Alert !! Three year freeze is coming. Must be talking about global warming. He sure as heck is not talking about government spending !!!!

click on image to enlarge.

Obama has been preaching his "three year freeze on government spending" over the past week - a promise that is to effect "discretionary spending". What exactly does that look like? What does it mean?

The pie chart shows the effect of the "freeze" in relationship to all other spending approved or desired by Mr. Obama. Understand that BEFORE he put the "freeze" into his rhetorical plans, he took events of last year (2009) and added 24% to discretionary spending before he promised to freeze that spending. The average rate of increase for such spending has been 8%, of late. When one does the math, 3 times 8 equals 24 !!! Sha zam !!! He didn't save a nickel.

Secondly, this "freeze" effects just 17% of all government services and must be approved by Congress -- which means you will never see this proposal become law.

Finally, if the freeze is put into place and monies are needed for a particular departmental service, that funding will be added to an uneffected government service and, wala, whoever gets whatever anytime they really want it. . . . . .nothing has changed. What we are saying, here, is this: if research spending is included in the freeze and Joe Smuck needs research funding for a pet project, the Congress can simply add that funding to a military bill and Joe Smuck becomes a happy camper.

THREE YEAR FREEZE ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING !! Sure sounds good, doesn't it. And that is the point of this rhetoric . . . it sounds good. Add to this "feel good speech" the fact that this is an "Obama promise" and you have nothing but hot campaign air.

File this Obama proposal under smoke and mirrors and forget about it - jds.
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