President Obama's $100 Million Dollar Plan: Budget Analysts Promptly Burst Out Laughing
President Barack Obama ordered his cabinet to identify and trim a collective $100 million in administrative costs from their budgets. Obama is sneakily trying to change the argument from his ballooning deficit to the small cuts that he is proposing. Do not be fooled. This is just a PR gimmick. Despite these small cuts, your children and grandchildren will still be the victims of generational theft. He is still acting penny wise and dollar foolish when it comes to his spending policies.Read What the Press Had to Say
AP: "Cut A Latte Or Two Out Of Your Annual Budget And You've Just Done As Much Belt-Tightening As President Barack Obama Asked Of His Cabinet On Monday. The thrifty measures Obama ordered for federal agencies are the equivalent of asking a family that spends $60,000 in a year to save $6. Obama made his push for frugality the subject of his first Cabinet meeting, ensuring it would command the capital's attention. It also set off outbursts of mental math and scribbled calculations as political friend and foe tried to figure out its impact. The bottom line: Not much." ("Spin Meter: Saving Federal Money The Easy Way," AP, 4/20/09)
CBS: "Imagine You Were Shopping For A $50,000 Car, And The Dealer Offered To Slash The Price By A Dollar? Would You Be Bowled Over? Scramble For Your Checkbook? Leap To Sign The Sales Agreement? Probably Not. That's why there's cynicism as President Obama announced he directed the members of his Cabinet today to come up with $100-million in spending cuts in 90 days. Considering his budget this year calls for over $3.9-trillion in spending, $100-million is the same percentage of reduction as taking a buck off the price of a $50,000 car." ("Is $100 M Much Of A Budget Cut? Ask Obama," CBS News' Political Hotsheet Blog, 4/20/09)
NEW YORK TIMES: "Budget Analysts Promptly Burst Out Laughing. A Reporter Declared At The White House Briefing That The Initiative Would Become Fodder For Late-Night Talk Show Hosts." ("Obama Has His Cabinet Looking For Small Change," The New York Times, 4/21/09)
CNN: "In Essence The President Has Asked Government Agencies To Trim The Equivalent Of .003% Of The Federal Budget. Looked At Another Way, $100 Million Is .006% Of This Year's Estimated Budget Deficit." ("What Cutting $100 Million Really Means," CNN, 4/20/09)
REUTERS On $100 Million: "The Government Spent That Amount In Just 13 Minutes." "President Barack Obama challenged U.S. government departments on Monday to find $100 million in savings, but the move was mocked by critics who said the government spent that amount in just 13 minutes."("White House On Defensive Over Spending Cuts," Reuters, 4/20/09)
WALL STREET JOURNAL: "$100 Million, A Largely Symbolic Effort." ("Obama Tells Cabinet To Trim Spending," The Wall Street Journal, 4/21/09)
THE HILL: The Cuts Would Be "Just A Tiny Portion Of Federal Spending, Which Is Expected To Top $4 Trillion This Year." "But Obama's proposed savings $100 million would amount to just a tiny portion of federal spending, which is expected to top $4 trillion this year under the president's policies."("Obama 'Challenges' Cabinet To Cut Fraction Of Spending," The Hill, 4/20/09)
WASHINGTON POST: "Obama Ordered His Agency Heads To Identify And Shave A Collective $100 Million In Administrative Costs From Federal Programs In A Budget Of Well Over $3 Trillion." "The brickbats were flying even before President Obama convened his first official Cabinet meeting yesterday. At the session, Obama ordered his agency heads to identify and shave a collective $100 million in administrative costs from federal programs in a budget of well over $3 trillion." ("At His First Official Cabinet Meeting, Obama Orders Cuts," The Washington Post, 4/21/09)
LA TIMES: "The Cuts Amounts To A Fraction Of The Overall Budget, Leaving Room For Critics To Question Whether The Reductions Mean Much At All." "Reporting from Washington -- President Obama called his full Cabinet together for the first time Monday and instructed the department heads to cut enough money from their budgets to set a new tone in Washington. But the target the president set for the cuts amounts to a fraction of the overall budget, leaving room for critics to question whether the reductions mean much at all." ("Obama Asks Cabinet Chiefs To Start Cutting," LA Times, 4/21/09)
ABC: "Isn't $100 Million Just A Drop In The Bucket, One Reporter Asked. 'It Is And That's What I Just Said,' The President Said." (ABC News' Political Punch Blog, 4/20/09)
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