Political Accounting: $38 billion = $352 million

I cannot let this pass. 

Remember the recent continuing resolution fight and threat to shut down the government?  Remember the controversy in the press?  They cut $38 billion in spending for this year, right?  Well, not so much.

CBO: Budget Deal Cuts This Fiscal Year’s Deficit by Just $352 Million, Not $38 Billion Touted      Associated Press, April 13, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cbo-budget-deal-cuts-this-fiscal-years-deficit-by-just-353-million-not-38-billion-touted/2011/04/13/AFFJnkWD_story.html

The CBO [Congressional Budget Office] shows that the spending bill just passed will produce less than 1 percent of the $38 billion in promised savings by the end of this budget year – just $352 million.  The lying liars called their actions historic – the biggest one-time cut in government spending in history. 

·         The lying liars cut $38 billion in “new spending authority” which is not necessarily just like money – sorry Yogi.

·         Spending authority takes months or years to actually leave the federal Treasury, so cuts made in authority have little immediate impact.

·         The CBO believes many cuts to spending authority were unlikely to be used anyway. 

·         One “cut” was for the new Capitol Visitor Center which has been completed for less money than authorized.  Removing the spending authority was sold to us as 2011 savings.

·         When war funding is factored in, the legislation increases total federal outlays by $3.3 billion.

·         When fully implemented, Republicans claim the legislation will reduce the deficit by $315 billion over the coming decade – not $380 billion.

Lie number one is that there will be savings this year – there will be little or none.  Lie number two is that the 10 year benefit will be $315 billion [maybe] rather than $380 billion.

Then we have the grandstanding tea party blowhards who promised while campaigning to immediately reduce government spending by $100 billion a year – that would be $1 trillion over ten years.  They delivered $352 million.

Now the legislation seems good – certainly better than nothing.  So, why all the lies?  Because the lying liars are pathological.  I believe they learn it in law school – a few seem to pick it up on the job.

My final and perhaps greatest complaint is that the cynical media did not call any of these jerks on their grandstanding.  Why?