Oct 02 2008
Who Does the Government Spending, George Bush or Congress?
Inflation resulting from runaway government spending has weakened our dollar causing your purchasing power to decline. The President sends his proposed budget to Congress for each fiscal year. They adjust it (read:make it bigger) and add earmarks (unnamed items included in the budget) then send it to him to sign (take blame for). Then they complain because it is so big. What are these “earmarks” Washington deplores so much? Special rip offs to help a congressman get re-elected. An earmark could be for the famous “bridge to nowhere”. It could and has been for a tennis court or golf club to keep us safe from foreign enemies. It could be for an office building with a politicians name on it. There are lots of those around the country.
When earmarks became so obnoxious to taxpayers a year or so ago many items that used to be included in the federal budget as earmarks were placed in the budget in a different manner (hidden). The congressmen went to government agencies whose budgets they controlled and had them add the earmarks within the agency budget so they wouldn’t show up as separate items in the more visible congressional projects lists.
Click here: The Constitution Regarding Spending
Section. 7.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Last night I watched the vote on the $700 billion bailout. It required two separate votes. The first item voted on was the “Dodd Amendment” the reporter explained that it had to been done in two parts because they had to vote on the “House” item as a procedural matter since all financial matters originate in the “House”. Then they were free to vote on the Senate version which passed and will now be sent to the house. If the “House” passes the whole thing as is, it goes to the President for signature. If the “House” amends it (Sheila Jackson-Lee for example wants the government to take over mortgages on homes owned by some of her constituents or make the current mortgage holder reduce the interest rate) , then it goes to a conference committee comprised of members of the Senate and the “House”.
The differences are negotiated and a final bill is adopted.
My point here being that all spending originates in the “House”. Bush can only spend money allocated to him by the congress and only on programs authorized by the Congress. Granted Bush could have vetoed some of the bills sent to him, but that is difficult to do when the bills contain allocations on money for programs necessary to conduct the country’s business. Presently it is an all or nothing proposition. He signs the whole bill or sends the whole bill back to congress.
Excess spending using borrowed funds or printing more dollars increases the number of units of currency in our economy relative to other countries’ economies. The value of products such as oil remains constant (for purposes of this discussion). Hence it requires more dollars to buy the same quantity of oil from another country. That is why the price of oil and any other foreign imports goes up.
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