January 25th, 2011
01:35 PM ET
11 years ago
Obama to call for five year spending freeze
Washington (CNN) - In a move aimed at tackling the bulging federal deficit, a senior administration official said President Obama will call for a "five-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending," during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Mr. Obama also plans to look for other areas to cut and make the government more efficient, the official said.
One example already in motion is a five-year plan from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to get $78-billion in defense savings.
Republicans have been putting pressure on the White House to focus more heavily on spending cuts and reforms, arguing that the recent "spending binge" has hampered job creation.
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Wow! That's a pretty serious move coming from the president. I could see he's really focus on winning votes in 2011 from both parties
Did you guys hear that Obama is going to announce the creation of a new central bank tonight? They have the story over at gaspricenews
government spending wisley???
ya right!!!
never has never will!
Of course he does, now that he doesn't have the votes to push further spending plans down our gullets. What a joke Drudge and Obama are!
Here's a thought.if the government thinks we can live off minimum wage. Why don't what was supposed to be a non paying job,there to help the quality of life at select meetings, just pay that.and then get benefits for life.and here's one.we have government health care its called medicaid and medicare..when are people going to wake Up.
if you realy care about the deficit then you need to stop giving tax break to people who can afford paying it... barrowing $750B from chine to give tax break to most richest people in america ... you n't being relastic
The recent "spending binge" was due to a worldwide recession.........People get your head out your butt, and realize that the entire modernized world fell into recession....except China b/c for the honest fact that they do not have the highest paid workers in the world, so they have low cost to maintain.......The debt can and must be dealt with but not in dractiic manner
Does that also include a 5 year freeze on any new czars too ?
Lets hope so
Freeze gasoline at a normal profit margin do not gouge us then brag about record profits
What exactly is non-security discretionary spending? Are we going to decide what that is along the way?
While this seems like a step in the right direction we not only need to freeze it but cut it. Need to go a step further Mr. Obama
Sounds good, doesn't it. So Common Sense thought a bit of fact check might be in order. The discretionary spending federal budget for FY 2010 was $1.39 trillion, or 38% of total spending. So the first Common Sense observation is that a significant majority of the federal budget, some 62%, is off the table. In case you're wondering that includes principally social security, medicare, and medicaid. Note that I'm not suggesting that these programs should be cut, just pointing out the obvious.
Of the discretionary spending that is on the table, more than half ($844 billion) is security related including DOD and Homeland Security. What remains, $546 billion or roughly 15% of total federal budget, is what is to be frozen!
Think about that for a bit. Our elected representatives are going to have a fight over 15% of the total budget. While you're thinking about it bear in mind that budgeted spending is only a portion of real total spending.
So when the facts are available just how good is a freeze on "non-security discretionary spending?" Common Sense thinks this is more of the politics of the usual. It sounds good but doesn't really pass the smell test.
If the Right would only drop their "destroy at all cost" game and work with this man, this Country would again be unstoppable. He is smart, and I firmly believe he has the good of the Nation in mind when he makes decisions.
By the way the recession wasn't from spending.......it was from credit, and debt of Americans, and other countries......Private sector debt.......it was caused by over consumption.......what the government did is transfer all the bad loans from the private sector, that were in default, to the government books.........Through bailouts.......it worked but, it cost the taxpayer to foot the bill.
It turns out those who wanted to keep up with the Jones', were in over their heads.....the banks and other lenders okayed their wants(not needs), and credit agencies rated all these millions of bundled loans AAA....meaning good as money....or good as paid, and sold them worldwide, many in the form of instruments called derivatives........One day or month it was time to pay the bills, and slowly but surely Large Private Banks and other lenders world wide, found out they were holding junk bonds....JUNK BONDS......basically there was a wordwide default on private cash.......
The evil government, actually saved the day, by bailing out businesses that were to globally connected to actually everything a lose lose situation............But somehow we Americans have been trained to blame government.
Its so sad to hear and see everything that is going on in this country .we have turn away as a nation from what is very important .we have forgotton about who have brought us this far ..to some of us we don't. Believe or don't care. ...the bible says ..that if my people will humble themeselves and change there ways then I will hear there prayer and heal there land ... YHWH is the soucer of everything. Not men ...
About time obama listen to the right and grow up...this is what we need, not more government programs and spending.
You can't creat jobs when you only insure the rich stay rich and people stay over taxed.the wealthy do nt create jobs.The w orking class people. Do.look at tax write off for the wealthy and compare it to the working class.its two differnt standards. Wealthy big business that keep the population broke sick under educated.
The economy is turning around thanks to the efforts of the 111th-congress. NOT this current current Congress which has only been in power for about 20 days.
This sounds like it going to be a rehash of his broken campaign speeches.
Let make sure we know his definitions of 'Hope' and 'Change'. So far his versions haven't matched up with the primary definitions that most Americans use. The word game in tonight's speech will surely give most of us a headache.
Context, context, context, ... Will his talk match his walk? So far his talk has been deceptive and his walk has been all over the middle class.
This point health care.politicans say its a job killer.If that be the case then why can't the people have the same health care plan that the people taxs that they collect and use to provide them with health care.do the same for the people its they're tax money can't it be use to help us also.
my name is Theresa and my comment is putting a freeze on spending is still not going to help the people that don't have a job that don't have a place to live or losing their homes and it's not going to stop the homeless,and it's not going to help the people the live on a fix income and have to wait for next month to buy food or medication.
Spending freeze for government sounds good. Us middle class have to pinch pennies already. The deeper in debt we go the less leverage we have with the world
CUT Congressional salaries by about $25,000/year each (save about $1 trillion a year) and make them pay for their own health care.