Entitlements have their place in society. Are they being abused currently? Yes, but not by everyone who receives them. Reform is needed, but complete elimination isn't the right call.

 

I was able to go to college debt free because of Governor's Scholar Program which is a program sponsored heavily by the State. My financial situation wasn't the best, and others called the program "nerd camp". However, I wasn't lazy like my classmates and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. At the time, and during most of my time growing up, financial assistance was needed and it helped. I do my part and give back to programs that help others, now that I am financially able to do so. Not every family has the white-picket fence and a mom who stays at home while dad works bring home $150K+.

 

Balanced budgets are great, but when you are a politician and the primary thing on your mind is votes, you do not want to rub any group of people wrong. I'm not condoning spending twice of what you make, but I can understand how on would lose priorities. A lot of the issues that plague this country, I'm afraid, won't be resolved anytime soon. The country is more divided politically now than it has been in decades; a president needs to consider the interest of the ENTIRE country, instead of those who backed him.

I never once said do away with all the programs that the entitlements make up, but what needs to be done is limtiting them to the ones who really need them and deserve them.

 

Just in case you weren't sure whose fault this is, congressional Republicans have come up with a helpful Twitter hashtag for all the cool kids to use.

Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Obama could save a few firefighters or police jobs by taking less and less expensive vacations.

 

Will the police who get laid off be any of the ones with guns at the school of Obamas kids?

The budget sequester was the fallback position to incentivize some kind of a budget agreement. I think people who want to avoid the sequester forget that it exists wholly because the two-sides can't reach an agreement (and neither side can even agree among themselves). Now we're essentially left with both sides trying to blame the other for it in order to avoid the political or electoral consequences of it.

 

I fear these intractable differences, which seem to color the debate on every issue now, does not bode well for us. Something's going to give and I don't think it will be pretty when it does.

^ Nailed it.

Who bet on the 'Don't Pass' line when they came up with the 'Super Committee'?

 

The way underfunded sacred cow of Medicare is the problem but no one will deal with it. The general talk of 'spending' is just covering the real problem. We do not have a general 'spending' problem. We have an underfunded liability problem - Medicare. Currently it is the only on-budget item that is radically going up. Even interest on the debt has not yet kicked in like it will in a couple of years.

Entitlements have their place in society. Are they being abused currently? Yes, but not by everyone who receives them. Reform is needed, but complete elimination isn't the right call.

 

I was able to go to college debt free because of Governor's Scholar Program which is a program sponsored heavily by the State. My financial situation wasn't the best, and others called the program "nerd camp". However, I wasn't lazy like my classmates and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. At the time, and during most of my time growing up, financial assistance was needed and it helped. I do my part and give back to programs that help others, now that I am financially able to do so. Not every family has the white-picket fence and a mom who stays at home while dad works bring home $150K+.

 

Balanced budgets are great, but when you are a politician and the primary thing on your mind is votes, you do not want to rub any group of people wrong. I'm not condoning spending twice of what you make, but I can understand how on would lose priorities. A lot of the issues that plague this country, I'm afraid, won't be resolved anytime soon. The country is more divided politically now than it has been in decades; a president needs to consider the interest of the ENTIRE country, instead of those who backed him.

 

The scholarship you recieved isn't an entitlement, you earned it. I think myself and others are just asking for people living on these programs to earn them and put in work or effort. I worked 40-50 hours a week to pay for college and rent. I didn't have parents who could afford to pay for my college, I also didn't expect other people to hand me a gift. If I recieved grants or aid it was through effort and hard work. I never want to hear an excuse from any soul they didn't have the financial means to go to college. If you priortize spending, sacrifice and really want it, you can go college. Like I said I grew up in a city where many of my peers chose a different and harder path. But if any of them try to tell me how their life wasn't fair I'll cut them off in a heart beat to remind them of decisions in their past.

Entitlements have their place in society. Are they being abused currently? Yes, but not by everyone who receives them. Reform is needed, but complete elimination isn't the right call.

 

I was able to go to college debt free because of Governor's Scholar Program which is a program sponsored heavily by the State. My financial situation wasn't the best, and others called the program "nerd camp". However, I wasn't lazy like my classmates and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. At the time, and during most of my time growing up, financial assistance was needed and it helped. I do my part and give back to programs that help others, now that I am financially able to do so. Not every family has the white-picket fence and a mom who stays at home while dad works bring home $150K+.

 

Balanced budgets are great, but when you are a politician and the primary thing on your mind is votes, you do not want to rub any group of people wrong. I'm not condoning spending twice of what you make, but I can understand how on would lose priorities. A lot of the issues that plague this country, I'm afraid, won't be resolved anytime soon. The country is more divided politically now than it has been in decades; a president needs to consider the interest of the ENTIRE country, instead of those who backed him.

 

Congratulations, and your achievements are to be congratulated. How do you feel about your classmates that DIDN'T work hard, but still got their college paid for? The world is and should be about consequences. One works hard, gets some breaks and betters themselves. This administration is NOT about that. They are about equalling the playing field regardless of circumstances, worthiness or motivation of the recipient. That is wrong and undermines the fabric of the country that allowed us to work hard, purchase PC's or Apples or whatever, spend $15 and post on BGP.

The budget sequester was the fallback position to incentivize some kind of a budget agreement. I think people who want to avoid the sequester forget that it exists wholly because the two-sides can't reach an agreement (and neither side can even agree among themselves). Now we're essentially left with both sides trying to blame the other for it in order to avoid the political or electoral consequences of it.

 

I fear these intractable differences, which seem to color the debate on every issue now, does not bode well for us. Something's going to give and I don't think it will be pretty when it does.

 

The Republicans didn't lose the presidential election or any other elections because of their economic positions. They lost because of social issues...immigration, gay rights and abortion especially. I hope they do not yield on the economic issues! It is the leader's responsibility to broker an agreement, and what we are seeing is that we are leaderless. We only have a man that wants to be a dictator and only wants his way or the highway.

He blames who????

 

[video=youtube;eMZC-Zifx90]

The Republicans didn't lose the presidential election or any other elections because of their economic positions. They lost because of social issues...immigration, gay rights and abortion especially. I hope they do not yield on the economic issues! It is the leader's responsibility to broker an agreement, and what we are seeing is that we are leaderless. We only have a man that wants to be a dictator and only wants his way or the highway.

 

Compromise is a two-way street.

 

What little I've seen leads me to believe that both sides live on one way dead end roads.

 

Compromise is a two-way street.

 

What little I've seen leads me to believe that both sides live on one way dead end roads.

 

See that is the problem! The Repubs. Already compromised, but the Dems and Obama want to go back on their part of the bargain. THEN the Dems want to complain how the Repubs. are holding the economy hostage. They seem to be counting on the public having a short memory, and they may be right about that.

Isn't America great?! I have a completely different perspective on each of those points. :lol:

 

It used to be but maybe not so much in three years.

Compromise is a two-way street.

 

What little I've seen leads me to believe that both sides live on one way dead end roads.

 

Republicans gave Obama his tax hikes. You can not call them the party of no, that's over now. Now its time for the spending cuts and I mean real ones. If we need automatic cuts it is fine by me. We may hurt in the short term but something drastic is needed.

Compromise is a two-way street.

 

What little I've seen leads me to believe that both sides live on one way dead end roads.

The president certainly isn't trying to compromise. He wants it his way and his way only. We do not have a leader.