President Obama promised—again—to get serious about the deficit in last week's State of the Union address. If you thought those were ironic smiles and hoots of approval in the Congressional audience, you were right.
The same merry band of spendthrift Senators united last week to defeat spending cut amendments offered by Republican Senator Tom Coburn to a bill to raise the federal debt limit. No fewer than 57 Senators voted against saving $20 billion by consolidating 640 programs that are duplicated across government. Sixty-one voted not to rescind $100 billion in "unobligated funds"—money that was appropriated by Congress but never spent.
Most revealing, 47 Democrats plus Republican Kit Bond of Missouri (who is retiring this year) killed a Coburn amendment to take back the $245 million budget increase Congress awarded itself last year. That was a 6% jump in the money Congress gets to spend on the likes of consultants, receptions and new laptops. America's unemployed should be so lucky. Read more…
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