Huge Step in the Right Direction

Coburn proposes $9 trillion deficit cut measure


Jul 18, 5:15 PM (ET)

By ANDREW TAYLOR


(AP) Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., reveals his "Back in Black" plan to reduce the federal deficit, Monday,...
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WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the Senate's staunchest budget-cutters unveiled Monday a massive plan to cut the nation's deficit by $9 trillion over the coming decade.
The plan by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is laced with politically perilous proposals like raising to 70 the age at which people can claim their full Social Security benefits. It would cut farm subsidies, Medicare, student aid, housing subsidies for the poor, and funding for community development grants. Coburn even takes on the powerful veterans' lobby by proposing that some veterans pay more for medical care and prescription drugs.
Coburn was a member of President Barack Obama's fiscal commission and voted for its plan to cut the budget by about $4 trillion over a decade. He recently dropped out of the closely watched "Gang of Six" senators seeking a bipartisan agreement to rein in deficits and break through the partisanship engulfing official Washington over the deficit.
His re-entry into the deficit debate comes as Obama and lawmakers struggle over increasing the so-called debt limit and avoid a first-ever default on U.S. obligations.
Coburn's $9 trillion savings figure doesn't include another $2.4 trillion in cuts to Social Security that are funneled back into the program. In addition to raising the retirement age gradually, he would peg future benefits to a less-generous measure of inflation and curb benefit increases even more for the top 40 percent of earners.
Cuts to the Medicare program for the elderly and the Medicaid health plan for the poor and disabled would total $2.6 trillion over 10 years, far more than proposed by the fiscal commission or House Republicans. He proposes raising the Medicare retirement age to 67 by 2027 and then gradually increasing it until the retirement age hits 69 in 2080. It would also raise Medicare premiums for doctor visits so that premiums pay 35 percent of such costs instead of the 25 percent currently covered.
Coburn would also eliminate $1 trillion in tax breaks over the coming decade, earning him an immediate rebuke from Americans for Tax Reform, an anti-tax organization with which Coburn has had a running feud. He would block taxpayers from claiming the mortgage interest deduction on second homes and limit it to homes worth $500,000. He would also ease taxpayers into higher tax brackets more quickly by using a smaller measure of inflation to adjust the brackets.
Coburn would cut $1 trillion from the Pentagon budget over a decade. He would block military retirees from the Tricare Prime health care plan, the option with the lowest out-of-pocket cost, saving $115 billion, and he would raise the prescription drug copayment under the program, as well as require higher out-of-pocket fees. He also would reduce the fleet of aircraft carriers from 11 to 10 and Navy air wings from 10 to nine.
"I have no doubt that both parties will criticize portions of this plan, and I welcome that debate," Coburn told reporters. "But it's not a legitimate criticism until you have a plan of your own."

Two Horses

From my friend Wally Terry:

Two Horses
Author Unknown
Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.


From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse.

But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing....
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind.
His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing. If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.
Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.
It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.


Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need..
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way....
Good friends are like that...
You may not always see them, but you know they are always there..
Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours, and remember...

Be kinder than necessary-
Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly.......


And leave the rest to God!



FOR WE WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT

Let's Jump on Aderholt, it all his fault.

Couldn't help but notice the Decatur Daily jumped on my old Haleyville friend Robert Aderholt yesterday. It is probably a good time to get him, he no longer represents any of Decatur or Morgan County and I guess we already have all the funding we are going to get out of him for downtown redevelopment, Ingalls Harbor, sewer, water, swimming pools, Senior Centers and all the other projects we have depended on him in the past to find money for us to use. Robert was really good for us while he lasted but now, before they even get his name off the door of his office in the courthouse we need to use him as a case study on what's wrong in Washington.

I will assume The Daily was 100% right in the points it made concerning the wrong Congressman Aderholt was guilty of. Assuming the facts are correct I agree this a practice that is wrong. Congressman Aderholt probably did find some funding for a University here in Alabama not in his district where his wife serves on the Board of Trustees. This is a problem that must be addressed and hopefully stopped. My problem with the Daily is the sanctimonious way they pointed out the faults of Congressman Aderholt when writing about a universal problem. The Daily through its ownership and management, every citizen in it's readership through their elected and appointed officials and everyone else living in this country that looks to government for something is just as responsible for these type appropriations and any Congressperson.

We have all been indoctrinated with the feeling that there is so much money flowing through Washington that it is our representative's duty and obligation to get just a little bit for us. If our man don't get it then someone else's man will get it and send it to another district or state. We send plane loads of people to Washington to plead for cases that while great to us is really not the obligation of the Federal Government to provide. The Representatives have come to believe the same thing and in a sense their re-election relies on their ability to 'bring home the bacon'.

Robert Aderholt is an honorable, sober, Christian man who takes his job and the representation of his constituents seriously. Everyday he does exactly what he believes to be right and with the goal of justly representing his people. We the people are just as much at fault as these representatives. No matter how loud we cry and strike out against the evil government spending we still don't think it really is going to hurt anybody if we get just a little taste of 'that' money. We just need a little to help us with beautifying an entrance way into our city or maybe just helping us with a project to teach children shaped note singing, or maybe just create a bird watching trail.

I guess the Daily was right, Aderholt is somebody else's now and he needs to cut that stuff out. Now that we are on the high road we probably need to get 'Mo' over here to see about getting some help with putting on the 'Coon Dog Festival' out at Ingalls next year. We just need a little seed money and there is so much in Washington.

Can you believe we have a person named 'Mo' to represent us now. That's fodder for another day.