The budget numbers will be lower this year, and the Democrats will point to it with pride, thus displaying their 'fiscal integrity'. It won't be hard to do. All the usual pork is in the 'stimulus bill'.

Congress hasn't even begun debating the actual federal budget for 2009.

You mean 2010. Fiscal 2009 started on October 1, 2008. I don't know how much of the FY09 budget was passed by Congress and how much was done in a continuing resolution.

I keep thinking all this of is deliberate. I am not saying some conspiracy. I am saying some intentional Saul Alinsky tactic. Just keeping throwing problems and crisis out there to keep the media busy and their eye off the ball. Just overwhelm the American people and they won't remember all the Cabinet post issues, the "Spendulous" Bill, TARP funds, all the corruption with Congressional members, the upcoming budget, two wars, closing Gitmo, shutting down Christen and Talk radio, etc. I could keep going. (that is sad a list) We cannot keep up with all of it. I think is trying to wear the media and us out. WE must stay viligant!

http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/

The budget will be very low this year.It will not cross Bush Budget.This all happens due to current market slump.

Just keeping throwing problems and crisis out there to keep the media busy and their eye off the ball.

Almost everyone who's worked in a large organization has run into at least one "crisis manager." This is someone who deliberately lets a bad situation escalate into a crisis, so he can be the one who, with much fanfare, handles it.

There are two possible outcomes for the crisis manager's intervention: either the situation will improve, in which case he takes the credit, or it doesn't improve, in which case he blames someone else and says, "Just imagine how much worse it would have been if I hadn't been in charge!"

"Whenever a problem appears, a politician will appear to solve it."

Fiscal 2009 is running on continuing resolution for most departments. Expires in early March.

You want to know what's the most crazy of all? How about those people who are pro-recession, who oppose any government efforts to help unemployment, home foreclosures, etc. Most modern states of the world including Japan, China and Europe have all introduced government stimulus efforts.

But some people just want to be different, in fact "real" different, and oppose any government efforts to fix this most important problem. What's the point of having a government at all if it's not supposed to address problems?

Government fixes problems??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"How about those people who are pro-recession, who oppose any government efforts to help unemployment, home foreclosures, etc. Most modern states of the world including Japan, China and Europe have all introduced government stimulus efforts."

Are you aware of the bank collapse in Eastern Europe which occurred over the last two days? Domino effect, this is just the beginning.

Get back us around the middle of April 2009 and do tell us how all the governments around the globe helped things.

There is coming some real pain to people who believe governments are able to fix these problems; it is a fact that every time government intervenes the markets lose and these days the government has intervened to the severe degree that the only option left is complete collapse.

At the very least have two months worth of supplies stored and a stash of cash held outside of a bank, two weeks won't be enough, to survive the economic tsunami coming our way.

Self-reliance is the only way to protect yourself and your family from the government's misery.

Paul Hooson:
What's the point of having a government at all if it's not supposed to address problems?

And there's the crux of your mistake. The proper role of government isn't to 'fix' economic problems - if for no other reason that it unable to. Economic problems cannot be fixed via compulsion (which is the sole tool available to government). What government can do is make economic problems worse.

The problem underlying all of the current economic woes is the 'toxic assets' you'll occasionally hear mentioned. The 'toxic asset' to which they're referring are mortgages made to people on houses that they cannot afford and are hence worth significantly less than the paper indicates. Why were the mortgages made ? Government 'fixed' the problem of 'unfair housing' (using compulsion obviously).

Government intervention in the markets is what got us here. More government intervention will not solve the problem but it can prolong it.

Actually I think the budget numbers will be bigger than last year. We cant have the budget go down now can we? That isnt the democrat way.

For anyone who thinks the budget will be smaller this year, answer one question:

Which federal agency will take the single largest hit to their budget? State? Education? Labor? Health and Human Services? Agriculture?

If anything they'll need more money to administrate the so-called stimulus spending.

And for the record - saying "we we're going to raise spending by 10% but only raised it 7% instead - so we cut spending" doesn't fly because the budget is still larger.

What's the point of having a government at all if it's not supposed to address problems?

Oh, I don't know. Maybe it could, let's say, "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity". You know, the things it was actually created for. But that's just wishful thinking, I suppose.

Baron: "Which federal agency will take the single largest hit to their budget?"

It's not even a matter of a "largest hit". The only things that will be cut are the defense department and immigration/border security. They will get cut massively with the DOD taking the brunt. Every single other part of the government will grow with the Dems in power and the overall budget (and deficit) will be far, far greater than last year.

Clinton increased the national debt over three fold in his 8 years. Bush doubled it again during his 8 (mostly the last 2) and Obama (with a Marxist controlled congress) will probably more than quadruple it in his 4 so it will be about 40 trillion by January 2013.

You want to know what's the most crazy of all? How about those people who are pro-recession, who oppose any government efforts to help unemployment, home foreclosures, etc.

No Paul, they just oppose a stupid plan that has nothing to do with recovery, but everything to do with establishing control over the people.

Once again, what does $50 MILLION for a fucking marsh-land mouse have to do with "stimulus"?

I don't think Obama will be able to balloon the national debt to 40 billion. I think we would collapse under the weight. Who would be able to buy that much debt? Treasuries would be worse than junk bonds.

Have 8 babies and add the 6 others!(14) That's the way to go!!!!!!!All you could ask for, welfare,food stamps,medicaid,and not to mention disability payments!!! Could sure use some of that!

It's just so much fun spending other people's money.
http://www.rightklik.net/

My husband and I didn't take advantage of sub-prime lending when we had the chance. We're smart enough to know not to buy a home that we ultimately could NOT afford. If fact, we've been waiting patiently, trusting in our capitalistic system, waiting for the housing bubble to pop. Now, thanks to our leaders, we will be cheated out of a fair opportunity to purchase a home for our family. This bailout will uphold the artificially created home values, instead of values coming down to be in line with the rest of the economy. Where's our opportunity? We've behaved responsibly. We work hard, save at least 10%, and teach our children to do the same. Does our government really think they can continue to deal the worst hand to the ever shrinking middle class without consequence? This is unacceptable!