IggyPride00;1390821 wrote:BHO is having a great weekend.

He got some golf lessons from Butch Harmon (Tiger Wood's former, and Phil Mickelson's current coach) yesterday, and today he is playing his first round ever with Tiger Woods according to reports.

Not a bad way to spend a few days I guess if you have the time.

Please, did you complain when Bush was at his ranch? Or when Reagan took weeks in California.
Presidents take vacation, but are never really away from the job.

ptown_trojans_1;1390835 wrote:Please, did you complain when Bush was at his ranch? Or when Reagan took weeks in California.
Presidents take vacation, but are never really away from the job.

I'm fine with it, it's one of the perks of having the job. Frankly I am surprised it took this long for him and Tiger to play.

ptown_trojans_1;1390832 wrote: I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.
It is completly different.

Why is it different? Why must the govt be so ineffective and inefficient? Is it incompetence? Is it laziness? Is it corruption? Actually all true, and why we must reduce the size of gubmit.

It's only different in so far as financial restraint is a completely foreign concept. This is more laughable Beltway bullshit. The only thing painful thing about these cuts are the bruised egos and reduced power/influence.

I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.
It is completly different.

Why is it different? If we can't afford things, then don't do them. If people want them, they make them pay for it. Raise everyone's taxes, not just the "wealthy" and I'm okay with that.

gut;1390860 wrote:Why is it different? Why must the govt be so ineffective and inefficient? Is it incompetence? Is it laziness? Is it corruption? Actually all true, and why we must reduce the size of gubmit.

It's only different in so far as financial restraint is a completely foreign concept. This is more laughable Beltway bull****. The only thing painful thing about these cuts are the bruised egos and reduced power/influence.

Why, because it is the budget cycle.
Want to solve the problem, get Congress to find a better way to issue a budget.
Yes, the Government has many parts that are ineffective and inefficient, but the budgetary process is so complicated and complex that it does not allow for the same private sector mindset.
Programs are funded and put into line items years in advance, and it takes several cycles to really kill a program.

The idea that these cuts are good because it cuts both good and bad makes no sense again.
It does and will hurt good programs.

But, whatever, just do not complain if it takes you 2 hours to get through security at the airport because the TSA had to cut 8% of its workforce.

Or just cut the TSA 100% since it's a joke and doesn't make us any safer.

ptown_trojans_1;1390832 wrote:I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.

You're right. It leeches of the wealth created by the producers in the private sector...the sector that understands that if you spend more than you take in, you're out of business.

ptown_trojans_1;1390832 wrote:I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.

You're right. It leeches wealth created by the producers in the private sector...the sector that understands that if you spend more than you take in, you're out of business.

ptown_trojans_1;1390870 wrote:Why, because it is the budget cycle.
Want to solve the problem, get Congress to find a better way to issue a budget.
Yes, the Government has many parts that are ineffective and inefficient, but the budgetary process is so complicated and complex that it does not allow for the same private sector mindset.

What a bunch of beltway bullshit. Companies have budgets, as do the individual departments. A "complicated and complex" budget process bears no impact on a mentality to drive efficiency and reduce expenses.

The only reason you can't have the same "private sector mindset" is a culture of blank checks for well over a decade. It's a cultural problem that has nothing to do with the numerous excuses and justifications you've offered.

Note to self: Never hire a gubmit worker unless I want margins to go to shit.

"But, whatever, just do not complain if it takes you 2 hours to get through security at the airport because the TSA had to cut 8% of its workforce."

Sophistry. The government needs to ITS JOB! If that means employees don't get raises or heaven forbid get paid less, or they have to forego their fatcat pensions then that is what needs to occur, and we need politicians that understand that. This is how it works everywhere else. I had to take a $20,000/yr pay cut in 2002 to keep my job, and even then I was told it still wasn't guaranteed the job would be there in 6 months. Did I complain to my union? Slag off working? Half-ass it with my duties? No, I did my job.

Months later, Clint Eastwood's rambling talk to the chair at the GOP convention becomes smarter and smarter every day. Note to Ptown and other statists and apologists: We are not subjects to the government. The government SERVANTS work for us. DC needs a kick to the balls right now.

Plus, I don't know how much it happens, but apparently it's a not uncommon beltway trick to intentionally "overcut" needed services to make it appear they are underfunded. Like you don't cancel the $10k order for pencils, you lay off a DMV worker so that people "feel" the impact of the cuts.

And it rarely takes me more than 20-30 minutes to get thru airport security. So to take over 2 hours they'd have to cut 75% of the workforce. Shouldn't be a taxpayer expense but a traveler/airport expense, to begin with.

ptown_trojans_1;1390870 wrote:Why, because it is the budget cycle.
Want to solve the problem, get Congress to find a better way to issue a budget.
Yes, the Government has many parts that are ineffective and inefficient, but the budgetary process is so complicated and complex that it does not allow for the same private sector mindset.
Programs are funded and put into line items years in advance, and it takes several cycles to really kill a program.

The idea that these cuts are good because it cuts both good and bad makes no sense again.
It does and will hurt good programs.

But, whatever, just do not complain if it takes you 2 hours to get through security at the airport because the TSA had to cut 8% of its workforce.

LOL. Significantly more than 8% of them are standing around scratching themselves at any given time.

sleeper;1390900 wrote:Or just cut the TSA 100% since it's a joke and doesn't make us any safer.

This.

But, but, but they promised us that BarryKare would fix everything:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b2bce37c-7644-11e2-8eb6-00144feabdc0.html

[h=3]TransCanada: Keystone XL Would Have No Measurable Effect On Global Warming.[/h]The AP (2/20, Daly) reports that "in a shift in strategy," TransCanada, the builder of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, said Tuesday "the project will have no measurable effect on global warming." The AP reports Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada's president for energy and oil pipelines, said critics of the pipeline "have grossly inflated its likely impact on emissions of greenhouse gases." He said Canada "represents just 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions." At Tuesday's forum, organized by the National Association of Manufacturers, he "took on the climate argument head-on. He and other TransCanada executives have previously emphasized the pipeline's safety, the jobs it will create and the fact the oil comes from a US neighbor and ally." NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons "said most Americans support the construction of the pipeline. 'If you want to know why Americans are frustrated with Washington, you only need to look at the Keystone project and the inexcusable bureaucracy and red tape,'" Timmons said. "In the State of the Union address and on the campaign trail, President Obama spoke a great deal about economic recovery and an 'all-of-the-above' energy policy. It's beyond time for those words to be met with action. In a struggling economy, we must not pass up clear opportunities to create jobs and jump-start growth." The project "'has been held up for far too long,' he added. 'We need approval immediately.'"
Bloomberg News: Keystone Pipeline Should Be Approved. In an editorial, Bloomberg News (2/19) argues for the approval of Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast refineries. Bloomberg says the environmentalists' main argument that the extraction of the liquefied tar is costly and is "high in carbon emissions compared with simple drilling for liquid oil" is flawed. That's because the same process is used to extract oil from California's San Joaquin Valley but hasn't received the same level of scrutiny. In any case, the extraction process is getting cleaner, the editorial says. Bloomberg says, "The reason to approve the pipeline is that it would keep Canadian oil flowing to US refineries in the most efficient way, within the bounds of safety, and this is reason enough."




Instead, let's play golf with Tiger.


Change we can believe in ...

ptown_trojans_1;1390832 wrote:Alright, whatever guys.
Just do not complain if it takes longer to get through the airport, or if flights are delayed.
And, don't complain if that bridge continues to rot.
And, don't complain about securing the border.

I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.
It is completly different.

You want to cut the budget, fine, I'm all for it, but this way is so stupid and makes no sense.

Simply bizarre. We are talking about reductions in the rate of increase, NOT REAL CUTS. For God's sake, private entities make REAL cuts and IMPROVE efficiency and the customer experience, all simultaneously, ALL THE TIME!!

ANY turnaround expert could implement 10% REAL CUTS in government, without ANYONE noticing any pain whatsoever, especially the 'customer'.

Yet all we get is whining from the spineless, inept 'leader' of the free world. What a COMPLETE failure he is.

God save us all.


PS --- and what a complete moron he looks like now, he has cared less about the border for his entire term in office, and now all of the sudden he is talking about having to cut border patrol ---- WHAT A FUC$ING LIAR!

ptown is why nothing will EVER change in this country. He works in DC and has a vested interest in seeing that the budget is never cut. Just like thousands of other "important" people in this country. They are arguing about 85 Billion dollars, less than 3 percent of our budget. 3 PERCENT!! If you get your panties in a wad about 3 percent, nothing will ever change. We run over a 1 TRILLION dollar deficit and 85 Billion is too fucking much to cut from the budget. Unreal.

tk421;1393085 wrote:ptown is why nothing will EVER change in this country. He works in DC and has a vested interest in seeing that the budget is never cut. Just like thousands of other "important" people in this country. They are arguing about 85 Billion dollars, less than 3 percent of our budget. 3 PERCENT!! If you get your panties in a wad about 3 percent, nothing will ever change. We run over a 1 TRILLION dollar deficit and 85 Billion is too fucking much to cut from the budget. Unreal.

It's a NIMBY situation. All for cuts, except when it's my money they are talking about.

sleeper;1393088 wrote:It's a NIMBY situation. All for cuts, except when it's my money they are talking about.

Yeah, god forbid people have to take 10 years of hopefully good experience gained in a defense industry bull market and seek out a new industry...you know, like the rest of us living in the real world have done.

QuakerOats;1393077 wrote:Simply bizarre. We are talking about reductions in the rate of increase, NOT REAL CUTS. For God's sake, private entities make REAL cuts and IMPROVE efficiency and the customer experience, all simultaneously, ALL THE TIME!!

ANY turnaround expert could implement 10% REAL CUTS in government, without ANYONE noticing any pain whatsoever, especially the 'customer'.

Yet all we get is whining from the spineless, inept 'leader' of the free world. What a COMPLETE failure he is.

God save us all.


PS --- and what a complete moron he looks like now, he has cared less about the border for his entire term in office, and now all of the sudden he is talking about having to cut border patrol ---- WHAT A FUC$ING LIAR!

Considering we are still in FY12 dollars, they are actual cuts. Program Offices are decreasing in dollars allocated, not staying flat.
But, again, whatever, I've accepted the cuts are happening and can deal with the consequences, the increase in unemployment, and flat economy.

tk421;1393085 wrote:ptown is why nothing will EVER change in this country. He works in DC and has a vested interest in seeing that the budget is never cut. Just like thousands of other "important" people in this country. They are arguing about 85 Billion dollars, less than 3 percent of our budget. 3 PERCENT!! If you get your panties in a wad about 3 percent, nothing will ever change. We run over a 1 TRILLION dollar deficit and 85 Billion is too ****ing much to cut from the budget. Unreal.

Shit man.
I want a decrease in the budget.
However, I just want smart people to come up with better ways to cut, not some thing that cuts across the board.
Which is better when breaking your arm, having a surgeon repair it, or just cutting it off?

Again, I am for cuts, the DOD, and Civ agencies budget need to go down, just not like this.

But, I have come to acceptance phase.
C'est la vie

ptown_trojans_1;1393100 wrote:But, I have come to acceptance phase.

Acceptance is the first step to recovery.

majorspark;1393103 wrote:Acceptance is the first step to recovery.

Yep.
Honestly, most of the people that last summer fought tooth and nail against these cuts are largely silent now.
It does absolutely suck, but hey it is what it is.

And the President looked like a tool the other day when he was lecturing everyone. He did not help.

If you are waiting for Congress to ever do something smart, you will be waiting forever. Across the board cuts are the only way anything will get cut, giving them a chance to argue over which areas to cut would take until the end of time.

ptown_trojans_1;1390832 wrote:Alright, whatever guys.
Just do not complain if it takes longer to get through the airport, or if flights are delayed.
And, don't complain if that bridge continues to rot.
And, don't complain about securing the border.

I get the arguments, but the Government is not the private sector, you cannot make the argument that you are making.
It is completly different.

You want to cut the budget, fine, I'm all for it, but this way is so stupid and makes no sense.

So will you be getting uneployment soon?

tk421;1393119 wrote:If you are waiting for Congress to ever do something smart, you will be waiting forever. Across the board cuts are the only way anything will get cut, giving them a chance to argue over which areas to cut would take until the end of time.

Yeah, that is the reality.
The hope is the this will spur dialogue on smart cuts.
But, as we have seen, this town usually does the opposite of what is logical.

Belly35;1393124 wrote:So will you be getting uneployment soon?

Nah, hope not, my company is alright. We have had some cutbacks last quarter, but I'm still peachy.

The politics over the sequester are hilarious.

Closeted Keynesians all around.

Obama in 2010 proposes the idea to get the Tea Partiers to Stop holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage. He tells us we need a balanced approach and threatens a veto over it and that these types of spending cuts will restore confidence and consequently improve GDP. "It's time to Eat our Peas"

Boehner bites and then makes a powerpoint trying to sway the nut bars to raise the debt ceiling in exchange...saying the same things as Obama.

Now...neither of them want to touch it with a 5 foot pole. If spending cuts are good for the economy, why is Boehner giving Obama credit for this? If it's not going to hurt anything and is just a drop in the bucket as Krauthammer says, why is Boehner not owning this? If Spending cuts help the economy and restore confidence, why is Obama running from his claims 18 months ago?