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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
July 15, 2011 / 13 Tammuz, 5771
Who's Irresponsible?
By
Mona Charen
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Count on it: In the coming days and weeks, Republicans will be accused — not just by Democrats, but by the chattering class that includes some self-styled conservatives — of wild irresponsibility regarding the nation's fiscal health. It isn't that Republicans are models of rectitude on the subject — see the Bush deficits. And it's true that some Republicans, like Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist, have fetishized their opposition to taxes to the point where they defend pot-valiantly even tax subsidies such as those for ethanol. It's enough to make you think they're drinking the stuff. Still, when it comes to chaperoning America toward bankruptcy, the Democrats have no peers.
Here are some facts to keep in mind:
In February 2010, President Obama formally acknowledged that debt and deficits were potentially fatal problems for the United States. Declaring, "For far too long, Washington has avoided the tough choices necessary to solve our fiscal problems," Obama appointed a deficit commission to make recommendations about controlling America's skyrocketing debt. "I'm confident," the president blustered, "that the Commission I'm establishing today will build a bipartisan consensus to put America on the path toward fiscal reform and responsibility. I know they'll take up their work with the sense of integrity and strength of commitment that America's people deserve and America's future demands."
They did take up their work in that spirit. The president and his party were another matter. A majority of commission members issued a report in December 2010. Saying "America cannot be great if we go broke," the report called for ambitious spending cuts (reducing spending to 21 percent of GDP over the next quarter century from its current rate of more than 25 percent), dramatic tax reform and sweeping changes to entitlement programs, including narrowing eligibility for the wealthy and increasing the retirement age. "The era of debt denial is over, and there can be no turning back," the Bowles-Simpson commission concluded. "In the words of Sen. Tom Coburn, 'We keep kicking the can down the road and splashing the soup all over our grandchildren.'"
Members of the Republican House leadership issued a respectful response, demurring on some points. "This is a provocative proposal, and while we have concerns with some of their specifics, we commend the co-chairs for advancing the debate." Nancy Pelosi pronounced the proposal "simply unacceptable."
The president ignored the report entirely — choosing to douse the grandchildren.
Unlike Republicans under President Bush, Democrats were in full control of the federal government from January 2009 until January of 2011. Despite a 77-seat majority in the House, an 18-seat majority in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House, the Democratic Party became the first since budget rules were enacted in 1974 to fail to pass a budget. Budgets are clarifying. So is the failure to produce one.
Obama submitted a proposed budget in February that didn't come close to accounting for the structural increase in spending his health care plan would impose forever on the U.S. economy. The Democrat-dominated Senate voted it down 97-0. Two months later, with much fanfare, the president declared his February budget to be superceded by a new approach to the deficit problem — a highly tendentious and partisan speech. When members of the House Budget Committee asked Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, to evaluate the president's "budget framework," Elmendorf was at a loss: "We don't estimate speeches. We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech for us to do our analysis."
The Republicans, by contrast, passed a budget within three months of retaking a majority in the House. The Ryan budget was hardly a libertarian's dream — it permits federal spending to continue to increase by 2.8 percent per year for 10 years and contemplates permitting government spending to amount to about 20 percent of GDP. But the Obama/Democratic de facto budget will increase spending by 4.7 percent per year, keeping spending as a percentage of GDP at more than 24 percent by 2021. Since tax revenues have averaged about 18 percent of GDP since World War II, Obama's budget, even with dramatic tax increases, ensures fiscal insanity.
Obama's two chosen chairmen of the deficit commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, lauded the Ryan/Republican budget as "a serious, honest, straight-forward approach." The president's budget, they said, "goes nowhere close."
In debt ceiling negotiations, the president has reportedly threatened to "go to the people with this." By "this," the president presumably means an invitation to national decline, Democrat-style.
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Mona Charen Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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