You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
-Election 2012
Budget? We Don' Need no Steenking Budget
2012-02-08
Can't let politicians get away with thinking they aren't seedy for a day.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that Congress does not need an official federal budget because it can just adopt appropriations bills and authorization policies as needed to keep operating.

Last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), referencing the last debt ceiling deal, said, “We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year. It’s done, we don’t need to do it.”

They seem to be right. The debt ceiling increase deal last summer looks like it detaches revenue raising (which should include borrowing) from the House, where the Constitution put it, and gave it to the President, since it now takes new Conressional action to prevent the President from raising the debt ceiling. Have I interpreted that right?

But I still don't see how this is satisfied (Art.1, Sect. 9 Clause 7):
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. I guess 'time to time' can be in excess of 1000 days. Maybe Darth Vader Ginsberg is right, and this document is just not up to modern standards, like South Africa's.
Posted by:Glenmore

#7  yes, why have taxes, too?

Latest income tax released
2009 Income taxes collected: $865.863 billion
2009 Federal borrowing: $1,887 billion

Ratio of new debt to income taxes collected: 2.18

We are so screwed.
Posted by: Shimble Guelph5793   2012-02-08 20:04  

#6  Yet the President was late again in proposing a budget. Our money and nations wealth mean nothing to the vapid sagging skin suits that call themselves representatives.

Mostly democrats, the party of no Virtue.
Posted by: newc   2012-02-08 18:40  

#5  Oh you need the taxes to redistribute the wealth! Don't you think you're wealthy enough?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2012-02-08 18:32  

#4  yes, why have taxes, too?
Posted by: jack salami   2012-02-08 17:26  

#3  Who needs a budget when you can print all the currency you want and borrow for less than the inflation rate?
Posted by: Shimble Guelph5793   2012-02-08 16:03  

#2  Karma would be for those, who ignore the law in order to have their way, to one day be sitting before a tribunal and be claiming protection of a document which by their own act, they had destroyed.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2012-02-08 15:54  

#1  The appropriation bill is the legal requirement for the dispensing of money.

The 'budget' is a means to set priorities for all the appropriations and authorizations. The Budget Act of 1974 requires an annual, overall budget with various timelines and milestones, but there is no legal penalty on Congress if they fail (of course!!). But they can spend to their hearts' content as long as they pass an authorization and appropriations bill for that sum.
Posted by: Steve White   2012-02-08 15:25  

00:00