Bush thinks he's paying for war with Monopoly money

ABC:

Bush details $70 billion war funding request for 2009
Bush sends Congress details of $70 billion war request for 2009
By ANDREW TAYLOR
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Bush sent lawmakers a $70 billion request Friday to fund U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next spring, which would give the next president breathing room to make his or her own war policy.

Friday's request fills in the details of the $70 billion placeholder that the White House asked for when it sent its budget to Congress in February. The money is for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.

$70 billion? What happened to the $108 billion figure from the other day?

Confused? Here's the scoop:

The $108 billion is the figure Bush demands for supplemental spending. That is, spending on top of what was budgeted for fiscal year 2008 (FY08).

The $70 billion is the figure Bush demands be put in the fiscal year 2009 budget. FY09, as the article mentions, begins on October 1, 2008 -- 112 days before Bush's term ends.

And as we discussed the other day, it looks like Congressional Democrats would like to add extra money -- probably that $70 billion or so -- to the supplemental. Why?

Democratic leaders say they're likely to add the $70 billion for next year to that measure, which would allow them to avoid a politically painful vote on war funding in the heat of campaigning for the November elections.

Dems don't want to be facing, well, you, just as they're voting on another $70 billion (on top of the $108 Bush is going to force out of them) for the war they're campaigning on ending. And they don't want the next president, assuming it's a Democrat, to have to do the same in his or her first months in office.

And so George W. Bush will put on his oversized foam rubber "fiscal conservative" cowboy hat for a while, and pretend it makes sense to draw the line on the supplemental at $108 billion and not a penny more (or he'll veto it, he says), even though he's about to ask for another $70 billion a few weeks later.

Take a good look at that situation, though.

What's more absurd, Democrats who want to end the war voting to front him (and the next president) an extra $70 billion more than he wants? Or Bush's ridiculous notion that it's somehow fiscally conservative to "budget" $70 billion for the war in FY09, when he's right now demanding nearly 55% more than that in supplemental FY08 spending.

What a friggin' crock.

•  Thanks to Bush

  The US dollar is now worth about the same as Monopoly money.  I am sure McCain will be happy to tell us how the worthless dollar is a benefit to the American people, along with the 10 trillion federal debt.

  Friggin' crock is ever so kind to the bullshit Bush economy.

  by DWG on Sat May 03, 2008 at 07:53:03 AM PDT

  •  Why oh Why Do the Dems Not Highlight BOROWING...

    To pay for the war ????  Do we have to let Pat Buchanan speak truth to power:

    "We borrow from Europe to define Europe.  We borrow from the MIDDLE EAST to defend the MIDDLE EAST.  We borrow from Japan to Defend Japan."

    Pat Buchanan - dares to say this!!!

    When are the democrats going to get some balls and come out and speak the obvious truth

    WE CANT AFFORD TO KEEP BORROWING TO PAY FOR THE WAY IN IRAQ

    by puffy66 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:31:10 AM PDT

    •  Good question

      Bush has doubled the federal debt, a remarkable "accomplishment," thanks to (a) tax cuts for individuals (particularly for the wealthy), (b) tax cuts/incentives for corporations, (c) increased spending on defense and 'homeland security'.  In short, it has all gone for supply side economics and military.  Meanwhile, job creation, health care, standard of living (for the 80% of Americans), infrastructure, education quality, and affordability of college have deteriorated dramatically over the past 8 years.  The Dems need to be asking people if they are better off now than they were in 2000.  An honest answer to that question should set the stage for a landslide victory in 2008.  

      by DWG on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:28:59 AM PDT

  •  Bush: The Monopoly Money Prez! LOL

    by Churchill on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:10:07 AM PDT

  •  Bush already did it to Treasury Bonds . . . .

    when he described the Treasury Bonds backing the Social Security Trust Fund as a cabinet full of "just IOUs".

    So why shouldn't Bush trash the public confidence in the U.S. Dollar as well?  After all, it's just a fiat currency only worth what people think it is . . . . it's not like it was backed by gold or anything.  

    Undermining the full faith and credit of the United States; just another in a long line of impeachable (and jailable) offenses committed by G.W.Bush.

    by JimWilson on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:31:27 AM PDT

•  The $ is seventy billion steps closer to total

  collapse, you can't just keep on printing more of the stuff and expect to be worth anything.

  by Lepanto on Sat May 03, 2008 at 07:53:18 AM PDT

  •  That is not his game

    Right now there are all sorts of dollars stuffed into mattresses and under the hearth throughout the world. Governments and individuals have invested in dollars as a hedge against financial and political uncertainty.
    Those dollars are just being held against tomorrow. Since they are not being used, they are just scraps of paper until they reenter circulation. As the dollar continues to flounder, look for more and more of these "legacy" dollars to be reentered into circulation.
    In the Great Depression, the problem came for banks when their obligations exceeded their assets i.e. more money tied up in loans than was available in circulation (you didn't think bankers loaned their own money) and when everyone wanted to empty their savings accounts, there was not enough cash to cover the demands and no way to call in the debts or to liquidate them.
    So the banks folded. Since then, there have been mechanisms put into place to prevent this from happening but it occurred to me today that the US resembles a privately owned bank in Podunk in 1929.  

    by entlord1 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:56:24 AM PDT

•  Not a "crock"

  It's a goddamn case of widespread racketeering and criminal extortion.

  by Timroff on Sat May 03, 2008 at 07:55:09 AM PDT

  •  And

    It has gone completely unpunished.

    by DWG on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:30:11 AM PDT

•  Monopoly is a perfect explaination

  The democrats have been playing by the constitution while Bush has been getting his rules from Parker Brothers.

  Object of Monopoly:
  By selling, buying, renting, negotiating property, and with a little luck from the dice, your goal is to become the wealthiest player on the board.

  by crystal eyes on Sat May 03, 2008 at 07:57:08 AM PDT

  •  When will the "Go to Jail" card come up?

    There's some serious and largely-uninvestigated war profiteering going on in Iraq.

    by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:07:14 AM PDT

    •  AS in directly...

      ..."do not pass go, do not collect $200.00."

      by Bobjack23 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:12:44 AM PDT

    •  Will be nice to say "Go Fish" to the Neocons

      by Horsehead on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:12:46 AM PDT

      •  ...by taking...

        ... a long walk on a short pier.

        by Bobjack23 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:18:25 AM PDT

    •  When Hell freezes over.

      Cheaters play with loaded dice and stacked chance cards.

      by crystal eyes on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:13:32 AM PDT

  •  That is depressing as I remember the winner

    in Monopoly used to be the one who was the best at cheating.

    by entlord1 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:57:12 AM PDT

    •  I remember Monopoly as a fun at the beginning

      of the game when everybody started out equal, but at the end it became a gloat fest for those with the property and was too painful to finish.

      Time to put the pieces back in the box and play another game.

      by crystal eyes on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:14:20 AM PDT

      •  That's why I never liked it.

        My big brother was always the banker, always cheated, and always won.

        I stopped playing when I was at another kid's house and realized that the "rules" they played by were completely different.

        by Brooke In Seattle on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:55:16 AM PDT

  •  Not exactly

    The majority of democrats have not defended their Constitutional responsibilities. They shamefully allowed Bush to usurp them.

    Article I
    Section 8. The Congress shall have power ....
    To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

    To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years

    by professorfate on Sat May 03, 2008 at 10:01:56 AM PDT

•  What is he thinking?

  Okay, I've said this before on here: if you ever go to the National Debt Clock site, you would already know what a horrible action this is. We are in $9,222,789,000,000 in debt (that's right, it's in the TRILLIONS) to the rest of the world. How are we supposed to afford $770 Million in aid for food to other countries when we just gave $200 Million to the same ones just 2 weeks ago? Don't get me wrong, I would love for us to be able to really help the world on things such as food. Unfortunately, we're going through the beginning stages of a new Great Depression and he's handing out money like it was his and he was a Rockefeller. What the hell is he thinking? Really? We're barely able to take care of our own. How can we afford to take care of everyone else? We are in no position to save the world's problems right now, even if he does believe we are the "chosen nation." We must be able to help our own before we can do any good to anyone else out there. Money doesn't solve everything. It's a quick fix solution to a complex problem. It's all about saving face to the world regardless of what the people on the homefront know to be true. How dare he be so smug to think Americans aren't going to pay any attention. As much as he's f***ed up in the past, he should realize we are watching him, that arrogant bastard.

  by Guitar Llama Mama on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:04:43 AM PDT

•  You know, we are going to be so much

  better off when the Democrats control both Congress and the White House, and we're still going to be screwed by our government left and right.

  All we can hope for is that with the Dems in control we can stop the rapid deterioration of our environment and our country's standing in the world...

  by litho on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:05:05 AM PDT

  •  I was convinced early on in the bushco

    term that if he was unsuccessful in destroying Social Security and Medicare legislatively during his tenure that he would do the next best thing and that would be to bankrupt the country so he could say we could no longer afford these programs thus attaining the dream of the GOP. A return to the gilded age of the McKinlley era. No middle class what so ever. You were an elite with money or you were a slave to the elitist. That (to coin a saying from Johm McCain) my friends is what it was all about from day one.

    Destroy the new deal and make a bundle doing it as well.

    So far the new deal is still intact. One must vote Democratic this November no matter who prevails in this primary.

    by flatford39 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:12:31 AM PDT

    •  I like Bushcabal better than Bushco :-)

      What win, win sum zero game Bushcabal is.

      by Bobjack23 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:15:05 AM PDT

•  Well, what else would one expect...

  ...from a drugstore cowboy dilettante whose whole rout has been paved fro him by family money and political power; to him it is a game of monopoly, pun intended. He is a willfully ignorant cheerleader/frat rat who now fancies himself a statesmen but has not yet paid any dues, except in monopoly money he didn’t win, to be accorded any respect whatsoever.

  by Bobjack23 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:05:49 AM PDT

•  I hope the grandkids have deep pockets

  by Horsehead on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:05:56 AM PDT

•  Again, Bush ignores the Iraq Study Group report

  Here's what I found on Page 91 of my copy of the report:

  When the President submits an emergency supplemental request, the authorizing committees are bypassed. The request goes directly to the appropriations committees, and they are pressured by the need to act quickly so that troops in the field do not run out of funds. The result is a spending bill that passes Congress with perfunctory review. Even worse, the must-pass appropriations bill becomes loaded with special spending projects that would not survive the normal review process.

  I'm convinced that Bush retained only one word out of the entire report: "surge".

  by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:06:19 AM PDT

  •  A surge of cash.

    by xxdr zombiexx on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:26:14 AM PDT

•  But it is Monopoly Money!

  That's why the dollar is collapsing in world markets versus the Euro and commodities like oil...everyone else is figuring out the Bush-Bernake printing press.

  It's time to stop spending on the war and to stop the housing flipper and lender bailout.

  by Get Freedom on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:10:17 AM PDT

•  Rumfeld said 50 Million Would Cover the Whole

  War way back when. The Irony is thick that 70 Million is just to cover a few months years later...

  by SmileySam on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:10:36 AM PDT

  •  Found Bush's problem...

    

    

    by ImpeachKingBushII on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:40:10 AM PDT

•  And all the while

  New Orleans goes ignored. How much money would it take to fix the city? Just about one month's of money spent on the war on Iraq.

  Sick.

  Bush would rather invade Iraq to steal its oil than to fix the destruction he himself brought upon New Orleans. Bush took away the money to fix the levees to pay for the tax breaks he gave to his super rich friends. I. E. Bush destroyed New Orleans, sure as if he had dynamited the levees.

  Sick. Sick. Sick.

  And sick , too is this nations refusal to make our government fix what it broke in New Orleans. The people of america are as much at fault as Bush is.

  by azureblue on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:10:37 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, but fixing NO doesn't put as much $ in Oil

    Companies as Iraq does (directly and indirectly).

    McCain had a brief moment of clarity when he admitted we went into Iraq for oil, but now he's backtracking. Yet another flip-flop!

    by DefendOurConstitution on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:56:32 AM PDT

•  And the worst part is

  He is going to get away with it. Once he leaves office, he'll get some 'job' paying millions while others make all the decisions. Then he have some hack ghost write his memoirs saying what a wonderful job he did in office, and he'll attack anything the dems do from there on out. And the press will eat it all up. They will make him into an elder statesman of the party handing out sage advice that no one will follow. Bush truly does defy gravity.

  by corwin on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:10:45 AM PDT

  •  Karl Rove has been hire for the Bush Library

    because of his "Historic Knowledge of the administration". If that doesn't make you choke on your coffee, nothing will.

    by SmileySam on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:14:55 AM PDT

    •  Rove is the White Rabbit of the Bush Rabbithole.

      And I is all for hunting wabbit.

      {Weegawee of course)

      by xxdr zombiexx on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:22:49 AM PDT

    •  speaking of Rove, that London newspaper voted

      him the #1 most influential political pundit in the US.  And they voted Tweety #2 and Tweety bragged about that last night on his show. I think Hannity is # 3 and Rush  #4.

      What the hell London Telegraph?

      by wishingwell on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:37:41 AM PDT

      •  It's weird

        It's like they visited the US for a weekend, turned on the tv and marked down who they thought was important.  I read the list and thought it was very odd.

        by i8pikachu on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:46:50 AM PDT

      •  I was thrilled to see Lou Dobbs didnt make top 10

        He has truly lost it over the last couple yrs. His self precieved power has really gone to his head, and his racism can no longer be kept barely hidden.

        by SmileySam on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:46:55 AM PDT

•  the Dem leadership

  is not against the war.

  It never was.

  They are gonna pee in our faces again, and we are gonna go out there with our umbrellas and campaign for them again.

  THAT's the real "crock".

  by Lenny Flank on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:11:44 AM PDT

•  But just look at all the great deals you can get

  here now if you live in a country that trades in Euros. The United States is quickly becoming a tourist economy kinda like Mexico where europeans can get alot more bang for their Euros.

  by flatford39 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:15:40 AM PDT

•  Spot on Kagro X...

  ...Bush thinks it's a game of monopoly, so when is he going "directly to jail, don't pass go"?
  

  by ImpeachKingBushII on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:18:18 AM PDT

•  Bush "thinks"?

  Like a slinky "walks" I suppose.

  Seriously, I was JUST thinking about this when I clicked onto Kos....

  There's always, always , always more more more hidden in anything they ask for.

  The whole enterprise - Team Bush, the Iraq Occupation, the Military in general, it seems - is one huge embezzlement and money-laundering scheme, with murder and carnage and an extra helping of corruption.

  It's mind-boggling.

  Note that $108 billion is a little over 2 year's funding for the unimportant, trivial and insignificant war on drugs....

  Or more than 5 years of SCHIP.

  by xxdr zombiexx on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:20:02 AM PDT

•  I have an idea...

  why not give him nothing.  Then maybe we can get our troops home before the election. Or are the Democrats afraid they would lose an election issue if that happened? And why does anyone wonder why the American public hates politicians?

  by Tom Paul on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:21:38 AM PDT

•  Make A Huge Issue About The Money !!!!!!

  Don't let this die.  Make a huge issue about where the money is coming from.  Make a huge issue about Bush paying for the war with BORROWING from CHINA, EUROPE, and THE SAUDIS.

  Trust me the Republican party DOES NOT WANT THE MONEY ISSUE FOR THE WAY IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC RIGHT NOW.

  THEY WANT THIS SWEPT UNDER THE RUG QUICKLY

  by puffy66 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:27:54 AM PDT

  •  Do We Know Details about the "Borrowing"?

    I'd love to see the details of the transactions that are making debt slaves of our children and grandchildren.

    Or not. It would be a dismally complicated spreadsheet analysis.

    But we has explaynors to maek the unreedabul cleer maibee?

    by JG in MD on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:28:58 AM PDT

•  Dems should attach a tax to all appropriations

  this would be called the common sacrifice act

  exempt soldiers and their families

  war opposition would jump from 60+ to 80+ overnight

  and some of the reps that are still scared at 60% would finally get the cojones/ovaries to get the job done

  by jhpdb on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:33:02 AM PDT

•  How much proof do we need that Dems

  are not interested in stopping the war?

  How much faith can we have that a Dem president and bigger congressional majorities are going to really end the war in a timely fashion? I have little faith in that. I will give them their chance. That is one of my benchmarks for continued support of the Dems. The other is investigation (and indictment) of BushCo.

  by srkp23 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:37:11 AM PDT

•  Could somebody please, while they plunk that over

  sized foam cowboy hat on the Shrub's head, whip out a placard saying 'ALL HAT, NO CATTLE' and staple it on for the photo-op?

  by triplepoint on Sat May 03, 2008 at 08:52:08 AM PDT

•  Is that $70 mill. for all or half of 2009?

  The item Kagro X quotes says that the 70 billion is to fund FY 2009 through next spring.

  So doesn't that still leave half a year unfunded, meaning that the total cost for 2009 would be more like $140 billion?

  by Spock36 on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:08:17 AM PDT

  •  70 BILLION not Million!!! LOL

    by Churchill on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:10:30 AM PDT

  •  I make that mistake all the time!

    by Churchill on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:10:44 AM PDT

•  Continunig Resolution for war costs

  don't vote on this bill.

  It will be for November, December 2008, and January, 2009.  Let the next president act on it after that.  

  3 Months, 30 billion, and tell Bush to SHUT UP YOU IDIOT.

  WE NEED THE SHUT UP YOU IDIOT BILL from congress!

  by Churchill on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:12:32 AM PDT

•  You know what happened to old European

  kingdoms that were badly administered, and broke?  They were often invaded by their neighbors.

  Good thing the Chinese aren't a violent people.

  by Ice Blue on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:44:36 AM PDT

  •  Maybe the Chinese Aren't a Violent People,

    but the Canadians sure are. Have you ever seen them at a Target checkout line?!

    by philandrel on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:55:29 AM PDT

•  Fiscal Responsibility

  I tell my students, "If we handled our finances the way the government did, our credit rating would take a huge hit."

  Wait a minute, our government's has!

  I wonder how much of that 70 plus billion will go to Blackwater, DynCorp, Armor Group, SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation), etc. There's nothing like having an unemployed, highly armed, neocon military coming home after this war ends. What will they do when they lose their market share? How easy will it be to shut them down?

  by professorfate on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:49:32 AM PDT

•  Taking Kabro X Seriously

  Accepting,

  Bush thinks he's paying for war with Monopoly money,

  what is the significance of the additional flood of dollars supported by Bush and the Democrats on inflation, especially in light of Bernanke's flood of dollars in bailing out the investment institutions? How much are Bush and the Democrats going to push up the price of food and energy?

  by philandrel on Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:51:00 AM PDT

•  It's more than that.

  Here's a list of the overseas bases that are draining us dry.

  Bahrain
  NSA Bahrain

  Belgium
  NATO-Brussels, Belgium
  SHAPE-Chievres, Belgium

  Cuba
  NS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

  Diego Garcia
  NSF Diego Garcia

  Germany
  Ansbach, Germany
  Bad Aibling, Germany
  Bad Kreuznach, Germany
  Bamberg, Germany
  Baumholder, Germany
  Darmstadt, Germany
  Friedberg, Germany
  Garmisch, Germany
  Geilenkirchen AB, Germany
  Giebelstadt, Germany
  Grafenwoehr, Germany
  Hanau, Germany
  Heidelberg, Germany
  Hohenfels, Germany
  Illesheim, Germany
  Kaiserslautern, Germany
  Kitzingen, Germany
  Mannheim, Germany
  Ramstein AB, Germany
  Rhein-Main AB, Germany
  Schweinfurt, Germany
  Spangdahlem AB, Germany
  Stuttgart, Germany
  US Army Europe, Germany
  Vilseck, Germany
  Wiesbaden/Mainz, Germany
  Wuerzburg, Germany

  Greece
  NSA Souda Bay, Greece

  Iceland
  NAS Keflavik, Iceland

  Italy
  Aviano AB, Italy
  Livorno, Italy
  NAS Sigonnella, Italy
  NSA Gaeta, Italy
  NSA La Maddalena, Italy
  NSA Naples, Italy
  Vicenza, Italy

  Japan
  Camp S.D. Butler, Japan
  Camp Zama, Japan
  FLTACT Sasebo, Japan
  Kadena AB, Japan
  MCAS Iwakuni, Japan
  Misawa AB, Japan
  NAF Atsugi, Japan
  Torii Station, Japan
  Yokosuka, Japan
  Yokota AB, Japan

  Korea
  COMFLEACTS Chinhae, South Korea
  Camp Casey, South Korea
  Camp Henry, South Korea
  Camp Hialeah, South Korea
  Camp Humphreys, South Korea
  Kunsan AB, South Korea
  Osan AB, South Korea
  Yongsan, Korea

  Netherland
  Schinnen, Netherlands

  Portugal
  Lajes Field, Portugal

  Puerto Rico
  Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico
  NS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico

  Saudi Arabia
  US Mil Training Mission, Saudi Arabia

  South Korea
  COMFLEACTS Chinhae, South Korea
  Camp Casey, South Korea
  Camp Henry, South Korea
  Camp Hialeah, South Korea
  Camp Humphreys, South Korea
  Kunsan AB, South Korea
  Osan AB, South Korea

  Spain
  NS Rota, Spain

  Turkey
  Incirlik AB, Turkey
  Izmir AB, Turkey

  UK
  JMF St. Mawgan, UK
  Luke AFB, AZ
  RAF Lakenheath, UK
  RAF Menwith Hill, UK
  RAF Mildenhall, UK
  RAF Molesworth, UK
  US Naval Activities, London UK
  Yokosuka, Japan

  Imagine the cost of these. How much could we cut the deficit if we shut these down?

  by professorfate on Sat May 03, 2008 at 10:06:49 AM PDT

•  So? Monopoly Money is worth more than US$ now. nt

  by rcbowman on Sat May 03, 2008 at 11:19:32 AM PDT

•  Blackwater

  On Democracy Now last night a man from San Diego reported that the citizens thought they had defeated an attempt to establish a base for Blackwater when they found another one using front groups and different names.  If we do not want militia bases all over the US, we need to be aware of their secret operations.
  There is work to do long into the future regardless of the election.

  by LillithMc on Sat May 03, 2008 at 01:47:32 PM PDT