Budget deal: CBO analysis shows initial spending cuts less than expected - The Washington Post

Budget deal: CBO analysis shows initial spending cuts less than expected - The Washington Post

So it seems that after much sound and fury and almost shutting down the Federal government that the actual money saved in the fiscal 2011 budget was $352 million dollars! That's right million not trillion, not even billion! When pressed both the House and Senate Congressional leaders argued that the cuts were real in that they set a lower base for future spending, more precisely by reducing spending authorization previously approved.

As the article points out, the Federal budget isn't a simple thing and spans multiple years. That's all good and well, but fails rather badly a common sense test. The Federal government has to continue to borrow very heavily to pay current bills not money appropriated but not yet actually spent! Not money in the future, but money today.

As of January 31, 2011, Treasury was $215 billion below the debt limit of $14.294 trillion. Now we're about to have to raise the Federal debt ceiling again. So in the last three or four months the Federal government has spent $215 billion more than tax revenue. OK, so while Congress almost shuts down the Federal government and saves a real $352 million in fiscal 2011 the Treasury borrowed $215 billion, some 600 times as much money in three months!

Common Sense wonders are we suppose to believe Congress is actually doing its job? While Common Sense doesn't think much of the Tea Party's extremest position to reduce spending while leaving taxes alone, they are entirely right that there is a real problem. Spending is certainly part of the problem, but so are taxes. A tax code that over $1 trillion in deductions and credits just doesn't pass the common sense test.

Common Sense thinks it's time to reform both real spending and real taxes. Common Sense thinks that it's time for Congress and the President to deal with Federal spending and taxes realistically. Claiming billions of savings when the actual number is millions while the Treasury borrows billions is not simply deceptive, it's a disservice to voters! It's also simply put a lie! Common Sense thinks that Americans deserve better, much better, from our employees.