President Obama: "entitlement programs could really destroy our budget if we don't act soon"

[Better Believe It]

Raw Video: Charles Benson Sits Down With President Obama
TODAY'S TMJ4 Reporter Charles Benson had the chance to sit down with President Obama for a one-on-one interview Wednesday at the White House.
February 16, 2011

BBI Excerpts of President Obama's interview comments:

"And I'm hoping to work with Republicans as well as Democrats to see if we can start dealing with entitilement programs that loom in the future and
could really destroy our budget if we don't act soon"

"I haven't followed exactly what's happening with the Wisconsin budget .... I would say as a general proposition that everybodys got to make some
adjustments to new fiscal realities and I think if we want to avoid layoffs, which I want to avoid, I don't want to see layoffs of hard working federal
workers, we had to impose for example a pay freeze for federal workers for the next two years as part of my overall budget freeze."

"I think those kinds of adjustments are the right thing to do. Everybodys got to make some adjustments."

President Obama also said: "Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,"

See the entire interview video at:

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/116358199.html?video=pop&t=a&bctid=CLIP_ID_1219485

[katnapped]

1. Everbody's gotta make adjustments...

Hmm, I don't see you giving your salary back Mr. President.

Oh right...it's only US that need to sacrifice....

[Johonny]

20. I starting to think about adjusting back to private citizen Obama come 2012

cause he ain't winning * with RW talking points.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

36. Not Wall Street. Not the banks.

Not the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Just the rest of us slubs. :mad:

[StarsInHerHair]

74. yes exactly ,they call that a 'tell' when playing cards, I'm sick from & of

Obama.

[roguevalley]

38. we can't cut into our endless wars and the tax cuts for Obama and

his millionaire pals. Honestly! What would Ronald Reagan think?

[NCarolinawoman]

72. I wonder what Ted Kennedy would think....

the irony of it all. :( :eyes:

[Bake]

80. Nor do I see the rich making "adjustments"

They got their tax cuts.

By the way, I don't call them the "Bush Tax Cuts" anymore. Obama owns them now.

Bake

[Angry Dragon]

2. The average American worker better be very afraid

Everyone is out to make sure you spend your life working to end up with nothing

[nalnn]

46. Personally

I haven't counted on having any sort of retirement from social security for the past 15 years. It dawned on me that I would probably be around when that system is gone or replaced with something else. I don't mind paying for it though because I like to know that my parents are taken care of. I raise my kids with the knowledge that they will not have that safety net when they get old either. Sad but true.

[arbusto_baboso]

3. I didn't vote for a republican. So why did I get one?

[NotThisTime]

95. +1

[SammyWinstonJack]

125. hehe!

:thumbsup: Won't get fooled again.

[quinnox]

4. Right, the ultra-rich have to make an upwards adjustment

on moving up to a higher class of yacht to spend that Bush tax cut you so generously gave them.

[XemaSab]

5. WHAT ABOUT FUCKING WAR?

That's the shit that's destroying our budget.

[quinnox]

8. Shh,We don't talk about that

The war spending is something that is invisible apparently to President Obama and all loyal unquestioning supporters of him.

Besides, if we cut the war spending then the terrorists will win.. :scared:

[Ignis]

16. Oh, those wars are ABSOLUTELY necessary for our national security.

Social programs like helping poor people avoid freezing to death in winter? Not so necessarily, apparently.

[somone]

21. We don't want the 50-100 cave dwellers in Afghanistan to come here and INVADE and ENSLAVE us

:sarcasm:
CIA: At most, 50-100 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/cia-at-most-50100-al-qaeda-in-afghanistan.html

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

53. But, you mustn't discount the might Taliban Navy launching nuclear subs from Kandahar.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

103. No that's for the GOP teaparty to do

[Atypical Liberal]

44. I think he can't touch it.

Like it or not, the military industrial complex is big business. Not only are there monetary interests that have their hooks in government to make sure the trough stays filled, but those are also huge employers of people.

I also think it's obscene that we spend as much on defense as the rest of the world combined.

But if we cut those expenses in half tomorrow, it's going to put a lot of people out of work. A lot of high-tech people, too.

[XemaSab]

48. He can give some dork at Boeing 150K to design a better way to kill people

or he can give 1,000 households $150 bucks so their kids don't freeze between now and May.

Seriously, the priorities are fucked.

[Atypical Liberal]

51. What I have heard.

I, too, was outraged when I heard they were "cutting" the heating assistance. But what I have heard recently is that the heating aid will be the same as it was last year. If they didn't freeze to death last year, they probably won't this year.

With unemployment already a problem, throwing thousands of defense employees into the unemployment line won't help.

And, of course, the defense industry has its hooks deep in Congress anyway.

Then, too, you run the risk of these now out-of-work defense workers going and selling their skills on the global market to the highest bidder.

Personally I would love to see our defense industry re-tasked to something else like alternative energy programs. If the auto industry could be re-tooled during WWII to build tanks and bombers, then today's defense industry could be re-tooled to build wind turbines and solar arrays.

[LooseWilly]

91. That's alright... they've probably got enough saved to go to community college and learn a new skill

... you know, like the rest of us have to do when our chosen profession is automated, outsourced, or just plain withers in the face of a shitty economy after all the money is sucked up by Wall St., like old-timey oilmen drinking up the milkshakes of the rest of us...

Those military-industrialists are so geniusy, with their educational skillage, that I'm sure they'll learn other useful skills, like waiting tables at Chevy's, in no time. No worries.

:+

[Atypical Liberal]

108. LOL

Suits me.

[SammyWinstonJack]

126. Excuses, excuses wrt the MIC budget, always

:nopity:

[StarsInHerHair]

75. yep the most expensive thing.......

should be cut

[Erose999]

6. He's adopted the Teabaggers language by using "entitlements". A "real democrat" would say

"social programs". Not to mention a "real Democrat" wouldn't put programs like LIHEAP, Head Start, CPB, etc.

Sacrificing collective bargaining rights is not "making an adjustment to changing economic realities". Obama was very wishy washy in his statement.

[somone]

24. He's a fast learner

[democracy1st]

57. +1

[Autumn]

7. Every one except the rich,.

pay freeze for federal workers tax breaks for the rich, increase in taxes on the poor.And Obamas wars roll on. Hell of a way to make adjustments

[JVS]

9. Maybe a good way to cut the medicaid budget would be to stop letting so many Americans be reduced...

to the level of poverty that qualifies them for that program.

[KamaAina]

52. Say it, brother!

:thumbsup:

Certain large employers who shall remain nameless -- always -- keep their salaries and benefits low on purpose so that their associates (oops!) can qualify for Medicaid. That way they can keep offering their crappy plan.

[bighart]

96. Now THAT is change I can believe in

and support whole-heartedly!

[Newest Reality]

10. The deadbeat rich are firmly entitled to keep what they

have made off of our efforts and the taxes we pay. Start there.

The corporations are entitled to do what they please and pay little or no taxes. Another good place to start.

Social Security is an entitlement, but that word is being used as a negative when it actually means that the people who paid-into it are legally entitled to receive their payments back from that system, right?

So, it is not about entitlements, so much as it is about who is entitled to what. So far, I see an Elite class entitled to our wealth while we are essentially being told that we are going to get less or nothing at all to assure their rights to conquer, own more, and grow their power, regardless of the cost to the rest of us.

[Statistical]

19. Morally entitled yes. Legally entitled no.

Unlike a pension or insurance policy you have no legal right to any particular benefit with SSA.

[bighart]

97. Please explain.

I have labored under the delusion that by paying into SS for all my working life I was "entitled" to receive benefit from it when I need it or reach the age the program specifies.

[Statistical]

106. SS payments are based solely on the discretion of Congress.

You have no legal entitlement to a particular benefit or any benefit what so ever.

No morally you do. IMHO it would be immoral to deny someone their benefit.

However tomorrow is Congress simply ended SS (or cut benefits 50%, or pushed retirement age to 80, or means tested it, or increased contribution rate while keeping benefits the same) you would have no LEGAL resource to the loss (or reduction of benefits).

With a pension, 401K, or insurance policy you would have certain legal rights to protect your interest. You have no such legal right and legally you have no interest (legal claim on asset) to Social Security.

You may be morally entitled to a return on your contributions but you have no legal entitlement. Your benefit (if any) is based solely on the whims of the Congress and could change at anytime without any legal resource.

[bighart]

111. Scary stuff isn't it.

I have actually not even figured SS into my retirement plans at all for the last 20 years or so.
I fully expect it will be either gutted to the point of being utterly useless or not even around anymore
when I am ready to retire. I don't think most people truly understand just how easily SS could be eliminated.
(ps I already knew what you were talking about but asked the question anyway because you are much better at explaining things
in a precise and factual way than I would be)

[BobbyBoring]

11. I have a solution!

How bout instead of saddling hard working Americans that are barely making ends meet with more hardship, why don't we arrest the criminals on Wall St. that caused this mess and fine the bejesus out of them?

There's no big mystery to what has happened. Our government gave the banksters a bunch of dough and they stuck it in their fucking pockets.

While we're at it, let's get real with the tax code. How can profits from short sales be taxed as capital gains? How cam money that basically comes out of thin air be taxed at 15%?

I'm sick of this shit!

[truth2power]

93. Ah, yes...the criminals on Wall Street. Matt Taibbi nails it..

"Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?"

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216

You want to win elections, you bang on the jailable class. You build prisons and fill them with people for selling dime bags and stealing CD players. But for stealing a billion dollars? For fraud that puts a million people into foreclosure? Pass. It's not a crime. Prison is too harsh. Get them to say they're sorry, and move on. Oh, wait — let's not even make them say they're sorry. That's too mean; let's just give them a piece of paper with a government stamp on it, officially clearing them of the need to apologize, and make them pay a fine instead. But don't make them pay it out of their own pockets, and don't ask them to give back the money they stole. In fact, let them profit from their collective crimes, to the tune of a record $135 billion in pay and benefits last year. What's next? Taxpayer-funded massages for every Wall Street executive guilty of fraud?

[upi402]

12. EXCEPT THE FUCKING RICH CRIMINALS WHO OWN YOUR ASS!

:argh:

[Bluebear]

23. thank you

[upi402]

40. "I think those kinds of adjustments are the right thing to do. Everybodys got to make some adjustmen

That Obama statement made me throw up a little. sry caps

[Bluebear]

89. Caps were fine.

Shout it loud and show what kind of politicians we are hiring.

[eilen]

110. Obama obviously feels Scott Walker's pain.

what a travesty.

[denverbill]

13. OK, if entitlements (SS&Medicare) are on the budget, they should eliminate payroll taxes.

I'd be willing to make that trade-off. Eliminate payroll taxes and add that payroll tax percentage onto our current income tax rates so that everyone pays those taxes on ALL of their income. That would probably eliminate the entire budget deficit right there.

[MadHound]

14. Tell you what Mr. President, I will consent to "making adjustments"

When you end the wars, and roll back tax rates on the rich to, oh, Reagan era levels.

Until then, too bad.

[damntexdem]

15. No, tax cuts for the wealthy could destroy, have destroyed, our budget.

And deregulation could destroy, largely has destroyed, our economy.

[county worker]

17. Hey Obama, there isn't any problem with the Wisconsin budget.

Their own "CBO" says so.

When the fuck are you ever going to get a clue as to who put you there?

[Earth_First]

18. "entitlement programs" -you mean the ones we paid into?

Fuckin' A right I'm entitled to it!

However, I wish we could quit using the term 'entitlement programs'

It's a derogatory right wing phrase.

[Raine]

63. I'm really getting pissed about the use of "entitlement" as a derogatory term too

"entitlement" ... YES it's what you are entitled too because you paid for it!!!!!! :mad: We have to gain control of the language and not let the other side define things ... Democrats STOP USING RIGHT WING TERMS!!!! :grr: :nuke:

[Egalitariat]

122. The great thing is that you're generally entitled to it even if you didn't pay in. Disregard the

war of words. No politician will ever meaningfully go after SS/Medicaid/Medicare. They can't and then get re-elected.

[Bluebear]

22. 'everybodys got to make some adjustments' - except for your billionaire pals.

[whathehell]

27. Let's make some "tough choices" on the WEALTHY, huh mr. prez?

Now that would be REALLY tough for you, wouldn't it?:eyes:

How did we get stuck with this Trojan Horse?

[whathehell]

25. Can I just say it?

This guy SUCKS!!

[kath]

87. Yup

he sucks BIGTIME. More and more each day.

[whathehell]

90. Thank you...I needed to let that out! n/t

[ReggieVeggie]

26. "Everybodys got to make some adjustments."

unless you're rich or a military conractor

[Vidar]

28. Take a look at your useless wars you damned hypocrite!

[Betty]

29. I'm entitled

I've been paying into Medicare and S.S. for over thirty years. Why am I not entitled to the fucking money I've been putting into the system for my entire adult life???? He and the repigs make it sound like people on these programs are welfare cases. We all have been funding this, is it not our money?????

[Blue_In_AK]

30. What's happening with the big agro and big oil subsidies? n/t

[somone]

32. And the nonnegotiable Medicare drug prices

[JoseGaspar]

31. An ideological desert...

... on which is built a foundation of political opportunism... a load bearing structure which rejects the past... drywall more full of impurities than the recent Chinese models...

How can anyone be surprised that he says these things? He can say, and do, anything... based on the same precise logic, circular though it may be:

I am a progressive and therefore anything I do is progressive and therefore I can do anything at all and remain progressive because I am progressive.

Like Louis, Progress is the Democratic Party; anything that elects the Democratic Party furthers progress and, therefore, any act which keeps the Party in office is the only possible definition of progress.

To shorten the phrase, "The State... she is ME!"

It didn't start with, and nor does it end with Obama, either. Remember Clinton. And, was he really the first?

This guy is bankrupt, and the noble heir of past bankruptcies. Unusual conditions have brought out his evolved bankruptcy, in a political environment which is equally bankrupt. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.

[BlueDog22]

33. Fixing it

We should fix social security by lifting the pay roll tax cap for it that exists at 250,000 a year, because anyone making more then that doesn't have to pay the same percent as a lot of us working folk.

[Better Believe It]

34. President Obama cut the Social Security payroll tax which opens the door to destroying it.

[RedCloud]

35. Keep your freaking hands off OUR money. Let the rich bail out for a change.

[Ghost in the Machine]

37. Here's an idea for "entitlement" cuts... stop paying multi-millionaire congress critters

who don't need the money anyways. Cut out their pensions and health benefits, too. They're rich enough to afford to pay their own premiums on any insurance policy they want, and they certainly don't need the retirement benefits if they're already multi-millionares, do they?

[RobinA]

39. Is It OK

to say I'm perilously close to not voting in '12? I'm starting to think there IS no difference....

[Better Believe It]

42. There is a difference.

Republican leaders always have to be "to the right" of Democratic party officials otherwise we'd never vote for conservative Democrats!

[sendero]

70. There is a difference in rhetoric...

...but the difference in action, when it has anything to do with business or the economy or taxes, is negligible.

[white_wolf]

41. I hate the language

he uses. entitlement programs are a right wing phrase. Next he will be talking about well-fare queens. Seriously how about we end the two foreign wars, tax the rich, and close our oversea military bases? Hows that for fixing the defect?

[jtown1123]

43. Jesus H. Christ it just gets worse and worse. He sounds like Boehner

[HuckleB]

45. Failing to tax the wealthy at a rate that keeps the country solvent is the problem!

Wake up, President Obama!

[democracy1st]

47. he's been playing us all along ,conservative economic advisors,dismantling 50 state strategy more bs

[Mnemosyne]

49. Must not spew, must not spew, must not spew... K&R n/t

[ProSense]

50. The President is

right, he was talking about the impact on health care cost on Medicare and Medicaid.

He was very specific in the interview linked to in the OP.

[grahamhgreen]

56. It's failure to tax the rich that is killing the budget. Nothing else.

But i'm glad to see you holding out hope - cuz we you cave, I know it's all over!

[MannyGoldstein]

85. Which wouldn't be a problem if we had Medicare for all

Which of course... ah, we know the drill.

[Dappleganger]

54. Quick--vote for a democratic president!

Oh, wait.

[QC]

55. Will Rogers: I never met a man I didn't like.

Barack Obama: I never met a Republican meme I didn't like.

[kentuck]

58. Who in the hell is this guy listening to?

I cannot believe it!

[GeorgeGist]

59. Going Out of Business Sale.

Buy one, Get none.

[JoePhilly]

60. DU Daily outrage ... new day ... same NON event outrage.

[upi402]

61. "hurray for me

and fuck you" is what you're saying?
Is that it? You're fine, so fuck everyone who's getting kicked in the brains here?

[JoePhilly]

79. Yes, that is EXACTLY what I said ....

:rofl:

I tend to mock the ENDLESS knee-jerk outrage that takes place here day, after day after day.

Today's outrage, Obama did not not not not take Social Security off the table.

I enjoyed this particular outrage more a few weeks ago when it was endless outrage about how Obama was DEFINITELY going to announce Social Security cuts in the SOTU speech. When that did not happen, the outrage moved.

It became outrage that Obama's 2012 budget was definitely, definitely, going to have SS cuts in it. Now that THAT did not happen, the free floating outrage moves again.

Apparently, any second, Obama will cancel Social Security with an executive order ... yup, that's what's coming.

Cue end of the world music.

[Bake]

62. It's not entitlements, Mr. President, it's YOUR fucking tax cuts for the rich

Oh yes. They're not the Bush tax cuts anymore. They're YOURS. You own them now. Just like you own the wars.

Bake

[onethatcares]

64. the new fiscal realities are the ones where the can of

whatever lube the owners used before has been thrown into the landfill and you're gonna get it dry.

Just how long does it take at 35K a year to make a million dollars?

[Blue_In_AK]

76. Fiscal realities...

In Anchorage, a person making minimum wage would have to work 99 hours a week to rent a one-bedroom apartment. In order to afford a two-bedroom apartment, a person needs to make at least $18 an hour.

And they wonder why we have a homeless problem here...

[onethatcares]

78. I lived in Anchorage 72-74 then I

lived in Eagle River for two years :evilgrin: The place was pretty wild back then. Lived on Government Hill, in Mountain View and Spenard.

I don't miss the cold, only miss the folks I got to know.

Many times I wonder what it would have been like to stay there instead of going back to the lower 48.

[Blue_In_AK]

82. I moved here in '75, and you are right

about how wild and crazy it was here back then. You should have stuck around. I love it here -- but some of our politicians are out of their minds. I keep hoping that one of these days the progressives will retake the state. I guess we'll have to wait for the oil to run out before that happens. :)

We live in Spenard, by the way, or what you might call "Lower Turnagain" -- south side of Northern Lights past the railroad tracks.

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[undeterred]

66. It could destroy your presidency.

[BlueIris]

"(C)ould"?

:rofl:

[myrna minx]

67. Awww...there are those Reagan values he seem to cherish so much.

:puke: "Everybodys got to make some adjustments." yeah - except for the uber rich and the war machine.

[Better Believe It]

68. The rich got an adjustment. A big tax cut!

[Better Believe It]

69. That's another way of saying "we have to destroy entitlements in order to save the budget".

[Bluenorthwest]

71. There is no adjustment quite like the return to flying commercial.

And sooner or later, that one is coming.

[StarsInHerHair]

73. EVERYBODYS GOT 2 MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS EXCEPT THE WEALTHIEST!

figure outvwhere Obama stands now? I think I have

[Warren DeMontague]

77. And by "entitlement programs" I'm sure he means the military budget and the drug war.

Surely.

[Lucian]

81. It really bugs me when they blame the budget problems on the poor.

How much did the wars cost? How many millions/day are we spending in Afghanistan?

[sarcasmo]

83. Stop the wars, that will fix you're budget.

[bertman]

84. The disappointments just keep rolling in. President Obama no longer even tries

to hide his fealty to the Top Two Percent and his total disregard for the American working class.

[Smashcut]

86. What a fucking tool.

I'm stunned that there are still true believers left to carry water for this asshole.

[kath]

121. Glad to see that your post is still up.

when I posted something similar a a week or two back, it was deleted. Maybe the DU admins are now realizing the fact that the disgust with this President is real, widespread, and justified and we are now permitted to express it.

[Rex]

88. Everybody but the uber wealthy and the richy rich, right Mr. President?

Fucking plz...go peddle that shit to your few remaining gullible folks out here in the real world. They eat that shit up and ask for seconds. :eyes:

[jp11]

92. "We" could act "soon" by raising taxes on the rich

"we" could act "soon" by making corporations actually pay their taxes

"we" could act "soon" by not giving away money and other freebies to big business

"we" could act "soon" by passing better HCR that controls the costs better or even universal health care

"we" could act "soon" by raising taxes/removing the Obama tax cuts for all except those making less than 50k a year

"we" could act "soon" by making the estate tax higher

"we" could act "soon" by cutting the size of our bloated military ie 11 fleets when other countries have what 1?

"we" could act "soon" by slashing the defense budget (As for jobs we could invest in technology and programs that actually "do" something for our country besides put millions/billions in the hands of those making weapons. How many 'real' jobs could we fund by developing our own country with industry over just making more weapons systems the military will buy for republicans to look at in delightful anticipation of using?)

[Reader Rabbit]

94. Does this mean he'll be cutting all corporate subsidies and tax breaks, then?

Mr. President? Mr. President?


:crickets:

[_ed_]

98. Obama is a liar

You could cut every dollar of non-discretionary defense spending, and our debt would still be more than a trillion dollars. He is lying straight to our faces. We need to realize that we elected a conservative to office and start fighting him tooth and nail.

[Dragonfli]

114. he could cut SS in half and it won't have any effect on the budget at all, seeing as how it's not in

the budget.

You would think a smart guy like Obama would have heard of the trust fund and the payroll taxes(non-budget) that pay for it.
Is it too late to send him to a 7th grade civics class? Could he even pass it, I know rule of law is tricky for him too.

[WinkyDink]

99. Oh, I suspect this president will soon find out about "making an adjustment."

And I don't mean in his belt-size.

[Overseas]

100. I hope our president says more against the assault on last few remaining unions.

And points out that unions all over the country have made many sacrifices through collective bargaining.

Wish we had collective bargaining with our Top Two Percent, but it seems like they just pay more in campaign donations and get more tax breaks.

[Generic Other]

101. "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things:

"Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?

"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!"

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"

"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

[Odin2005]

102. CUT THE FUCKING DEFENSE BUDGET!!!

[TK421]

104. I started making my adjustments back in 2009 when I was laid off..I lost about 20 lbs

or so because I'm still not eating right ( can't afford to )

I'm wondering if there are any other "adjustments" I could make that, you know, won't be detrimental to my health? I'm thinking here....I just can't come up with anything at the moment


edited to add: I just thought of something; I'll grow a beard and go for the Grizzly Adams look!! I figure I'll save a bundle not having to buy razor blades and shaving cream..oh, I could probably go without toothpaste OR soap for that matter, fuck hygiene, right? I mean, it won't make me popular with my co-workers at the part time job I have now so what can they do? fire me?


edited to add again, sorry: scratch that....I NEED to be clean-shaven for this job; if I'm not I can get sent home so....

[Nordmadr]

105. 20 years of war could destroy our budget if we don't act soon. N/T

[sarcasmo]

107. Raygun 2.0, no wonder why Ben Stein likes this guy.

[somone]

109. Indeed

[L0oniX]

112. Adjustment coming in 2012.

[Bluebear]

113. !

[Bryn]

115. Someone post this on facebook today ...

"Haven't the middle class been beaten up enough in the last decade? When Reagan was president the richest 2% had 15% of the wealth of this nation. After Bush's "reign of Terror" the top 2% possessd 75% of the wealth of our nation. Enough is ENOUGH!"

I wonder if someone here can help me find a source to back up this fact? 75%?? That's way too much, over the top. :(

[Bryn]

118. Never mind ...that poster of fb got back to me that it came from

Capitalism the Love Story by Michael Moore

[BreweryYardRat]

116. There's an entitlement program for the wealthy that could use some auditing and budget cuts.

It's known as the Department of Defense.

[Better Believe It]

117. It should be called the Department of War.

[kath]

119. That's what it was originally called, and we need to get back to that name, pronto.

Defense, my ass.

[Better Believe It]

123. They changed it to make it sound less warlike and more defensive in nature!

You know .... in case Cuba invades and tries to take over the United States and/or Canada.

Stuff like that.

[The Gunslinger]

120. I'm glad our "Democratic" president is using the rightist meme...

"entitlement programs" to describe necessary programs to keep many Americans afloat.

[cliffordu]

124. He neutralizes an R talking point and

everybody bloviates, panics, calls names and in general circle jerks all the wrong answers.

Let's see what he does.

Worked for DADT, but you'd never know that now.

Of course, for many here, it doesn't make one iota of difference exactly what he does...........

[Mimosa]

127. IF the economy were better entitlement programs wouldn't be strained. n/t