Path to deficit sanity is simple to find, hard to walk

How do we possibly get a grasp on the soaring federal deficit and debt? If we do nothing, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office warns, dire consequences would result:

“Federal debt would grow rapidly from its already high level, exceeding 90 percent of GDP in 2022. After that, the growing imbalance between revenues and spending, combined with spiraling interest payments, would swiftly push debt to higher and higher levels. Debt as a share of GDP would exceed its historical peak of 109 percent by 2026, and it would approach 200 percent in 2037.”

So how do we avoid that calamity? As a CBO graphic demonstrates, in some ways it’s not as complex as it might seem:

debt

The extended baseline scenario — the declining green line to the right of the graphic — assumes that the Bush-era tax cuts and other tax cuts are allowed to expire on schedule, while “government spending on everything other than the major health care programs, Social Security, and interest — activities such as national defense and a wide variety of domestic programs — would decline to the lowest percentage of GDP since before World War II.”

It is, in other words, a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. If that approach is enacted, CBO predicts, “federal debt would gradually decline over the next 25 years—from an estimated 73 percent of GDP this year to 61 percent by 2022 and 53 percent by 2037.”

The second option — labeled “extended alternative financial scenario” — assumes that most current tax cuts, with the exception of Obama-era payroll-tax decreases, are made permanent. It also assumes that currently scheduled cuts in defense and discretionary spending are revoked. In other words, it assumes that we keep doing things the way it looks as though we will keep doing things.

In rough terms, those are our basic choices. Sure, you can adjust the ratio of spending cuts to tax increases, and you can play around with timing of tax increases and spending cuts to ease impact on the economy, but essentially, those remain the choices available.

However, when CBO Director Doug Elmendorf appeared before the House Budget Committee to explain the situation today, Committee Chairman Paul Ryan offered a third approach, his so-called “Path to Prosperity” plan.

As always, Ryan takes any talk of tax increases immediately off the table. Instead, he proposes tax-rate deductions that will benefit mainly the already wealthy. According to the Tax Policy Center, those changes would cut federal revenues by $418 billion in 2015 alone. Ryan has suggested that he could make up for those rate reductions by closing tax loopholes that he refuses to identify, but as we’ve already discussed, and as the Congressional Research Service has confirmed, that simply is not mathematically or politically feasible. By any definition, Ryan is proposing to slash the deficit by imposing significant new tax decreases.

To try to compensate, Ryan’s budget proposes to slash Medicare by 33 percent by 2050; Medicaid and CHIP — Children’s Health Insurance Program — by 75 percent; and total discretionary spending, including all government operations, to 3.5 percent of GDP.

That 3.5 percent figure includes defense spending, which Ryan magically proposes to increase while still meeting that target. As the CBO drily notes:

“By comparison, spending in this category has exceeded 8 percent of GDP in every year since World War II. Spending for defense alone has not been lower than 3 percent of GDP in any year during that period.”

That’s where we are. We face a serious problem. The problem can only be resolved through compromise and realism. But

  • House Republicans refuse to acknowledge either compromise or realism, and a good chunk of Senate Republicans are trapped in a similar delusion.

    Therefore, no solution is possible.

    – Jay Bookman

    575 comments Add your comment

    Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes

    June 6th, 2012
    9:53 pm

    That’s good kamchack[sic], can you do a kitty cat?

    Red card?

    Or yellow?

    Recon 0311 2533

    June 6th, 2012
    9:54 pm

    Obama going too far right. Yeah right.

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    9:54 pm

    “Neoliberal economics isn’t a real economic school of thought.”

    Funny you should say that, Jm, because that’s what the country’s been operating under since Ronald Reagan took office.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    9:54 pm

    Kramer

    Not sporting, but still entertaining

    Thats why rednecks sometimes use dynamite when fishing :)

    Brosephus™ - If ignorance was gold, we'd have no debt at all...

    June 6th, 2012
    9:55 pm

    Scout

    Missed 3. I made it through 2/3 of the way with a spotless record. Three of the last nine tripped me up.

    I demand a recount!!!! :)

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    9:55 pm

    SCOUT

    Missed 2…How many presidents impeached and (boy is THIS one embarrassing!” who has the right to declare war!

    Kramer

    June 6th, 2012
    9:55 pm

    Jm I’m no redneck so I don’t know much about that there.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    9:56 pm

    “Red card?

    Or yellow?”

    Weak

    Sooth – Reagan is president again? Coulda sworn he was dead.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    9:57 pm

    jm,

    Here is a easy one.

    What are the total bailout numbers for Freddie/Fannie and define gse.

    We have covered this so you should know this without the google.

    Common Sense isn't very Common- UFA

    June 6th, 2012
    9:58 pm

    Bro/josef

    You only missed that few because you are gubmint employees and have time on your hands to study :-)

    Kramer

    June 6th, 2012
    9:58 pm

    Jm, they blame all Republican presidents since Reagan. Accountability is not a word they can spell or define. it is the new Obama liberal, “not my fault it is the other guy”, thinking.

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    9:58 pm

    Scout,

    I scored a 24 on the quiz so I passed but I missed 3 on the amendments. I thought there were 23 or 24 but there are 26, then I missed the one about prohibiting liquor as an amendment, and I missed the question on how many proposed amendments failed. Got it wrong on Eisenhower being born in texas. I put W and I’m sure most people missed that one. And then I missed the 2 on the number of presidents impeached and assassinated. I thought there were only 2 assassinated and on impeachment I knew about Clinton and I think maybe Nixon but I had no idea there were 4 impeached. Most of the questions were pretty easy though.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    9:59 pm

    Time is up.

    I doubt jm finished high school.

    Brosephus™ - If ignorance was gold, we'd have no debt at all...

    June 6th, 2012
    9:59 pm

    who has the right to declare war!

    :shock: :shock:

    The impeachment was one of my misses too. I remembered Johnson but forgot all about the blow job.

    Brosephus™ - If ignorance was gold, we'd have no debt at all...

    June 6th, 2012
    10:00 pm

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:01 pm

    KRAMER

    Liberals refuse to to have a battle of wits with conservatives, It’s not chivalrous to attack an unarmed person .

    Common Sense isn't very Common- UFA

    June 6th, 2012
    10:02 pm

    Bro

    you forgot about a BJ LOL,

    I remember most of them :-)

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:02 pm

    Getalife

    Fan Fred are probably up $100B plus or minuts $25B

    Government sponsored enterprise

    Your turn

    What’s the cumulative total in deficits since O took office?

    Who was smarter: Friedman or Keynes and why?

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:02 pm

    “Sooth – Reagan is president again? Coulda sworn he was dead.”

    Nice deflection, Jm. What kind of grades did you make in college?

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:04 pm

    THULSA

    Real quick, not to go into it again, but caught your response downstairs, I said MY jury was still out…not THE :-)

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:05 pm

    jm,

    Wrong on the numbers.

    Google it again.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:05 pm

    Sooth I’ll release my transcripts for you

    Right after Obama does

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:05 pm

    COMMON

    Well, you know we DO have to teach to the test! :-)

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:06 pm

    “Who was smarter: Friedman or Keynes and why?”

    It’s got nothing to do with smart, Jm. The policies of Milton Friedman and his neoliberal school have totally decimated this country.

    Milton Friedman is widely looked upon as an idiot and a failure. His policies have been totally discredited since the global financial collapse of 2008.

    Any questions?

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:07 pm

    $170 get

    Close enough

    A ton

    Good job Barney frank :)

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:07 pm

    You failed gse too because you did not describe it..

    Joseph

    June 6th, 2012
    10:08 pm

    How the hell do you have a job Bookman? I’ve been looking for Harry Reids budget all over the internet and have yet to find it…. And you dare to ask who is serious about cutting the deficit and getting the budget under control. At least Ryan and the Republicans are trying!

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:08 pm

    josef,

    Radiation can be good for you in some circumstances. Besides, aint nuttin wrong with you glowing a little bit.

    On a side note how the hell is it that I’m the only one that missed the question on which president was born in Texas? I’m guessing most people woulda picked W. But Eisenhower? I do gotta bone up on my amendments though seeing as how I missed 3 on them alone.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:08 pm

    Soothsayer and getalife are the same person?

    How many sock puppets do u liberals use?

    Get, deficit and Keynes v friedman

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:09 pm

    Joseph,

    Harry Reid and the word budget should never be put in the same sentence together.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:09 pm

    Wrong again jm.

    You failed.

    It is ongoing so there are no total costs yet.

    You thought the collapse was over?

    OBIWAN

    June 6th, 2012
    10:09 pm

    There are 3 ways to fix our money addicts in Washington, give them less money, i.e. lower taxes make then balance the budget EVERY year, and outlaw lobbyist.

    JamVet

    June 6th, 2012
    10:11 pm

    You boob, he’s a RINO Socialist.

    As in the Father of Socialized Massachusetts Medicine.

    Man, you Republicans are not very bright.

    You nominate a joke like Willard and pretend he’s something he’s not.

    And almost as bad, you’re impressed by the drive by meat just because you keep getting b*tch slapped for saying stupid stuff.

    Otay…

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:11 pm

    Which president has a tree named after him at Augusta?

    Hint: name recently popped up here. No google :)

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:11 pm

    Jm, most of the people on this here blog don’t have any idea who Milton Friedman is. But, I do. His policiies have ruined this country, but made corporation rich.

    His policies have gotten us into the “interest rate trap” we now face. Because Milton Friedman’s major theory was that interest rates control the money supply and therefore the economy, he used interest rates to control the economy.

    Now, however, even with interest rates near zero percent, the economy cannot recover — totally discrediting Friedman’s theories.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:12 pm

    jm,

    The ones that predicted the collapse.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:13 pm

    “It is ongoing so there are no total costs yet.

    You thought the collapse was over?”

    Nope, not as long as Obama is potus

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:13 pm

    Jm, I can assure you that getalife and I are most definitely two different persons.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:15 pm

    It was armey, graham, the newt and delay that led deregulation of the banks.

    Big heroes of the radical right.

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:15 pm

    Brosephus™

    June 6th, 2012
    10:15 pm

    NoCom

    That one was easy to forget as I wasn’t on the receiving end. :)

    Catch y’all later

    Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes

    June 6th, 2012
    10:16 pm

    Now, however, even with interest rates near zero percent…

    No more bullets in that gun.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:16 pm

    Sooth you’ve got it all backwards

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:16 pm

    “Milton Friedman is widely looked upon as an idiot and a failure.”

    Personally I think anyone who thinks Friedman is an idiot and a failure needs to be looked upon as an idiot and a failure- along with folks who believe that W was behind 9/11.

    “His policies have been totally discredited since the global financial collapse of 2008.”

    Wrong. You’re confusing macroeconomic policy with the housing collapse. And Friedman doesn’t have “policies” like an administration has economic policy and he didn’t have his “policies” in force at the time. He wasn’t the Fed chief and was not in the administration to my knowledge. And if you really believe that his economic work was discredited because of the 08 recession than please provide a link from a number of credible economists stating as much.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:16 pm

    You had no clue but I will teach you jm.

    Atlanta1

    June 6th, 2012
    10:17 pm

    Here’s the problem. It doesn’t matter if you raise taxes or cut taxes, as long as lawmakers have the ability to write laws that shelter rich, poor or middle class – it will not work.

    The only fair tax is a flat tax that is across the board. If we want to protect the poor – fine, then implement the fair tax, it is designed to do just that.

    You can get lost in the ‘right and the left’ point of view- at the end of the day – it doesn’t matter. What matters is a tax that is ‘blind’ to whom is paying it…

    JamVet

    June 6th, 2012
    10:17 pm

    Very early start tomorrow, so I’ll call it a day.

    Hang tough, yellow meat, and enjoy your brief moments here.

    Tomorrow, it’s back to puking all over Wingfield’s under some other courageous persona.

    And the last laugh of the evening? Your wet behind the ears buddy calls someone besides you a sock puppet.

    I swear he walks around with a Kick Me sign taped to his back…

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:17 pm

    Short term rates are too low

    Hand out to prop up the banks tho

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:18 pm

    Jm,

    I’m gonna say FDR or Roosevelt on the tree naming in Augusta. Carter sounds too easy.

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:18 pm

    Meant FDR or Truman FDR is Roosevelt

    They BOTH suck

    June 6th, 2012
    10:19 pm

    Made a 25. Would have been a 26, but I thought there were 57 states…..

    :-)

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:20 pm

    Doom Eisenhower

    It’s a pine in a tough spot

    He asked that it be removed

    Augusta told the president: nope

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:20 pm

    Well, gosh! Thulsa! Maybe I got it wrong! Maybe you could post something that vindicates Milton Friedman’s theories vis-a-vis the global economic collapse for our edification. We will be waiting.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:20 pm

    greenspan, paulson and w took down our economy.

    It happened on their watch and they had the nerve to lie about it at first.

    Then graham called Americans spoiled or some stupid crap and have not been seen yet.

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:21 pm

    Without googling…who was the first President born in the United States?

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:22 pm

    I shot a 25, but I did a whole lot better on them other 6 holes on the front nine!

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:23 pm

    Josef

    Adams. Or George Washington.

    I know Adams was….

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:24 pm

    JM

    Nope. Both counts.

    They BOTH suck

    June 6th, 2012
    10:24 pm

    Jm

    They were colonies when those dudes were born

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:24 pm

    They can’t even get current history right.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:25 pm

    Josef
    Trick question:)

    Would have to be the potus born after 1789 :)

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:25 pm

    Martin Van Buren

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:26 pm

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:27 pm

    Lincoln? Nah too late.

    Van buren?

    0311/8541/5811/1811/1801

    June 6th, 2012
    10:27 pm

    Hey ……….. everyone did well on the test !

    josef:

    I don’t want to take that one ! It may be monitored and if I fail I could be deported !!!!!!!!!!!

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:28 pm

    Not van buren either. He was born 1782, not after 1789

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:30 pm

    John Tyler
    I cheated

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:31 pm

    The first US president, George Washington was born in Virginia while it was still a British colony. Martin Van Buren was the first president born after independence was declared in 1776. John Tyler was the first born after the constitution was ratified and the United States of America came into existence by that name.

    0311/8541/5811/1811/1801

    June 6th, 2012
    10:31 pm

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:31 pm

    I had to google it myself…

    I thought it was John Quincy Adams…it was Martin Van Buren…we date the country’s founding from 1776…

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:33 pm

    Hmm united states began when we declared our independence, or when we began living under the rule of law that we currently live under?…. :)

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:33 pm

    Lets try current history.

    Who was President during the global economic collapse?

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:33 pm

    SCOUT
    @ 10:31
    That one…this really does scare me…jokes aside…

    and that citizenship test…That one’s a b*tt kicker!

    Bruno

    June 6th, 2012
    10:34 pm

    Bruno? Teach? He wouldn’t be back after the first year!

    Guys–Didn’t intend to say that I am a teacher. My poor grammatical construction was supposed to indicate that josef is a teacher. I work in health care, but non-md.

    Per your comment, josef, you might be right. If I didn’t get arrested for choking a few students, I’m sure that I’d be fired for knocking out a bunch of the parents. For the record, I admire teachers for having to put up with crap day in and day out. But, teachers are paid extremely well according to the pay scales in my world. According to this site, a first year teacher in the ALS with a Master’s degree earns $47,554 (2007-2008). Add in all of the insurance benefits and generous vacations, and I’m not believing you or anyone is making $4 per hour.

    http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlanta/151779-fyi-starting-teaching-salaries-around-metro.html

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:34 pm

    Buren? Boom…. Didn’t cheat on that one, though it was a guess.

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:35 pm

    getalife

    Herbert Hoover…

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:35 pm

    Getalife 10:33 easy. Obama :)

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:36 pm

    Soothsayer,

    You’re the one that made the charge that Friedman was an idiot. The onus is on you to back it up. And if you can’t back it up the least you can do is explain how or why the Chicago school of economics economic theory has anything to do with the housing collapse. In a nutshell the housing collapse was caused by too many subprime mortgages being made to too many non credit worthy people and the whole thing ultimately melting down and crashing. What in the hell does that have to do with Chicago school economic theory? Please explain.

    And btw I may not subscribe to the Keynesian school of economic thought but the man was still a brilliant man and a good bit of his economic thought and influence is both valid and also still around today. To make a blanket statement that Friedman was an idiot and on top of that that he is fully discredited is beyond stupid.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:36 pm

    josef,

    The second global economic collapse?

    0311/8541/5811/1811/1801

    June 6th, 2012
    10:37 pm

    Headline: “HORROR: NEW MASSACRE REPORTED IN SYRIA”

    What about the mind numbing, ongoing, day after day massacres in Mexico ??

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:37 pm

    Josef :)

    The 30’s depression was (mostly) global

    0311/8541/5811/1811/1801

    June 6th, 2012
    10:38 pm

    josef:

    That’s why it is SO wrong ……….. Next will be “if it’s not a blue eyed, blonde boy ……….. too bad” !

    Thulsa Doom

    June 6th, 2012
    10:39 pm

    they both suck,

    You scored a point higher than me? Damn! Just damn!

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:39 pm

    jm,

    You are consistently wrong like most cons.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:41 pm

    Doom 10:36

    Agreed they were both great men and smart

    I don’t know who was smarter

    Probably friedman because of what he was able to grasp from prior economists

    But Keynes was incredibly influential and still is

    Then again the whole thing is “the dismal science”

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:42 pm

    We will stay out of Syria and Mexico but will help them.

    We got cyber and covert wars in Iran.

    Occupation, nation building in Afghanistan and no military cuts.

    We are not broke just in debt.

    The gop are spending like normal .

    They BOTH suck

    June 6th, 2012
    10:42 pm

    TD

    There are many great economists. Problem is that imo many get to rigid in a certain school of thought. What many say makes great sense in theory, but the number of variables in a domestic and world economy is too vast for the rigidity that many hold so dear

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:43 pm

    The answer is the one we can’t talk about.

    w.

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:44 pm

    BRUNO

    That’s because you have no notion of just how much time we DO put in…the mandated paperwork for the bureaucracy alone is a full-time job, no joke…

    and, no, you wouldn’t last because you’re so sensitive…you’d break down crying when having to deal with one of “those” parents…

    I’ll grant you that the time off at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break is a benefit…but y’all who think we get off for the summer are off…that’s when you take those REQUIRED PD classes, and all that other stuff…

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:44 pm

    “There are many great economists. Problem is that imo many get to rigid in a certain school of thought. What many say makes great sense in theory, but the number of variables in a domestic and world economy is too vast for the rigidity that many hold so dear”

    Second that. Krugman comes to mind….. Keynesian on roids to the point of delusion

    They BOTH suck

    June 6th, 2012
    10:45 pm

    TD

    Glad you liked the joke I posted last night……. To me it is funny regardless, but I’m sure those on the right probably found it hilarious.

    Jm

    June 6th, 2012
    10:45 pm

    Have fun all, I’m out

    Kramer was funny as heck…

    Soothsayer

    June 6th, 2012
    10:46 pm

    Neoliberalism is the brain child of economist Milton Friedman. In early 1970s, he argued laissez-faire capitalism could be revived by tax cuts, reducing public spending, deregulations, and privatization of government-owned enterprises. Based on this theory, under such condition the free market can perfectly function on its own to manage the economy. That is known the underpinning ideology of economic liberalization or neoliberalism strategy. That was the ideology of Friedman and some of his colleagues at the University of Chicago who are known as “Chicago Boys”. After CIA backed Pinochet’s coup in Chile brought down the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, the Chicago Boys put Friedman’s idea to work to reconstruct the Chilean economy. However, the outcome was economic misery as real wages declined; unemployment soared, and the rich accumulated wealth at the expense of the working class. [Let me know if any of this sounds familiar.] Nonetheless, in late 1970s, neoliberalism idea became the favorite economic policy of the Republican Party in the US and the Conservative Party in Britain. Consequently, Neoliberalism reform was adopted by three emerging world leaders; Deng Xiaoping gradually adopted the idea in China in 1978, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Britain in 1979, and President Ronald Reagan in the US in 1981. After implementing neoliberalism strategy in the US and Britain, the idea was widely prescribed for the Third world counties and for the former Soviet bloc by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.

    The neoliberalism idea of “trickle-down” economics does not have any logical ground. It basically means the free market economy generates income for the owner of capital and the resulted profits eventually would drip down to the bottom strata of the society. Three decades of neoliberal economic policy has led to widest gap between rich and poor in America as compared to other industrialized nations.

    I’m so glad you asked me that question! Any questions?

    Thulsa, I’ve told you before and I’ve told others on this blog. Very, very few can out-think me and almost no one can out-logic me. If you think that I’m going to make a statement on this blog that I can’t back up you’re sorely mistaken.

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:47 pm

    Stiglitz, Krugman, Dr. Doom and Dorgan predicted the collapse

    Perhaps you should read Senators Dorgan’s new book on the collapse and read economists that are right in their predictions.

    You just might learn something like where to put your money.

    G Mare 71(PLEASE VOTE NO ON TSPLOST)

    June 6th, 2012
    10:49 pm

    Josef@9:30, six of mine are in scouting, 7th too young. Scouting is a wonderful program for all, & is headed toward revising the longstanding prejudice re gay people. I just read a very cool book by Zach Wahls, also an Eagle Scout, called MY TWO MOMS. Ah, the times they are indeed achangin’ ! I, with my sisters in NOW & our compatriots in Queer Nation (we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it), worked SO hard for the changes. All these years later, that work is beginning to pay off. Baby steps, baby steps… still. But “there is a new day dawning.”
    And for all you right wing nutcase Neanderthals who want to give me grief for this, JUST GET OVER YOURSELVES.

    Bruno

    June 6th, 2012
    10:51 pm

    That’s because you have no notion of just how much time we DO put in…the mandated paperwork for the bureaucracy alone is a full-time job, no joke…

    In case you didn’t know, there’s a lot of paperwork in health care as well. I’m sure that DF can vouch for that. I do know that the NCLB paperwork is rough. But, some of my teachers tell me that they can do all of their lesson planning by 4-5 PM. They are single-subject teachers, however.

    and, no, you wouldn’t last because you’re so sensitive…you’d break down crying when having to deal with one of “those” parents…

    Don’t think so, josef. More likely they’d be the ones crying. Sensitive or not, I don’t put up with too much crap.

    They BOTH suck

    June 6th, 2012
    10:51 pm

    Give them Hell G mare

    Everyone have a great night and an even better tomorrow

    Peace

    Bruno

    June 6th, 2012
    10:53 pm

    Gotta brag on PB. We ran 4 miles tonight, and barely got our heart rate up.

    josef–I’m going to be highly disappointed if you don’t have a drink ready for us this year!!

    getalife

    June 6th, 2012
    10:56 pm

    “Stocks rise on hopes of new Fed pumping…

    Fate ‘In Bernanke’s Hands’…” drudgey, fascinated with cannibalism.

    Looks like they are addicted to government welfare.

    Not good.

    josef

    June 6th, 2012
    10:57 pm

    GMARE

    What I’ve always found it interesting that the founder of the Scouts was most likely gay…

    and, Bruno, teaching-education and my job? Part of mine is to act as liaison between the non English speaking community and civic organizations, i.e. The Boy Scouts… a bit of a conflict there, eh? Oh, yeah, and that also takes place outside that “paid time.”