WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Barack Obama said Thursday he is proposing eliminating or reducing more than 100 government programs from the federal budget.
"We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits don't matter and waste is not our problem," Obama said in a speech at the White House.
He cited a defense program, a literacy program and a Department of Education office in Paris as examples.
He said the cuts are no criticism of the staff of the targeted programs.
"There are many, many people doing valuable work for our government across the country and around the world. And it's important that we support these folks," he said. "This is not a criticism of them."
From CNN Politics
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Well, well, these cuts will affect hundreds of Americans who will be looking for work eventually. Will they get one of those 3 million jobs Obama is going to create???? Not when he is cutting jobs, I don't think so. What is wrong with this picture??
WHERE'S THE CHANGE?!?!
Oh there it is, right there. Cool.
Could it be he is finally realizing he has already mortgaged the future of future generations? Unfortunately, this is only a drop in the bucket. To return to any kind of sound fiscal responsibilty, any and all entitlement programs should vanish forever.
Good. This has been needed for a long time. For all that the Conservatives claimed to be about the money, they sure weren't looking at cutting the budget at all.
Hooray. It's past time for some common sense, and some hard choices.
A literacy program on the block. I guess it is better for politicians and bureaucrats that people not be able to read and understand what is being done to them.
No talk of cutting out foreign aid, we can save billions there every year.
Just tell the non-grateful aid receiving nations that in these economic hard times, they're on their own until this nation is back on it's feet.
H.U.D. can be eliminated along with the national endowment for the Arts. The arts can be funded privately through telethons.
"We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits don't matter and waste is not our problem,"
Why is he only bringing this up now? It's pretty hypocritical of him to say such a thing after the billions that have been allocated for the so-called stimulus and bailout packages.
No......No......NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You're a Democrat, Obama!!
You must ADD more programs......and then tax us exorbitantly to fund them!!!
If you don't, the Conservatives will have nothing to cry about.......er, I mean, protest
Barack is just a big liar.
"he wants to cut 17 billion but he is spending 3.4 TRILLION.
That is about as effective as when he announced they were cutting 100 million from the budget.
You are a joke and a liar barack. You are spending more money than President Bush and making every excuse while you are doing it.
You are nationalizing banks and automotive and handing the latter to the unions. You are a socialist.
People better wake up you elected a socialist leader and a liar.
Comings soon, Republicans complaining about Obama making the government smaller.
100 million from cabinet folks... 17 billion from the budget... snip snip snip... little by little... hopefully Obama et al will finish what they start.... it seems, though, at least like they are trying in good faith....
Guess now the GOP is happy ?!
That's what I'm talking about!
I wonder what the Repugs will find to oppose him on???
YAY!!!!
Obama proposes cuts totaling $17B – or ONE HALF OF ONE PERCENT of $3.4T budget Congress approved.
Dems – Drink Up the Kool-Aid and follow your messiah off a cliff.
GOP – Just sit and wait. Obama and the liberals are about to self destruct.
You go Mr. President. The majority of this Country is behind you. Ignore the insane rants of the far right and left. Concentrate on what you have been doing. We who love this Nation are glad you are at the helm of the ship of State.
Yep, and his $17B in proposed cuts ("proposed" because the congress ultimately won't allow anywhere near that much in cuts) amounts to .001416% (a little more than "one one-thousandth") of the 12 trillion dollars Obamas first 60 days is expected to cost us over 10 years.
Whoo hoo! Change we can believe in!
How about a five year freeze on all budgets? That would be a real change?
Or better yet, cut every department's budget by a full five percent? Not a cut "in the rate of growth," but a REAL cut, in which you take this years budget, cut five percent out, and that becomes NEXT year's budget, followed by five percent cuts EVERY year for the following four years after that.
THAT would be a real change. $17B indeed.
OMG! It just gets more bazaar! Funding a 1-person office in Paris for a literacy program? Who wouldn't want to have THAT job? How would John Q. Public ever know about this waste if not for the President REALLY scrutinizing the budget? And the previous administration APPROVED this stuff???Only goes to show you that Bush really COULDN'T read.
Those previous cuts were just the beginning. Here comes the scalpal.
"We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits don't matter and waste is not our problem," Obama said in a speech at the White House.--
You have got to be kidding me.....you just spent 1.5 trillion dollars now you are cutting back....what a joke!
The problem with these 'cuts' is that they're cutting a program and calling it savings. It's only savings if the money is not going to be spent, which is not the case. He's cutting programs to fund other programs and none of us see a dime and the budget is still over 3.5 trillion dollars. That is definatly not saving, thats called spending. Spending more than the previous 43 presidents all together in fact, and that's not going to become a burdon on our children how? Riddle me that Mr. President.
Say a family has a household annual budget of $100,000 and decides to reduce spending $1000 by flying coach to Disney instead of First Class. That family has doubled the "savings" proposed by Obama.
Please, put someone serious in the White House next time.
Yeah? What now repubs? What ? What?
I love this administration. Now they are taking the fight of fiscal responsibility directly into our faces. We cried when they ask for stimulus package and we will scream when they cut waste. This is a very dynamic administration. They keep dismantling the stack of opponents cards with little or no efforts. Fiscal responsibility – used to be a dictionary word but now an administrative verb. I guess the playing field for politics in the US is changing everyday.
Will the money be saved or just spent on other projects.
we need to pay down the deficit, not spend, spend, spend!