Downpayment on responsibility: President Obama pledges $100M in agency cuts

[min0 lee]

Downpayment on responsibility: President Obama pledges $100M in agency cuts

BY MICHAEL MCAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Monday, April 20th 2009, 8:51 AM

President Obama is making a $100 million downpayment on fiscal responsibility when he holds his first formal cabinet meeting Monday.

He'll do that by ordering the agency bosses to come up with that much in savings within the next 90 days. And that $100 million is on top of whatever efficiencies have already been uncovered.

The President will point to some of those savings as he asks his teams for more, officials said.

Among the highlights are 26 conferences that the Veterans Affairs administration has canceled or delayed in favor of cheaper alternatives, like video conferences, keeping nearly $17.8 million in the bank.

Also, the Agriculture Department hopes to save $62 million by putting 1,500 employees from seven offices into one building in 2011, and the Department of Homeland Security thinks it can cut $52 million over five years by buying office supplies in bulk.

 

[OuiSwim]

You should put in an application for Fox News min0.

 

[min0 lee]

You should put in an application for Fox News min0.

Fox is too one sided, far to the right and CNN is too far to the left.

 

[OuiSwim]

That's why I said Fox, you seem to lean respectively toward to Republican view of things.

 

[min0 lee]

Nooooo...I'd rather be in the middle.

 

[OuiSwim]

Ah, an Independant? Well at least you think for yourself.

 

[min0 lee]

Obama to take aim at credit card abuses
Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:31pm BST
By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have saddled U.S. consumers with huge debts and soaring interest rates, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said Obama would be "very focused in the very near term on a whole set of issues having to do with credit card abuses."

"We need to do things to stop the marketing of credit in ways that addict people to it," Summers said in an interview on the NBC television talk show "Meet the Press."

Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, said the administration is concerned about practices that result in consumers being "deceived into paying extraordinarily high rates that they wouldn't have paid if they knew they were getting themselves into."

Summers and other officials are scheduled to meet on Thursday at the White House with top executives of credit card companies.

The meeting comes as lawmakers in the Democratic-led Congress have vented anger that banks with big credit card operations charging high interest rates and fees are the same institutions getting government bailouts from U.S. taxpayers who use these credit cards.

The House of Representatives and Senate are considering a credit card "bill of rights" that would limit the ability of credit card companies to raise interest rates on existing balances and require greater disclosure of terms.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has spoken out against complexity in consumer lending practices that is designed to confuse customers and drive up lending fees.

The Fed tightened rules on credit-card practices in December, but the proposed legislation would take that further.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said credit-card abuses were a priority for Obama, who highlighted the subject during his campaign last year. "We look forward to working with Congress on these issues," Psaki said.

 

[OuiSwim]

I watched Fight Club last night. They had an excellent idea for taking care of the credit card debt...boom!

 

[min0 lee]

The thing about Obama that while he's making friends overseas I think he's made as much enemies here in the business sector.

He has his hands in too many things at once, is this good? I don't know.

 

[brogers]

He increased the budget to 3,500,000,000,000 and is now cutting 100,000,000 from it?

100,000,000 / 3,500,000,000,000 =
2.85714286 ?? 10-5


In other words, nothing... this is not even REMOTELY fiscally responsible.

I sincerely hope you are not serious with this crap. The guy who wrote this story should be fired for his absurd slant to this article.

This isn't much different than your boss slashing your salary from $30/hr to $10/hr then telling you a couple days later "hey I'm giving you a raise, you're now gonna make $11/hr"

What a joke

 

[min0 lee]

I sincerely hope you are not serious with this crap.

I brought this up for discussion.

Don't censor me bro!!

 

[busyLivin]

That's why I said Fox, you seem to lean respectively toward to Republican view of things.

 

[min0 lee]

It was only a matter of who was going to post this.

Trust me, I don't agree with everything liberal.

 

[min0 lee]

How is any of this propaganda for Obama?
Brogers, can you answer that?

 

[busyLivin]

It was only a matter of who was going to post this.

Trust me, I don't agree with everything liberal.

I just don't understand how he came to that conclusion when you post a fairy tale suggesting Obama is fiscally responsible.

 

[min0 lee]

I just don't understand how he came to that conclusion when you post a fairy tale suggesting Obama is fiscally responsible.

I don't know, probably because he knows I am not slanted for one side although it may seem so.

 

[min0 lee]

Let me ask you, is this post an endorsement for Obama from me?

 

[IronAddict]

Am I the only person who sees the absurdity in this whole fiscal responsibilty bullshit ? Both parties spend money like drunken sailors, not that I have anything against drunks or sailors.

 

[busyLivin]

Am I the only person who sees the absurdity in this whole fiscal responsibilty bullshit ? Both parties spend money like drunken sailors, not that I have anything against drunks or sailors.

absolutely not, I wholeheartedly agree. I think everyone in Congress should be thrown out on their asses.

 

[busyLivin]

Let me ask you, is this post an endorsement for Obama from me?

maybe not, but its a trend to see pro-Obama & anti-Republican stories from you.

Post whatever you want, it's just an observation.

 

[min0 lee]

Am I the only person who sees the absurdity in this whole fiscal responsibilty bullshit ? Both parties spend money like drunken sailors, not that I have anything against drunks or sailors.

I think we all see that.

Brogers is right.....it is a joke. Even though I like to get that old arrogant bastard pissed off he is right.
But I really don't understand why he has to get all riled up about it, I never said it was a good idea.....instead it shows you off the mark he is. Get with the program silly.

Obama is not perfect like the media makes him out to be.

 

[min0 lee]

maybe not, but its a trend to see pro-Obama & anti-Republican stories from you.

Post whatever you want, it's just an observation.

Anti-republican, lately yes.
The whole Navy seal sniper thing really irked me, he made a good call there.....but nooooooo....he can do no right.

Our Seals came through, A President made an order that came through and nothing but negative comes out from the anti-Obama crowd.

Come on, Clinton fucked up, Carter fucked up.....we..USA ....didn't fuck up this time.

 

[min0 lee]

Disgusting. Really.

 

[min0 lee]

He increased the budget to 3,500,000,000,000 and is now cutting 100,000,000 from it?

100,000,000 / 3,500,000,000,000 =
2.85714286 ?? 10-5


In other words, nothing... this is not even REMOTELY fiscally responsible.

I sincerely hope you are not serious with this crap. The guy who wrote this story should be fired for his absurd slant to this article.

This isn't much different than your boss slashing your salary from $30/hr to $10/hr then telling you a couple days later "hey I'm giving you a raise, you're now gonna make $11/hr"

What a joke

Hopefully this is a start.

 

[bio-chem]

I'm all for cuts. anywhere and everywhere. given other circumstances it does seem like smoke and mirrors in my opinion, but maybe if we are lucky it will take hold

 

[IronAddict]

absolutely not, I wholeheartedly agree. I think everyone in Congress should be thrown out on their asses.

I think we all see that.

Obama is not perfect like the media makes him out to be.

Well that's a start, maybe there's hope for us afterall.

Like anyone else, I don't agree with everything Obama has done or will do. I have a disagreement with Obama for not prosecuting the violations of the law that have been commited, really against everyting we stand for, such as torture and taking our Country to war based on lies...

 

[min0 lee]

I'm all for cuts. anywhere and everywhere. given other circumstances it does seem like smoke and mirrors in my opinion, but maybe if we are lucky it will take hold

I agree, hopefully this is just the beginning.

 

[min0 lee]

I sincerely hope you are not serious with this crap. The guy who wrote this story should be fired for his absurd slant to this article.

This was the actual headline on the internet.
That's it?! After billions in spending, Obama pledges $100M in cuts