- Townhall: Michael Ramirez
This was done just prior to the 'agreement' but I guess you can see the 'crumb factor', right?
As it turns out, those crumbly 'cuts' weren't all that, anyway. CBS NEWS:
Many of the cuts appear to have been cuts in name only, because they came from programs that had unspent funds.
For example, $1.7 billion left over from the 2010 census; $3.5 billion in unused children's health insurance funds; $2.2 billion in subsidies for health insurance co-ops (that's something the president's new health care law is going to fund anyway); and $2.5 billion from highway programs that can't be spent because of restrictions set by other legislation.
About $10 billion of the cuts comes from targeting appropriations accounts previously used by lawmakers for so-called earmarks - pet projects like highways, water projects, community development grants and new equipment for police and fire departments. Republicans had already engineered a ban on earmarks when taking back the House this year.
Republicans also claimed $5 billion in savings by capping payments from a fund awarding compensation to crime victims. Under an arcane bookkeeping rule -- used for years by appropriators -- placing a cap on spending from the Justice Department crime victims fund allows lawmakers to claim the entire contents of the fund as "budget savings." The savings are awarded year after year.
Read more about it at AoS:
Suckers! We were fooled again.
The total amount appears to be somewhere between $8 and $14 billion actually cut.That's out of $1,650 Billion shortfall this year. Genius!
Note: Comments disputing the numbers will be accepted and researched and corrected if need be. Comments pointing at something else - like 'Soze yer mom!' will be sent where they belong: the shitcan.
Glad to have you back, Pettyfog!
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