White House Vows "No Spending Cuts"

The madness of the belief that we can spend more money, print more money, and devalue our currency to get out of the economic troubles we've been in continues to reign in Washington. . . as for the threat to shut down government? Let it happen.  Besides, a government shutdown does not also stop necessary functions.  Plus, if they shut down, the spending goes to minimum life support, and they stop making bad decisions during the shut down.

A shut down may be exactly what we need.

From Fox News:

The Obama administration dug in Sunday on its vow to reject proposed spending cuts by congressional Republicans in upcoming budget talks but declined to say whether the president would veto their proposals or allow a government shutdown.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told “Fox News Sunday” that President Obama will neither sign government funding bills that slash domestic spending nor negotiate with Republicans over spending cuts to raise the federal debt limit.

However, he would not say whether the president would veto proposals and put the responsibility on Capitol Hill.

“Congress has to do its work," Lew said.

He also repeated what the administration has said in the weeks ahead of talks on short-term funding for federal agencies before a Sept. 30 deadline -- that Capitol Hill lawmakers must replace so-called sequester cuts with less drastic ones.

“Congress should find a way out of sequester,” Lew said.

The across-the-board cuts to Defense Department and domestic spending began in March, after Washington failed to agree on a more even approach.

He also said the president was not going to accept a budget in which domestic spending is further cut to soften the blow to Defense spending.

“That's unacceptable," Lew, who appeared on three Sunday shows to re-enforce the president’s positions, told NBC's "Meet the Press." "He won't sign that."

He told ABC's "This Week" that the president has been "crystal clear" that raising the country's debt limit this fall in non-negotiable.

Congress must pass a so-called continuing resolution before October to fund federal agencies beyond the end of fiscal 2013 and until Washington can agree on a fiscal 2014 budget.

Some conservatives are making a last stand against Obama's new health care law, which includes plans not to fund ObamaCare in the continuing resolution.

Rep. Peter King, R.-N.Y., said Republicans should be searching for ways to de-fund or repeal the Obama health care act. But he called threatening to shut down the government "terror politics" and said the strategy wouldn't work. Others have worried that the gamesmanship could cause Republicans to lose control of the House.

Some observers say it's an idea doomed to fail anyway, since Obama brings both a veto pen and the White House podium to the battle.

Read more

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary