Pay-Go & Spending Cuts: Lets Get Ahead of This

[me b zola]

Pay-Go is a victory for the new Democratic Congress and I believe that it will be a good thing. But there are potential pit-falls if we don't get ahead of this process. The money will have to come from somewhere & republicans are already salivating at the possibility of de-funding what they term "entitlements", which of course is code for the New Deal and social safety net programs put into place to assist those who need it the most. I say not one more dollar should be slashed from programs that feed the hungry, house the low income, provide educational assistance, or medical assistance to those who need it.

We as Democrats should get ahead of this with a comprehensive list of corporate welfare and entitlements to the wealthy and petition our leaders in Congress to target those when it comes time to trim spending.

My idea is for us as a community is to first identify & list the most egregious programs/legislation that subsidies corporate interests & the wealthy. We should make this list agreeable to the majority of us and as uncontroversial as possible.

The second stage of our project should be to do or provide a cost/savings analysis of each entitlement programs that we have identified as un-necessary to the public good.

Then of course the final step would be to petition Congress with a statement of support for our social safety net programs and the results of our research as to un-necessary entitlements that would not cause social harm if they were de-funded.


I will lead off with an example of corporate welfare that should be on the chopping block: Oil company subsidies. Oil companies had always paid a fee for drilling on public lands, but last summer the republican congress (I really wish that the do-nothing-congress had done less) passed legislation giving the oil companies the right to take our natural resources and not have to pay a penny for it.


Now it’s your turn. What are the entitlements that you believe can or should be cut?






I will X post this in GD for maximum exposure :)

[me b zola]

1. Looks as though the agenda may have changed! (good news)

Joanne98 posted this in the GD thread:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MURFY ALEXANDER
NOVEMBER 9, 2005 ANNE SMART
615.736.5295

CUT $50 BILLION FROM CORPORATE HANDOUTS,
HOUSE GROUP URGES



WASHINGTON, D.C.— At the same time that the Republican-led House of Representatives has called for $50 billion in cuts to programs that include Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits and student loans, a group of House Democrats says at least $50 billion in savings could and should come from handouts Congress has been giving away to corporations.

"Oil and gas companies are reporting record profits of staggering amounts yet Congress gave the industry an $8 billion handout in the energy bill passed this summer, just to go out and do their job,” U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper said. “That makes no sense. Federal spending should not be based on the special interests of those with access to effective lobbyists in Washington but, unfortunately, corporate entitlements have become an increasing part of business in Washington.”

Cooper introduced legislation last night, the Corporate Entitlement Reform Act of 2005, that will identify corporate entitlements — direct grants, subsidies and tax breaks — that are a wasteful and inefficient use of taxpayer money. The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Jim Costa, Lincoln Davis, Rahm Emanuel, Harold Ford, Jr., Tim Ryan, David Scott and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"With federal deficits at record levels, Congress can’t afford giveaways to those that don’t need them, while urgent priorities such as health care and national security go shortchanged,” Cooper added.

"This Commission will help eliminate corporate welfare like the billions of dollars in subsidies in the Energy bill this Congress hands out to Big Oil and Energy to execute their business plans,” said Congressman Emanuel.

"As a new Member of Congress, I am struck by the nonsensical ability of our government to spend money we do not have during a time of war, record deficits and epic international borrowing, while at the same time those in charge insist on tax cuts,” said Congressman Costa. “That math simply does not equal sound fiscal management. This bill, however, makes a strong statement against wasteful and inefficient spending.”

The bill calls for the creation of a nine-member, bipartisan Congressional Commission. The Commission will review existing corporate entitlements and recommend to Congress a minimum of $50 billion in savings over ten years. By establishing an objective, bipartisan Commission, the bill guarantees that special interests will not capture the process.

"The facts don’t lie — corporations are paying an ever dwindling share of total federal tax receipt,” said Congressman Ryan. “Highly corporate paid lobbyists have so infiltrated the political process that companies are practically writing their own tax rebate checks. Meanwhile, working-class mothers and fathers are struggling to put food on the table — counting every penny just to stay one step ahead of financial ruin. Congress has an obligation to police the federal tax code to ensure that corporations are paying their fair share.”

"We need to review these corporate tax breaks to insure that they make sense,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “In Florida we discovered that while we were raising $17 billion in sales taxes, we were exempting $23 billion in corporate taxes, many of which did not make sense – like providing tax exemptions for skyboxes, ostrich farmers and adult entertainment. The purpose of corporate tax exemptions should be to stimulate a business sector and create jobs in a cost effective manner.”

The Commission will be given one year to do its work before submitting its recommendations to Congress. Congress will then be required to take an up-or-down vote on the Commission’s final package of spending cuts. The bill, H.R. 4254, has been referred to the House Committees on Government Reform, Ways and Means and the Committee on Rules.

http://cooper.house.gov/newsroom/releases/nov05/110905_handouts.htm