Chad’s Morning Brief: Latest on the Sequester, Lubbock City Council Aims for Trust, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 4, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am.
1. Sequester (link)
The White House is still blaming Republicans for the sequester, but they are now backing off the doomsday claims. According to FOX News, even the White House is starting to admit that the so-called cuts won't hurt overnight.
The White House retreated from its doomsday predictions Sunday about the impact of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that have kicked in -- as Republican leaders appeared at least satisfied about delivering on their promise to limit government spending and reduce the U.S. budget.
Gene Sperling, the White House's top economic adviser, repeatedly said the cuts will not hurt as much on “Day One” as they will over the long haul.
“Nobody ever suggested that this … was going to have all its impact in the first few days,” he told “NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It is a slow grind.”
His remarks are in contrast to weeks of President Obama and his Cabinet warning that the cuts will result in furloughs or pay cuts for middle-class wage-earners such as teachers, Capitol Hill janitors and air traffic controllers, which they said could cause 90-minutes delays at major U.S. airports.
Sperling declined at least twice to directly answer questions about whether the worst-case-scenario rhetoric has hurt the president’s credibility on the issue. He instead stuck to his argument that independent economists forecast the cuts will result in $750,000 fewer jobs and that corporate executives now anticipate slower economic growth.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN’s “Face the Nation” Americans absorbed similar cuts once already this year.
"This modest reduction of 2.4 percent in spending over the next six months is a little more than the average American experienced just two months ago, when their own pay went down when the payroll tax holiday expired," the Kentucky Republican said.
Congress agreed to the cuts, known as sequester, in 2011 after failing to agree on more measure reductions -- to defense and some domestic spending. However, the cuts were intended to be so drastic that Democrats and Republicans would be forced to compromise before they started.
Still, Sperling rejected several Republican-backed plans and said no compromise would be reached unless the party agrees to tax increases.
Again we see what the Democrats want. Democrats don't want spending cuts, they want higher taxes. We just raised taxes in this country, which hasn't helped the economy by the way, and President wants more.
2. Trust & the Lubbock City Council
The Lubbock City Council is hoping to get back your trust. The AJ over the weekend had an article about the City Bank Auditorium and how the council hoped to restore trust with the citizens of Lubbock. It appears as though many on the council are leaning towards asking the voters to approve over $9 million dollars in bond money for renovations to the auditorium.
Before we sign off on renovations for the City Bank Auditorium, we need to figure out if a group plans on building a performing arts center in downtown Lubbock. There have been many different options discussed about a downtown location including two or more foundations getting together to build downtown. If that happens, I don't see why the City of Lubbock would need the City Bank Auditorium any longer.
As far as the trust issue goes with the Lubbock City Council, good luck. Always keep your eyes on what the City is trying to do. I don't trust them, and you shouldn't either.
3. Job Approval (link)
According to the latest from Gallup, President Obama's job approval is back in the 40's. 47% of Americans now approve of President Obama's job performance. Not a big surprise here though. As the sequester keeps going it will be interesting to see who wins the PR battle. Republicans have their work cut out for them in trying to show the American people that it was Obama and the Democrats that didn't want to do anything but raise taxes.
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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