Breaking Down The Code Words

This in politics I have heard a lot of different things out there that are meant to confuse people. This is especially true when it comes to politics. The politicians are using words that they think the general public can not readily identify. So I decided to breakdown some of the codes I have been hearing from some of our leaders just in case you didn't know what you were hearing.

Entitlement programs

Republicans in the House and Senate have talked about cutting entitlement programs. They feel like these programs will help relieve some pressure on our national budget. The truth is that cuts to these programs would help with the budget crisis because they make up around 50% of the federal budget. The problem is that politicians don't explain what these programs actually include. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are all entitlement programs. Could you image what the backlash would be if you told senior citizens that you want to cut their social security and medicare benefits. Especially since there are programs that we pay for individually out of our pay checks with the understanding that the money will be there when we get older. Other major programs include Veterans' Administration programs, federal employee and military retirement plans, unemployment compensation, food stamps, and agricultural price support programs. Sounds like pretty important stuff and also I don't think that you want to cut any of these benefits anytime soon. A few that come under attack are unemployment and food stamps because of the stigma's around the programs. The problem is that these are some of the smallest programs that come under this category.

Earmarks / Pork Barrell Spending

Both the Democrat and Republican politicians love to say how we need to get rid of earmarks. They talk about how it will help out with out budget and spending bills. The truth is that no politician wants to get rid of these because they all use them. What are they you ask?

An Earmark is a legislative (especially congressional) provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. The pork reference alludes to that these spending exceptions are fat that have been tacked on to bills. Some things that they will not tell are that almost every spending bill in Congress contains earmarks because all politicians use them. Either for the projects in their district or allowing them to happen to get a vote from one of their colleagues. Also there earmarks make up a very small part of the federal budget and almost unnoticeable.

Have to love Honest Racism

Grady Warren is a self professed Tea Party member who wants to be president. The problem with Grady is that he is an unapologetic racist. I find him hilarius and kind of cute. He shows that we still have a long way to go in race relations.

Grady himself is not dangerous but his attitude is part of a growing trend in this country. It is slowly becoming okay to be racist again. This means that these people will not only spread this garbage to a larger audience but also to their children who will carry on this stupidity.