The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Smoke, Mirrors, Some Assembly Required

Posted on | April 12, 2011 | 9 Comments

Some of the conservative pundits who were doing victory laps over Friday’s budget deal — and you know who you are — need to admit they were taken in by the D.C. spin machine:

Details of the $38 billion worth of spending cuts factoring in last Friday’s 11th-hour budget that averted a government shutdown have been released, but the cuts, while historic, were significantly eased by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway. . . .
Many of the cuts appear to have been cuts in name only, because they came from programs that had unspent funds.
For example, $1.7 billion left over from the 2010 census; $3.5 billion in unused children’s health insurance funds; $2.2 billion in subsidies for health insurance co-ops (that’s something the president’s new health care law is going to fund anyway); and $2.5 billion from highway programs that can’t be spent because of restrictions set by other legislation.

As I said — while all the “smart” guys were popping champagne corks — the main question of the budget deal was “how many magic beans Boehner got for the family cow.”

And now we have the answer: Not enough.

UPDATE: “Mark Levin was right!” As usual.

Category: Budget

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