By: AJ
From: Blogs Lucianne Loves
Many politicians want the American people to think that spending cuts will hurt us. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Take a look at the cuts delineated in this letter to Congressman Boehner. $1.2 Trillion in government waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars – while Americans are hurting and the US is on the verge of economic collapse – can be eliminated by Congress immediately.
Congress has control of the purse strings; if they do not appropriate the funding, it can’t be spent. Congress also has the power to defund programs. Americans must compel Congress to cut spending and I hope that everyone who reads this letter will send it to Congressman Boehner and all members of Congress.
Dear Congressman Boehner:
Congratulations. As you know, Americans have been paying attention like never before and we’re here to help. Cutting/defunding just 6 spending categories will eliminate $1.2 Trillion in the blink of an eye and the fast-approaching $14.3 Trillion debt ceiling will not need to be raised.
Over the past 21 months, the President and Democrat-controlled Congress added $3.1 Trillion to our national debt. The out-of-control spending is unsustainable and we must start cutting now. Here’s how…
SUMMARY:
TARP – $658 billion
STIMULUS – $236.1billion
USAID – $54.3 billion
OBAMACARE – $72.066 billion
NLC – $23.58 billion
YOUCUT – $155 billion
TOTAL = $1.2 TRILLION
DETAILS
TARP: Return the $228 billion that Timothy Geitner reported in “Five Myths About TARP” on October 8, 2010. Myth #5 excerpt:
“Obama adopted a strategy designed to get the government out of the private sector as quickly as possible. To date, we have recovered more than $200 billion in TARP funds, as well as made $28 billion in profits. Our remaining investments in banks are a small fraction of what we inherited. And, in the end, 90 percent of that once-feared $700 billion TARP price tag either will not have been spent or will be returned to the taxpayers.
We will exit the AIG and automotive industry investments much faster than anyone predicted. General Motors is planning an initial public offering for later this year, and AIG has announced a restructuring plan that will accelerate the timeline for repaying the government.”
Return the remaining $430 billion, as discussed above (90% of $700 billion minus $200 billion already recovered, plus 28 billion in profits), by January 2011.
STIMULUS of 2009: Return the unspent $236.1 billion that the Obama administration claims will not be spent until 2011. Reference the June 2010 article, “Obama Administration Says Most of $787 Billion Stimulus Funds ‘Spoken For,’ But only 50% Spent So Far To ‘Jolt’ Economy.”
“$236.1 billion, or 30 percent – apparently will be paid some time next fall and into next year.”
For politicians who may not have taken a macro-economics course, please provide them with this excerpt from the article which succinctly describes why the Stimulus failed.
“Of the many problems with Keynesian stimulus bills, one of them is that money is never spent on time and usually it’s not spent until after the recession has ended,” Riedl told CNSNews.com. “I think this is another classic case of the government mis-timing stimulus bills, which has a history going back decades.”
Riedl said that even if cash could be infused into the economy at a more rapid rate, where the money comes from makes it impossible for it to have a positive impact.
“Government spending never works because every dollar Congress injects into the economy must first be taxed or borrowed out of the economy,” Riedl said. “It’s not new spending.”
“Before Congress can give $100 billion in food stamps, they have to borrow $100 billion from somebody else,” Riedl said. “You’re not increasing the amount of money spent in the economy, you’re just redistributing it. You’re borrowing it from Person A and giving it to Person B.”
“That doesn’t make the economy bigger,” Riedl said.
USAID: Return $54.3 billion of USAID that’s planned for FY 2011.
President Obama already sent $173.5 billion for international/foreign assistance ($90.6 billion in 2010 – a 60% increase compared to FY2008*; $82.9 billion in 2009 – a 47% increase compared to FY2008*).
A reduction, rather than an increase, represents sound fiscal decision-making versus irresponsibility that ignores the challenges of taxpayers and small businesses who foot the bill for this extravagance. Our liberal progressive friends here at home believe we are too involved in other countries; they’re right and we need to be less involved.
OBAMACARE – HHS: Return the $51 billion increase planned for HHS for FY2011, plus $21.066 billion for the FY2011 Recovery Act Budget Authorization as shown in the HHS document on pages 3 and 4.
Appropriate no funds whatsoever for anything related to Obamacare and defund whatever has already been appropriated.
NLC: Return $23.58 billion from the “President’s 2011 Budget that includes NLC priorities”:
- $10.00 billion – EPA – they’ve failed for decades to do the 1 task assigned… US Energy Independence.
- $1.18 billion – Workforce Development (i.e. special interest slush fund).
- $3.50 billion – Education increase in discretionary funding (i.e. slush fund).
- $4.00 billion – Community Development Block Grant (i.e. slush fund).
- $4.90 billion – HUD budget increase for 2011 (i.e. growth of an incompetent government organization).
YOUCUT: Vote to pass the $155 billion in cuts of wasteful government spending that Americans selected.
After these YouCut legislative bills are passed, resurrect all remaining YouCut items (previously offered to the American people to vote on) and vote to pass all of them. This will save American taxpayers and small businesses hundreds of billions more.
CONCLUSION:
In one day, I was able to find $1.2 Trillion in wasteful government spending that can be cut in a heartbeat without any negative impact to Americans whatsoever.
Together, we can find far more.
For example, Obamacare (which must be stopped and is funded via multiple pieces of legislation), United Nations (UN) and overseas spending, money to special interest “community organizers” (i.e. “community agitators”), immigration, global warming/green jobs and HR1388 which spends billions to try to recruit our kids into a National Civilian Force through our school system. These areas are just for starters and my next letter to you will address them in more depth.
The historic election results show that the American people expect you to act in the best interest of the people by upholding your oath of office. We’ll be holding you to that every step of the way and we’re here to help in the process.
——————
* Note that FY2008 USAID was $36.186 billion (requested) and FY2006 was $31.389 billion (actual) as shown on page 1 of the government’s FY2008 Budget Request.
Also see: Fiscal Year 2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations.
USAID 2008
In Memoriam
Available at Amazon.com 
