POLITICS - Republican Obsession With Money

Republican actions (not words) prove that they are obsessed with money.

They refuse to pay for anything that costs too much (in their eyes) EXCEPT national defense and tax breaks for the top 1% high-income people.  Any program that would benefit the other 99% of the people are on the chopping block.  The 99% of 'the people' are not worth the cost.

"What House Republicans hope next year’s budget will look like" PBS Newshour 3/17/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  House Republicans revealed their 2016 budget plan, pushing for deep cuts to lower the deficit, while preserving defense spending.  What are the political calculations behind the proposal?  Political editor Lisa Desjardins joins Gwen Ifill for a look at the priorities fueling the GOP budget.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  A new budget plan released today by House Republicans reveals the yawning partisan chasm that still exists when it comes to taxes and spending, as the GOP pushes for deep cuts and a balanced budget, and Democrats say the budget needs to grow.  As always, the choices are not that simple.

Joining me with the story of the policies and priorities behind the budget debate is NewsHour political editor Lisa Desjardins.

Thank you for joining us again, Lisa.

And maybe you can explain this for us.  They’re talking about $5 trillion in savings in this proposed budget that the House leaders put out today.  What does that represent?

LISA DESJARDINS, Political Reporter & Editor:  Five trillion dollars in savings is over 10 years.  That represents two priorities for Republicans.

What they are choosing with this budget, let’s just put it simply, is they’re choosing to try to pay down the debt.  They would balance the budget in a remarkable nine years.  Usually, it’s 10 years.  And then the other priority they’re choosing here, Gwen, is defense.  Even as they’re paying down the deficit and the debt ultimately, they also are increasing spending for defense.

That’s a bit like trying to dig out a hole even as you’re putting more dirt in it.  It’s very ambitious.  Because those are their priorities, this would mean dramatic cuts for everyone else, for discretionary funding, which means most of government.  Very hard to see these cuts taking place without government layoffs, for example.