O-mama - Opinionated Moms

AP

Roll the dice...shuffle the deck...let the games in D.C. begin at our expense!  What exactly happens when the government shuts down?  Does the mail stop?  Do the schools shut down?  Do police and firefighters show up for work? Do the wars end?  No - all of that will still go on.  So, do seniors still get social security checks?  Do our veterans still get their benefits? Does our Congress still get paid? Yes, yes, yes.  They'll all get paid. We've learned that "essential services" won't stop  - o.k., so what isn't essential?  Parks, museums, federal contracts, passports/visas.  What else? Are buses running?  Does our food get checked?  Is the water going to be on? Will all of that still be running, too?  Congress is gambling with our budget, and if they don’t get it passed by April 8^th, technically the government could "fold 'em." 

So, what exactly are we “dealing” with here?  Why are we playing these games?  Everyone agrees we have to cut the deck, but how we do it seems to be the hand we're dealing with in 2011.  It’s a partisan budget bluff to the max.  The House passed a budget that cuts $61 billion in additional spending, but the measure cuts funding of Head Start, Pell Grants, the EPA, Planned Parenthood among other things, which the Democrats didn’t like.  They came back with an alternative which reduced spending by another $33 billion (for a total of $73 bilion, the Pres already agreed to $40 billion in cuts up front), which Republicans say doesn’t go deep enough because they want to cut a total of $100 billion. So, both parties are putting their chips on the table, but neither one wants to “call.”  In the meantime, the House Republicans have drafted another week-long supplemental bill that will supposedly cut spending $12 billion, fund the Pentagon and avert the shutdown on Friday.  Who's going to blink first?

Well today, the professional poker faces are looking at the long-term debt and deficit with a budget proposed by the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis, that would cut more than $6 trillion from the budget over 10 years, including from Medicare and Medicaid, while lowering taxes. Ryan was on the President's bi-partisian fiscal commission, yet did not vote in favor of that plan that included cuts from Defense and closing corporate tax loop holes.  MAMAs, this is promising to be a wild card year of economic negotiations that will tackle the big stuff that really bets on our future.  The Republicans want to have the Budget Committee approve Ryan's plan this week and push it through the House next week.  But, the Senate will likey have some card tricks of their own to throw on the table.

MOMism:  "Let's make a deal."  MAMAs know you can't always stack the deck in your favor.  The House doesn't always win every hand - ya win some and ya lose some. That is how games are played, even political ones.  So, when do we cut our loses on the 2011 budget and move on to the real jackpot?!  

The stakes are high, MAMAs.  This is when we should be paying attention...we need to up the ante and go "all in" for our kids and our country because the American people are the ones really holding the cards.  What's our ace in the hole?  What are the cards that are most important to you and your family?  MAMAS - what do you want your tax dollars to bet on, so YOU get a good deal?