Professor, try drinking the "truth". That's what the country needs. Eagle1 is correct. It's not about left and right, it's about doing what's right. Of course, that takes leadership and that's something NEITHER side have. As I've stated before, the people it will take to turn the tide in this country won't come from a political party....

Professor and the D's don't have their own flavors? Give me a break the partisan idiocy on both sides is a HUGE problem, not just one side.

SO many of you R's continue to be SO willing to drink that kool-aid. Enjoy it. At least most of the rest of the country is catching on.

Eagle1, you are correct. Both sides make up the "beast" and because of our collective ignorance and apathy, we just keep on feeding that beast!

Are the aliens from outer space illegals? Or are they a special case?

woodsman: off topic and likely incorrect. Snopes said the illegal aliens getting shot is false. http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/hom...
Or just google it https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp...

Sigma40, you mean as far as any of them wanting to fix it? you are correct they are in support of it, it is a power play. Once again both parties working together to screw the rest of us. Lovely.

Its amazing how many people believe and buy into this national debt scam.

No biggy, we'll just let our kids and their kids suffer for our lack of doing what needs to be done... right King Barry?

The debt is by far the overwhelmingly biggest issue we face, the increasing of it with the very real possibility we will default sooner rathe than later will have dire consequences. This debt has been caused not because of a lack of revenue but because of overspending. Increased military operations across the globe, unsustainable entitlement programs, foreign aid, useless war on drugs and many other unneeded spending has contributed. We currently spend over .40 cents of every dollar of revenue just on maintaing the debt, basically interest, that is beyond unsustainable. Drastic raising of taxes will not solve this as it will will damage if not all out destroy the economy depending on the level of increase. The only way to get this to a manageable level is to make cuts, even what some would call drastic, too bad, our two party system has caused this issue and we all sat back and let it happen, time to do without some of those government perks, which honestly I don't think most of utilize anyways.

wislady...Obama is too busy flying around the country pushing his gun control bill. He doesn't give a hoot about a budget or our debt!

The BUDGET is due today, will Obama and the democrats fail again?

Hes on the right subject. Our govt is blowing money out the window faster than they can make it. All these dumb gun issues right now are costing a lot, and the proposed is also going to cost a lot. We have people trying to make laws about stuff they know nothing about. We can put people in space, fly to the moon, all the technological things we make...yet we cant get out of debt? That is because we dont want to. Its that simple.

Sorry to disagree,but all aspects should be considered in reducing our debt!
The story i posted reflex them,the ones suppose to be in charge of balancing and spending our money wisely,can you imagine how much of our money has been spent in trying to take our guns away,so only the cops & robbers have them,wouldn't you agree this story i posted has something to do with lowering our spending,well i do!!

Regarding retirement, consider these FACTS: Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

The amount of a congressperson's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.

Woodsman--I think you're on the wrong story...

11 YR OLD SHOOTS ILLEGALS thanks FOX NEWS for reporting it.BUTTE , MONTANAShotgun preteen vs. Illegal alien Home Invaders...Two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11-year-old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home. It seems the two crooks never learned two things: they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay-shooting champion since she was nine.Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12-gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun. Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old's knee-crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals.When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the ...street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive. It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45-caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David 0'Burien, was not so lucky. He died from stab wounds to the chest.Ever wonder why good stuff never makes NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news........? An 11 year old girl, properly trained, defended her home, and herself......against two murderous, illegal immigrants.......and she wins. She is still alive. Now THAT is Gun Control!Thought for the day.... Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist.'I like this kind of e-mail! American citizens defending themselves and their homes.BEING A TRUE AMERICAN, I THINK YOU'LL PASS THIS ON!

Donnaw, I agree term limits and do not get free lifetime health for serving in our government. These are the people that can afford to buy their own, I know people who cannot. Why should I as a taxpayer, pay their insurance for life because they served 1 term.

It only "matters" to the R's when it's convenient for them. Remember Dick Cheney, when he commented after winning the mid-terms in 2002? "Cheney, at this moment, shows his hand," says Suskind. "He says, 'You know, Paul, Reagan proved that deficits don't matter. We won the mid-term elections, this is our due.'" He also stated that on Meet The Press. Yes, they DO matter. But when the economy is like it is now, they don't matter nearly as much as the R's would NOW like you to believe. We should be borrowing more money at these extremely low interest rates (at or near zero), and put people to work on our horrible infrastructure. Then those people will have money to spend.

woodsman...I agree except that its not wealthy people. Do you ever watch when congress is in session? These people get carried away with POWER! They think they are the most important beings on earth. They strut around the chambers, which are overdone and opulent, puffing themselves up and extolling on the virtues of their special bill. Nauseating!. Term limits!

I know this has nothing to do with the topic,or maybe in a way it does?
This bothers me about obama,he wants our guns,says if he could save just one child,well here's your chance big guy,there is "ONE" child in a bunker with a mad man,where are you,you should be there trying to save "ONE CHILD",put your money where your mouth is!!
I know he's not the color of a child that you said,that he could've been my son,when the neighborhood watch person killed that kid,in self defense i believe?
I get so tired of these people in power lying threw there teeth all the time,how do they live with themselves knowing they are robbing us blind,and we can't do nothing about it cause they are so powerful,guess it's true about money talks,BSW's

Frankly Scarlet, we don't give a damn what you think.(hee-hee). I have to agree with helge, why do we give all this money to other countries when WE owe money ourselves .? It may not be Christian like( whatever that is), but we need to help ourselves first before we try to fix other countries .Once we get back on our feet, THEN lets do what we can as a helpful nation. You need the bread before you can spread the butter.

A word to the wise from one who knows?

The huge national debt is no real problem for us now. The next few generations can deal with it. I say 'spend now' and keep our generation happy.

cynicaleye, Your savior in office has done nothing to reduce the debt, checkout the debt clock. Now the IRS yesterday reported family healthcare will cost $20,000 per year. I guess your savior has redefined the word "affordable".

Gary, the next time yo are looking for a pompous windbag to skewer, you need look no farther than the nearest mirror.

I didn't even read the comments. The answer is zero. Read Paul Krugman, or look at the deficit hawks in like Great Britain and their austerity program. I trust a Nobel prize winner who hasn't been proven wrong in the past decade. Over the GOP, tea party idiots, and all the local idiots talkimg about their budgets.
And I'd point out, Obama could propose Jesus Christ to a position, and the GOP/tea party would oppose the appointment on the grounds he's a commie or helping to facilitate depending on charity.

The voters are to blame for our sinking democracy. They keep electing the politicians (both parties) who don't work within a balanced budget. Technically, it is still within the power of the country to save itself, but it is evident that the majority of voters (both parties) will not sacrifice THEIR government-distributed entitlements or government-distributed corporate contracts to get spending under control.

The only question of passing interest is what percentage of voters are corrupt and knowingly support their thieves of choice in office, and what percentage of voters are too stupid to realize their choices of party hacks for office will cause the economic collapse of our government.

Playing the partisan blame game - which I do for fun, without any expectation of it rescuing the country - is just a diversion to entertain the press, which is happy to forego their traditional responsibility of asking pertinent questions about the real problem and insisting on relevant answers from the miscreants in office.

Two things might improve our chance of national survival:

1. Term limits. One 6 year term for the President. One 6 year term for the Senate. One 4 year term for the House. One 10 year term for Federal judges. (Similar restrictions for state, county, and city elective offices.)

2. N.O.T.A. (None Of The Above) on every ballot. If NOTA gets the majority of votes, all other candidates for the office are disqualified from holding that office for the term, and another election with new candidates must be held.

Good luck trying to get the requisite constitutional amendments past those office-holders.

And it probably doesn't help
that I like to have a little fun
with some of the pompous windbags
that take themselves so seriously.

You just don't get it.
I am not a Democrat and I am not a liberal.
You just think that I am one because you are so
screwed to the right.

So we are to believe that some fiscal conservatives who post here are so disgusted with the "extremism" of the Republican party that they've been driven against their will into the arms of the Democratic party? Yeah, sure they were. After all, the Democrats have always been well known for their fiscal conservatism! Everybody knows that!

Haven't seen any anwswers to the question asked just more of the same from the past.

Get it.

Gary the conservative. Sure. Got it.

The national debt is there because they want it there. Look at all it benefits. Look at what it being there affects. Politicians use it to their advantage and its been working.

I have voted Republican for most of my life,
but I cannot reconcile myself with the extremists
that dominate the party today.
I have always been a fiscal conservative,
but the extreme agenda being pushed is not conservative by any definition.
It is extreme.

mls - awesome. I too am conservative at heart but had to move so far to the left to offset the radical right. Do I like it? No. Will I continue? Yes, until people come to their senses and face reality.

I believe Paul Ryan lost the election for the Republicans. He, like many Republicans in Washington, are just too extreme. And, I might point out, I am a Conservative Republican. We have had debt problems before and we have solved them by simple methods, rather than the extreme measures Paul Ryan is pushing. As I said, he is too much of an alarmist and way to extreme. I long for the days of politicians who are more to the middle, and could work together to come up with reasonable solutions. Why does everything in Washington have to be so intense and devisive.

Ever hear of a little thing called the War on Terror?

cynicaleye
Obama benefited greatly from the bailout. Ryan is not the president, but his JOB is to try to get spending under control.

Wall Street Campaign Donations Set To Hit Record During 2012 Election

"The top eight companies with employees donating to Mitt Romney are banks, according to CRP data, while Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase made it into the top 20 firms with employees donating to President Obama's campaign."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05...

Obama Tops GOP Candidates in Wall Street Donations

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/20/h...

As far as the wars, how about the money we are spending for the fighting that has NOT been authorized by Congress? When you figure out those costs, let us know.

20,000 Airstrikes in the President's First Term Cause Death and Destruction From Iraq to Somalia.

Waged war on Libya without congressional approval.
Started a covert, drone war in Yemen.
Escalated the proxy war in Somalia.
Escalated the CIA drone war in Pakistan.
Maintained a presence in Iraq even after "ending" the war.
Sharply escalated the war in Afghanistan.
Secretly deployed US special forces to 75 countries.

They keep taking more money from us- taxes here, there, city, state, fed. Now we have less money to spend in the economy. What are THEY doing to spend less money even thought they keep taking more all of the time??!!. It cannot only be a one way street.

Ryan - voted to go to war with Iraq = non-funded war. Voted to bail out Wall Street = taxpayers money going to crooks. And now he cares about the debt?

STOP GIVING OTHER COUNTRYS MONEY
CUT THE WAGES & BENEFITS TO THOSE IN OFFICE
Then we will get out of debt

Stop Spending money we don't have.