I could be wrong, but there's any number of things I could do with $17 Billion dollars, and yet our esteemed press corps is whining about the href="7 Billion that was cut out as wasteful spending by the Obama administration as "not enough." This little game is really old, and I think Gibbs and, more importantly, President Obama are sick of it.
President Obama jabbed skeptical deficit hawks Thursday, unveiling "nearly $17 billion" in budget cuts and insisting the savings "add up" despite the government’s soaring debt.
"Some of the cuts we’re putting forward today are more painful than others. Some are larger than others," Obama said. "In fact a few of the programs we eliminate will produce less than a million dollars in savings. Of course, outside of Washington, that’s still a lot of money.
Prepared Remarks
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Some of the cuts we're putting forward today are more painful than others. Some are larger than others. In fact a few of the programs we eliminate will produce less than a million dollars in savings. Of course, outside of Washington, that's still a lot of money.
But these savings, large and small, add up. The 121 budget cuts we are announcing today will save taxpayers nearly $17 billion next year alone. That's a lot of money, even by Washington standards. To put this in perspective, this is more than enough savings to pay for a $2,500 tuition tax credit for millions of students as well as a larger Pell Grant – with enough money left over to pay for everything we do to protect the National Parks.
And this is just one aspect of the budget reforms and savings we are seeking.
Yes, outside of Washington, where the "normal" people dwell, those numbers will MEAN something. Not just percentages (Chuck Todd), but real NUMBERS. Do some of the companies doing the cuts Todd was whining about even HAVE $17 Billion?
Mind you, this is apparently only the first wave of these cuts, so there is more coming, but considering all of the whining and crying about Obama supposedly ballooning our debt, you'd think this would be a welcome change.
"One half of one percent – how is this truly a tough decision?" Todd asked Gibbs, referring to Obama’s $17 billion in planned program reductions.
"I’ll resist the temptation –," Gibbs began, but Todd cut him off.
"You want to have a money argument, but the percentage does matter," Todd said. "People are cutting back their spending by 10 percent. Companies are cutting back by 5 percent."
"NBC!" Gibbs interjected with a laugh, "The stock of GE!"
Seriously Chuck Todd? Where was your "percentages matter" spiel when the Republicans and Conservadems were carving up the stimulus over a fraction of 1%?
What this amounts to is President Obama keeping yet ANOTHER campaign promise, and the media not knowing what to do with itself. I mean seriously, Hannity has resorted to calling Obama's burgers elitist because they used Dijon Mustard.