President Obama released his 2012 budget proposal Monday, spurring criticism from the GOP.
Judd Gregg, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire and a former member of the Senate Budget Committee, says neither side of the aisle is addressing the fundamental problem behind the national debt. Gregg tells American Morning's Kiran Chetry what he thinks needs to happen.
Worrying about the national debt in the middle of the second largest depression in the last one hundred years is ludicrous. This is not the time to fight that battle. We need to knock the horrendous 9 % unemployment rate down to at least 4%, and to do that it calls for governent spending, tax breaks and incentives for small business and entrepreneurs. It also calls for government investment in research, infrastructure and manufacturing support. To solve the problem of the national debt, people need to spend and consume. Not just the rich people who are doing better than ever. It needs to be the middle class and the lower income sections of the economy too. Just the way it is. That's what will pay off the national debt.
Fiscally, Sen. Gregg is right on target. Government does a horrible job 'creating' jobs but they are instrumental in helping the environment for job creation. The debt problem keeps investment moving to other countries
It's not about anything other than politicians trying to get reelected - that's why entitlements don't get addressed
If you want your children to have future opportunities in the US, entitlements must be reduced.
Pres Obama has neither the 'will' politically nor the interest to do so. He is a 'government knows all and is great' politician.
I am so sick of listening to republicans saying they have to cut programs when there is still the tax cut on the wealthiest top 2%. If this tax cut did not exist in the Bush administration, we would not have such a deficit today. Considering cuts with teachers, firemen, police etc, would be on the table once the top 2% give up their obscene desire for greed at the expense of the middle class. When are they going to invest in the future of America?
Judas Gregg, the Betrayer, is a laughing stock amongst New Hampshire's conservatives who are genuinely fiscal and social conservatives (like me.) While he was a fairly good governor here, his Senate terms revealed how bad the Washington infection had confused his thinking and dissolved his backbone.