Comments about ‘Sen. Orrin Hatch warns sequestration could hit Utah hard, says it may be needed’

Stop bashing and using dedicated civil servants to sacrifice. Start canceling worthless and cost overrun programs that will save billions in life cycle costs. The Air Force just canceled a $1 billion parts traching program that resulted in nothing. They canceled another $2 Billion in failed programs. Gg

This rather brilliantly cuts thru all the political doublespeak we get. It puts it into a much better perspective.

Lesson # 1:

* U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
* Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
* New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
* National debt: $16,271,000,000,000
* Proposed budget cuts: $ 85,500,000,000

Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's your household budget:

* Annual family income: $21,700
* Money the family spent: $38,200
* New debt on the credit card: $16,500
* Outstanding balance on the credit card: $162,710
* Proposed budget cuts so far: $8.55

Got It ?????

If not now, when do we start making cuts?

This about-face from Hatch is a laughing stock. Remember the controversy over his inclusion of a $500 million tax break for one pharmaceutical company for one drug patent in the Fiscal Cliff deal? Talk about corporate welfare! If the sequester is needed, why does it need to come from the pockets of civilians barely making it by? Why shouldn't it come from companies like AmGen, which received this huge pork favor from Hatch?

@ThomasJefferson - your numbers just don't add up. I fail to see how you claims make any sense what so ever.

"Going to cost folks $7800, drop in the bucket to the over 200K the tax raises cost my business which, sorry folks, turned into lost jobs and a pay freeze for 2013!"

Listen, I have done BD for two ot the two wealthiest men in America. My current employeer has made money, and grown every year, for the last 32 years. Same can be said for my last employer. If you can't make money in today's economy, it isn't the economies or taxes fault. Week in, week out, companies are still setting financial records.

I don't say this to be mean, but perhaps you need to take another look at the business model. The world is a far different environment than it was 20 years ago. Companies are continously morphing to adapt to new rules of the game. Blamming a party, a president, or anyone else is diverting responsibility away, which dooes nothing to make the org more competitive. Everyone has the same issues...

Obama is not responsible for your companies financial performance.

"If not now, when do we start making cuts?"

When?

Well, that would be as soon as our congress looks seriously at Social Security, Medicare and Defense.

There is absolutely NOWHERE else to start.

The problem is that the dems dont like cutting SS and Med and the Reps dont like cutting defense.

Nothing of meaning will happen until there can be compromise on those big 3.

There is no sense in looking elsewhere until these have been addressed.

Sequestration is not needed. This is the most absurd controversy, the most contrived, in my decades in being in and observing public service. Hatch, you need to do your job, once and for all. Stop the political party games. You can huff and puff all you like, but you are not doing your job. Even though you claim to not be interested in running again, you are not playing the role of the adult, the role of the statesman, but instead are faciliating political posturing that is hariming the American people. You have shown glimmers of statesmanship in the past, but ever since you started running for re-election and after winning in Novermber, you have slipped back into irrational conservatism. You and your boys can point the blame at the President or the Democrats, but you control the House, and you can make things stop and go in the Senate. You need to get it done. The President doesn't authorize spending, you do. So stop the blame game and do your job!

Hatch and other repubs claim the government can't create jobs but once you start talking about defense cuts and closing bases, their heads practically split open.
Obama needs to do two things ASAP:
1-raise taxes to the level they were under Clinton
2-Cut spending, starting with the military.

Hi Someone Pinch Me,

FYI - you removed 10 zeroes from the final figure.

Keep it real!

I wish our "leaders" could manage a compromise. If they can't, bring on sequestration. This will still be too little to fix our government's spending problem. We have a spending problem, not a taxing problem.

We need LEADERS with ideas, strength, and resolve - not politicians.

It's ironic, isn't it, that Hatch supports the sequester (on the backs of hard-working middle-class taxpayers) when he included a $500 million tax giveaway to AmGen (for a dialysis drug) just weeks ago in the Fiscal Cliff deal.

Spending problem, indeed; Hatch is part of the problem.

@Hawkeye79 FYI - recount the zeros in Pinch Me final figure. He did keep it real. It really sucks when the state of the nation is brought down to easily understood numbers. Shows just how out of touch with reality this administration and it's policies really are. (nice try at deflecting the truth, too bad it didn't work).

The amount they are talking about is such a small number in regards to what we spend every year, but our politicians use every tactic known to strike fear into our hearts so we will keep voting for them. It's pennies in the bucket, and I simply don't believe that it will effect our national security or defense in any meaningful or significant way. I just don't buy it. We already spend waaay more than anyone else on defense spending.

Is Senator Hatch for or against more spending? WE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM. Sequestration is only a trickle of what really needs to happen to reign in the federal government. Yes, in the short term it will hurt. Getting off crack is hard! It will be harder when the whole thing crashes down.

This is the same guy who spent months campaigning on the idea that "we" need someone with experience and tenure representing Utah who will protect our interests in Washington, D.C., correct?

@Someone Pinch Me
That's supposed to be 855 dollars, not 8.55 in your example.

This is great. It reminds me of back when prop 13 was passed in California. Government officials were squealing like stuck pigs. But, when it actually took effect, no one noticed the difference. We may have hit on a formula for reducing this horrific growth of federal spending. When the sequester happens and the sky does not fall. Then lets do sequester round 2. Lets keep doing it until the sky starts to crack and then we can back off a bit.

Yes the deficit has risen quite a bit under Obama. No doubt about it.

But, just curious.

How much do you think the deficit would have been had John McCain been elected?

The main deficit drivers are Military, Medicare and Social Security.

Seriously. What would be different under McCain.

Heck, or Romney for that matter?

In some ways, those on the right should be thankful McCain didnt win. Cause the deficits were projected to skyrocket regardless of who the president was.

Sure it's the only answer, as long as it doesn't affect politicians personally. Limit terms to 4 years; no elitist benefits. No ability to vote themselves pay raises and benefits.. Quit sending our tax dollars to other countries. Take care of our own first. My husband works hard at his job out at the base. He goes tdy for months on end. He earns his pay. While I am grateful we still have some money coming in, all benefits have stopped because he is now considered 'part time'. Nobody is talking about that. Hours cut therefore benefits stopped. Cut spending from the top down. Walk the walk and then maybe I'll believe the talk.

Would rather be owned by china, or cut spending?
I say slash the federal government by 80%, but no cuts on military.
Oh yea, and cut all czars.

Let sequestration happen. This is not Armageddon. The Federal Government spends too much including military spending. We always talk about the waste in social programs, but there is waste in military spending also. $85 billion is nothing. Cut more!!!!