means you owe $90,000. We would however, be in debt at least $3,000,000,000 the very next day
What happens if we go now, into a full scale recession? How long before it becomes a depression? What will the downstream effect be on the rest of the world? No one likes to see their pet project or favorite issue go, but the fact is, that while many of the items in the federal budget may seem worthy at face value (though many are just plain silly), real radical change is needed to fix it. This change must come outside the influence of special interest and the congressional favor system. Ron Paul has never once in 30 years contradicted himself or voted YES on a popular issue simply because. How is that for principle? Sounds like the kind of guy you want to make sweeping reform that is constitutionally based, not based on self-interest, special interest, main-stream media or current polls.
Time for fiscal responsibility, which means quite simply that ‘the establishment’ the status quo; must not prevail.
VOTE RON PAUL in 2008!
Let’s give liberty and change a real chance.
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ (take a look, you will like it!!)
Many thanks to all of the sources and contributing fact finders.
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