Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1993, Steve Benson has been a lightning rod for more than 20 years as the staff editorial cartoonist for The Arizona Republic. Benson sums up his career best: "I don’t aim to please. I just aim."
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Ms. Ima said, 5 months ago
One crisis at a time. Overspending must be addressed by a BIGGER unlimited credit card. Dems don’t know of any other way.
Jase99 said, 5 months ago
The debt ceiling is a crisis? The Republican lead Congress created the artificial debt ceiling towards the end of the Clinton Administration because they claimed to care about the growing national debt. After Bush was elected, that Republican led Congress raised the ceiling six times.
But these are different times. A Democrat is President, therefore the Republicans claim to care about the growing national debt again. They will continue to care until another Republican gets elected President.
thegreatack said, 5 months ago
When we hit the debt ceiling, stop congress’ pay FIRST! Then we’ll see how fast they raise it.
Come to think of it, why didn’t sequestration and ‘smaller government’ start with congress stopping their automatic pay raises?
Bruce4671 said, 5 months ago
@Jase99
OK Jase99, you have it exactly right. The republicans didn’t follow their own rules. So when Obama came along promising change, calling Bush unpatriotic for running a 450 billion dollar deficit, saying he was going to change the way business was done in DC, and making a convincing argument so much so he was elected…. twice…. but continues to do the EXACTLY same thing that republicans did but in spades (that is a reference to trump cards as the highest card in the deck) your argument is that the republicans did it so now it’s OK for the democrats to do it?
How weak is that?
I don’t give a crap what party the president is a member of. When is the man in the office going to do what needs to be done and stop spending more than taken in?
Yes, the debt ceiling is a way to recognize that you have once again exceeded a spending limit that is affordable. Which is a joke.
Paygo is law. It’s ignored.
A yearly budget is law. It is ignored.
The Fiscal Cliff is a sham. Spending every dollar that can be extracted from the sheep is the only priority of either party.
Time will show you the truth.
ARodney said, 5 months ago
Bruce, you don’t need time to show you the truth. All you have to do is ask to see the numbers. The Republicans cannot name a single thing that they want to cut from the government, and therefore cannot present a balanced budget. They WANT to cut Medicare and Social Security, of course, but can’t SAY they want to cut it, because they’ll lose the angry older white voting bloc. Besides, they ran their elections accusing Obama of cutting Medicare and Social Security. They refuse to cut anything else, perhaps because the easy, painless cuts are in defense and in the subsidies we give to hugely profitable corporations and rich individuals.
MortyForTyrant said, 5 months ago
@thegreatack
If the government (shutdown which I see as an semi-automatic follow-up to hitting the debt ceiling) was the only problem I would agree with you. But remember that the debt-ceiling is “the number of dollars borrowed already Congress is willing to pay back” – my definition but I guess I’m not far off from what I read everywhere. So hitting it would basically mean “we are broke” – and that is a message to everybody who holds treasury notes, foreign and domestic.
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All U.S. bonds would collapse, all fonds that have that note in it as well, and then the rush to get rid of that toxic paper would start – worldwide. Next comes the credit rating decrease, from AA+ to B or even C. “We are broke” is a message nobody takes easy in the financial sector. And then come secondary effects, like Japan sinking into the sea since they are a mayor holder of U.S. debt. And what would China say? How do you think the Euro would change against the dollar? And what would that do to the price of oil? In summary: the Great Depression would look like a picnic in the park!
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So, if you are a religious man (unlike me) you should pray on your knees that the GOP has learned their lesson from the last time they pulled that stunt. BTW: there is an episode of “The West Wing” dealing with possible consequences, that’s how I know about this stuff…
1opinion said, 5 months ago
Why do “conservatives” and republicans keep accusing Democrats of spending future generation’s money, and then trash Democrats as tax and spend. The Clinton “surpluses” were to pay down the debt inflated by the Reagan and Bush presidencies and were just dropped which again increased the deficit and deficit spending. The Republicans are continually the borrow and spend party. Many Republicans are the party now, pay later (what do we care, we will be dead and gone when it hits the fan>
Bruce4671 said, 5 months ago
@ARodney
Idiot. What the H.ll do you think I am saying? So tell me oh great one? Name the some of the things that democrats want to cut other than the VA or defense.
Even Obama’s pick for Sec of Defense said that the sequestration would devastate our ability to defend this country. But ok there are a LOT of places to cut in the military budget. Start with all the bases around the globe. Yep, let Russia and China take all that over. I’m sure there would be no adverse affect for the US or the EU or Asia.Sure save us a bunch. And missile systems to defend against ICBM’s – yeah get rid of them. OH, and let’s cut the standing army down (really this is good) and let them all just draw unemployment since there ARE NO JOBS for them. Still a net gain since unemployment is less than an e-1 makes a year.
So we have defense to cut. Name something else you are ready to cut.
DrCanuck said, 5 months ago
Just think how much your government could accomplish if it didn’t have to spend ALL its time fighting the Tea Party.
zekedog55
said, 5 months ago
@Ms. Ima
I thought “W” was a Republican…
indieme
said, 5 months ago
Grover Norquist is happy. The rich made out like bandits on the deal Obama signed and the poor and middle class get it in the neck again. Some compromise!
SkepticCal said, 5 months ago
@MortyForTyrant
“The West Wing”? We should have known.
M Ster said, 5 months ago
@Bruce4671
Bruce, I’m as angry as you are about gov’t spending. However, in the 2012 campaign, the Republicans were 100% against even a small increase in revenue. They wanted the entire budget problem fixed ONLY by spending cuts. The fact that they won’t name a SINGLE spending cut indicates that they are cowards. They don’t have the guts to do what they campaigned on, and want Obama to do it for them. Why don’t they just man up?
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We’ve seen this movie before. Prior to the first Romney/Obama debate, both parties proposed cutting $716 billion from Medicare. Then in the 1st debate, Romney denied that he wanted to cut Medicare and criticized Obama for proposing it. This isn’t ancient history. This was 90 days ago!
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I predict that if Obama falls for their ploy and makes the cuts that they campaigned on for them, that they will try to pin all the blame on him AGAIN.
flake-67121 said, 5 months ago
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
SPENDING IS THE PROBLEM.
ansonia
said, 5 months ago
@DrCanuck
Yeah, that damned Tea Party, who do they think they are, fighting for lower taxes, ending deficit spending, balancing the budget, making it possible for the average person to run for office, stopping the intrusion of government…
those evil Tea Partiers!!! Demonize them!!