Letter to the Editor

Show me the math

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Dear Editor,

In your Feb 24 Editorial, you quoted Nelson's office:

"The president's plan essentially extends the Nebraska provision to all states by 'providing significant additional federal financing to all states for the expansion of Medicaid.' This will greatly reduce the unfunded mandate on state budgets."

I understand that the State budget doesn't (yet) include funds for the expansion of Medicaid. But, where does the Federal government get this "financing"? Theoretically, it would come from Federal income taxes, would it not? Show me the math. Whether it is a line item of the state budget, or the federal budget, ultimately it must be funded by the taxpayers.

Therefore, the explanation of "federal financing" would seem to solve nothing, and that should be no comfort to taxpayers. It's still going to cost taxpayers more -- either through higher state taxes, or through higher federal taxes. And, higher taxes means less disposable income.

Vic Larson

Eustis

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  • We would have flunked math if we used the BHO system of calculation. He seems to be working on the presumption that we all are very very stupid, sad to say.

    If passed, as is, our Constitution Ship of Democracy may well be 'Holed' beyond float-ability.

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Thu, Mar 4, 2010, at 3:30 PM
  • I have some bad news for you. You would flunk math using any government stats. The problem is people decided to speak up now rather then later. I dont recall alot of these post aginst the president when a republican was in office. But now we decide to talk about it. Hippocrits

    -- Posted by president obama on Thu, Mar 4, 2010, at 6:10 PM
  • Why bring race into this?

    Yep just like the press and administrations silence on Iraq and Afghanistan now huh bigdawg.

    I was not a poster on here a tthe time bigdawg but I criticized the last administrtation adn congress for their reckless spending. Problem is this one is making Bush look like a penny pincher. Or are you being a hypocrite yourself in the selective fiscal outrage I am hearing from you?

    Fact is the repubs lost their support and got kicked out of office for their misdeeds in 06. Looks like the dems will reap more of the same here in 10.

    Vic is spot on no matter what they expand it has to either come from our taxes or be borrowed from China and other foreign creditors. Does Greece not scare anyone since this is the road we are headed down?

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 9:02 AM
  • Bigdawg must only be 1 year old if he thinks that we didn't see negative posts about Bush when he was in office!!

    And I think we are all missing the big picture on the vote before the congress right now. If congress passes the senate bill (as is) which is what Obama want them to do, then it can go directly to the president for his signature. It only needs to go back to the senate if the congress changes something. He has only promised to have the changes later put in. And I have 100 miles of shoreline property for sale in Nebraska if you believe that!

    -- Posted by remington81 on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 9:50 AM
  • Thats correct, I am not a Bush fan. I remember the bridige collapsing in minnesota and thought it would be nice if we could fix some of the stuff in this country thats falling apart. Now with he stimuls we are. I remember when people talked about the deficit in the last 8 years and all we herd was, "we have 2 wars to pay for, talking bad about the president in a time of war it tatamount to treason, you must hate the troops"

    sorry people your fake outrage is really funny.

    -- Posted by president obama on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 12:39 PM
  • How is a bridge in a state Bushs fault? Amazing how everything is Bushs fault. It isn't going to work in the election this fall or in 2012 bigdawg.

    Stimulus is just a huge ponzi scheme to reward the old guard in Congress and to try and get dems re-elected. Bernie Madoff would be proud.

    Your selective outrage over fiscal irresponsibility really says enough about where you sit as well.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 3:31 PM
  • um, your the one who just typed something about the bridge being bushes fault, not me. Where has my outrage been selective? I dont have a problem with the stimulus. You people need something to complain about and this is what you have picked, government spending. I just find the timeing odd. 8 years of mismanagment and nary a peep, now its a huge problem.

    -- Posted by president obama on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 4:19 PM
  • Again you paint with a broad brush and do not know me. i have criticised the republicans for their spending and their losing the conservative principles that got them the majortiy in the first place. Ialso was not a big fan of W because he was not a conservative but given the two alternatives I voted for him. He was definitely the lesser of two evils for me.

    I find your selective outrage comical. Bush mismanaged but Obama has spent like a typical tax and spend liberal. Gone are the promises of transparency, fiscal responsibility, the elimination of lobbbyists in the WH, changing the "culture of corruption" and on and on and on.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Fri, Mar 5, 2010, at 7:24 PM
  • Yes you criticed the repulicans, where is that? I havent seen it. Let me guess, you criticised them under your breath, but now you feel the need to openly critize them. Obama has spent because the situation dictated he do so. I have no problem paying taxes. I live in the greatest country ever and I dont mind paying for the privledge. Im sorry you think so little of your country.

    Campaign promises, again, the outrage he has broken them. How many did W keep? How many do any in politics keep? The fake outrage at obama ,and W and the republicans get a pass.

    The right spent 8 years defending the president and now they are going to spend the next 4 tearing the office down. It would be comical if it were not so so sad.

    -- Posted by president obama on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 12:00 AM
  • You again have no idea what you are talkng about. Did you miss the election of 06? Republicans did noit turn out and the dems took over congress did you miss that?

    Do you have reading comprehension issues? I said I was not a member here until recently. I had plenty of criticism for the spending of the repubs and I have plenty of criticism of this president and this congress. They are going to be thrown out this year and in 12 if they keep going this way just like the repubs were in 06.

    You need to actually do a little researech on where stimulus dollars have gone. They have been used to prop up state government and keep state employees in a job. Unemploymebnt among state workers is around 3%, for construction workers it is 23%, so where are all these shovel ready jobs? You can say anything you want but there are those pesky facts that you hate so much again. But don'y let that get in the way of the truth.

    Paying for the privelidsge to live here? Can you show me where it is in the constitution enumerated there is a fee to live here? We are overtaxed and need to scrap the surrent system a national sales tax is enumerated in the constitution adn would work much better. Imagine no need for the IRS and we could save a lot of money right there.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 9:48 AM
  • "WASHINGTON -- A new congressional report released Friday says the United States' long-term fiscal woes are even worse than predicted by President Barack Obama's grim budget submission last month.

    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that Obama's budget plans would generate deficits over the upcoming decade that would total $9.8 trillion. That's $1.2 trillion more than predicted by the administration.

    For the ongoing budget year, CBO predicts a record $1.5 trillion deficit. That's actually a little better than predicted by the White House, but at 10 percent of gross domestic product, it's bigger than any deficit in history other than those experienced during World War II.

    The new report predicts that debt held by investors, including China, would spike from $7.5 trillion at the end of last year to $20.3 trillion in 2020. That means interest payments would more than quadruple -- from $209 billion this year, to $916 billion by the end of the decade."

    There you go dawg some CBO projections about your messiah and his spending. If you bother to figure it out that projection in 2020 is a debt that is 90% of the total economy. This is exactly what Greece , Spain and Italy have done are about to go bankrupt over. But of course I am sure you won't let these facts get in the way of the truth.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_go_co/us_budget_deficits_3

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 10:34 AM
  • I dont have reading comprehension issues, I just dont believe you. So we should let the state employees loose there jobs? I see pictures of governors cutting ribbons on construction projects all over the place.

    In the constitution? I love that argument. Im sure i read something about taxes being leveied. Is there a fee to live here? I would like you to answer that, is there a fee? According you there is not a fee. Do you pay taxes? Property taxes, fees on car's. I guess if its not in the constitution then it dosent exist. I would call it a fee. What I cant understand is why someone like you, who has all the answers is not running for president or is not a highly placed person within the administration. You know it all. Im amazed that you post on a small town newspaper and dont write for the washigton post or the times.

    The sky is the limit for someone who knows everything.

    I would be willing to bet my 401k that this country does not go bankrupt. Wow chicken little, the sky is not falling, its not gonna fall. The more you run around telling people how its falling the more foolish you look

    -- Posted by president obama on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 1:04 PM
  • Amazing you can not adress one fact I posted can you? Those are CBO numbers and when faced with them you have to resort to adhominim personal attacks. This is the tactic of the left adn all it says is I can't ague facts and policy differences. Simply pathetic.

    And watch this I will answer your question. yes there are state adn federal government workers that shold lose their jobs. Government is bloated and needs to be downsized. The average federal worker makes over 80K a year the private sector is at an average of somewhere in the neighborhood of 40K.

    You also can't keep federal state and local seperate. All the taxes you cite are not federal taxes and assesed locally. You could serioulsy use a basic economics education.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 7:53 PM
  • Do the cbo estimates take into account the 2 wars we are currently in. You talk like nothing can ever change. Has it ever occured to you that we have had deficits in the past when times were bad and surplses when times are good.

    What difference does it make if they are federal, state or local taxes? Its a fee. But how can that be you ask, the constitution says nothing about paying to live here.

    I would reccommend that you read a history book. You cant see the forest for the trees. I think im done here, you just dont get it and you never will.

    -- Posted by president obama on Sat, Mar 6, 2010, at 9:42 PM
  • Amazing your ignorance bigdawg. The constitution is a federal document and says that everything not enumerated is left to the states. So yes it does matter.

    Coy and evasive what a tranparent debate technique. Then followed by I am taking my ball and going home. Since you can't refute the non partisan CBO please explain what I do not get? What you don't get is we can ot sustain this level of spending. We can wither raise taxes which you probably support or cut spending which I support.

    I can guarantee you I am as well versed in History as you and proably better.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sun, Mar 7, 2010, at 9:53 AM
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