Conservative star Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) ripped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the fantasy savings in his budget plan.
“Let’s pass a bill to cover the moon with yogurt that will cost $5 trillion today. and then let’s pass a bill the next day to cancel that bill. We could save $5 trillion.”
Transcript:
Rep. Paul Ryan took the House floor today to rail against what he considered “accounting tricks and budget gimmicks” by those attempting to carve out a budget that reduced spending. Among those, he explained, were the supposed “cuts” to defense spending that cut from predicted future spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he argued were not any different than repealing a bill proposing to “cover the moon with yogurt.”
Introducing to the debt crisis lexicon what is perhaps its catchiest potential meme yet, Rep. Ryan explained that much of the “spending” cuts proposed were counting money not yet necessary to spend. Many of the assumptions, Rep. Ryan explained, in the proposed cuts were, to him, complete fiction:
“We assume we’re going to be fighting this war for 10 more years, with over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and oh, gosh, wait, we’re going to withdraw our troops in 2014. $1 trillion in savings. I’ve got a better idea. Let’s pass a bill to cover the moon with yogurt that will cost $5 trillion today. and then let’s pass a bill the next day to cancel that bill. We could save $5 trillion. Wait, I’ve got a better idea. Our debt is $14 trillion. Let’s come up with a new plan to spend $14 trillion, then rescind it the next day and let’s save $14 trillion. This stuff is fiscal fantasy. You can’t make this stuff up, Mr. Speaker.”
“We can’t keep spending money we can’t have,” he continued, emphasizing that the money that the proposal on the floor claimed to save was not money that anyone should expect to be spent at any time. “Why on earth do we want to give the President a blank check to keep doing that, giving our sovereignty and self-determination to other countries to loan us money to fund our government? Those days have got to end,” he concluded. The point may be a serious one of Congressional contention, but expect that “cover the moon with yogurt” analogy to take the express route into GOP talking points.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
LOL love how he put this.
We really do have a lot of awesome conservatives in office. And we will get rid of the RINO’s each time they come up for their next election. I pray this happens!!!
So unlike the empty suits of the left and far too many Democrats that wallow in failure and denial, consumed in process and fault finding, with endless discussions of inequality, blame and division, and in the end with no plan at all on the table, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has truly risen to the occasion and demonstrated leadership and resolve in his position as house budget chairman. He has a very bright future.
I agree completely, Wild Thing, we do have some awesome conservative representation in Washington. They are determined men and women of conviction, no nonsense, positive results oriented folk. We need to have another 2012 election like the 2010 election and clean house in Washington.
It’s not so difficult if we remain principled and guided and inspired by the words of the first Republican, Abraham Lincoln:
Ten Cannots:
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
-from a pamphlet written by Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. William John Henry Boetcker, Presbyterian Minister who lectured around the United States about industrial relations at the the turn of the twentieth century.
Politicians love doublespeak. It stems from the fact that so many of them are lawyers. Rep. Ryan does a good job here of pointing this out.
Carlos – I have seen these wisdoms before but did not know they were attributed to Pres. Lincoln. I wish all politicians would follow these principles.
How can you not love Paul Ryan? This guy is great.
Trafficant was better than Ryan. He’d have a field day with this mess. “All a dog has to do is pee in a parking lot the the Government declares it a Wetland, Beam me up Mr. Speaker.” Ahh…the good old days.
Yes, I love Paul Ryan!!! He is our voice!
Carlos thank you for those, I too never knew they were from Lincoln.
Thank you everyone so very much.
Jan, I do too, he has such a clear mind on so many things and I love when he explains things. He makes it so much easier to understand.