Sen. Tom Coburn's $9 Trillion 'Back In Black' plan

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Ever since hearing about it I've wanted to read this plan and see what he had in it and whether, outside of being politically feasible or expedient, if he could make 9 trillion in cuts without 'poor people eating worms and grubs' as come have suggested even with more modest proposals. I've tried the link to his senate.gov page, unfortunately I'm getting the message that the server is disconnected.

For an at least somewhat descriptive secondary source here's CBS's read on it:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... 03544.html

Even for as little as they have in the article its eye opening. I'll see if I can find better information on his proposal or the source document. Rather than a debate over whether he's an oil grubbing fascist because he has an 'R' I'd rather just have this thread as a point by point discussion regarding the ideas that he's throwing against the wall in this.

Coburn is not running for re-election, so he doesn't care what special interest group he manages to piss off (self-imposed term limit).

When it comes to America's civil service, we know that there's far too many skilled people leaving the private sector to take lucrative jobs at the mid to lower levels of it!

I think it's a good idea overall, but I think some tax breaks will have to be closed and some income taxes raised to reduce the severity of cuts to social services. Polls show decent support for a plan similar to that. Most Americans woulds rather raise taxes than the debt ceiling.

It would also be prudent to screen social services and entitlement programs for abusers.

It doesn't matter though because Obama is still holding out for a raise in the debt ceiling at least until the end of 2012 so he can continue to be his support base's sugardaddy before the election.

I know his NASA plans are strange to say the least. He says we should cancel the Constellation program and cut NASA 5 bilion / year. But Constellation is long cancelled. It seems somewhat out of date.

Yes, but the money is still likely booked in the fiscal framework. Cancelling a spending authority will stop expenditure in its tracks, but until you get reserve out of the fiscal framework, you have still got the funds committed.

Cutting 5 billion a year (going foward over a decade, saving $51 billion) to stop a program that was effectively ended last year is an unlikely explanation to me. It landed with a "huh?" on space blogs. It effectively ends American HSF by cutting an already dead program (and general funding) and it just wasn't going to fly in Texas, Florida, etc.

More likely it's an old plan that wasnt fully updated, or his staffers just don't pay much attention to NASA. Coburn is not from a space state (Oklahoma).

If they paid attention they would have seen the FY2011 budget fight over this, or the 2010 NASA authorization bill that ended CxP. Happened in Congress and everything. With votes! Maybe the pony express hasn't brought the news to OK yet.

You have no idea what you are talking about. And you are incapable of understanding it even if I went over it again.

Constellation is cancelled. Obama proposed doing it and Congress went along in the 2010 authorization act. NASA has signed off on it.

Ares I is dead. The lunar lander is dead. Ares V became a much smaller HLV. Orion became MPCV. ISS is extended to 2020+. Commerical crew is being funded. NASA is no longer planning a lunar landing. What Congress did was fight for a heavy lift vehicle and capsule development. That is going forward. NASA's notional plan out to 2032 for the HLV has been leaked. THere is no lunar landing in there. How could there be with no lander?

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110614-m ... ation.html

I don't know what point you are trying to even make. This thread is about Coburn's plan. I'm pointing out that his proposal significantly slashes NASA funding. Obama proposed increasing NASA's funding.

I acknowledge that you want more attention.

You again don't know what you are talking about.

Get a dog. I'm not your tutor and I'm not your friend.