December 4, 2009 7:42 AM

Schieffer: Gov't Not Santa Claus This Year

By
David Morgan
Topics
Economy
(AP Photo)
Last Christmas season, as the economy fell into a tailspin, Washington filled the stockings of suffering companies — and not always checking whether they'd been naughty or nice.

President Bush offered up $17.4 billion in loans to troubled U.S. automakers, and Congress OK'd the administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of troubled financial institutions (with .)

This year, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer says, Washington is not Santa Claus.

And with Afghanistan, a struggling economy, and a battle over health care reform, there doesn't appear to be much under the tree for the Obama administration, either.

Discussing yesterday's "Jobs and Economic Growth Forum" hosted by President Obama, Schieffer told "Early Show" anchor Harry Smith, "As the president talked to people during this jobs fair, he was saying, you know, in the end, it's going to be up to private enterprise to find the jobs to get us out of this. That's another way of saying there just isn't any more money that the government has even to try to stimulate this economy.

"Later today, I think you'll hear the unemployment figures come out. We're going to be in double digits again. The president's going out of Washington to try to get in touch with what's happening on the jobs front, but the fact is, he knows what's going on on the jobs front: People are out of work and that is what's driving so much of this discontent right now. But where does this go? I mean, we now have this trillion dollar deficit this year. We're $1 trillion in hock to the Chinese government as far as the national debt. These are not very good times right now for this administration, or for the country."

And not very good for a certain Washington socialite couple, either, and Schieffer recommends a big lump of coal for them — or worse.

"I don't think it's a tempest in a teapot," Schieffer said of the brouhaha over Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who crashed security at a White House state dinner, claiming they were invited. [One invitation they chose to ignore was to a Capitol Hill event, yesterday's .]

"I think the government ought to prosecute these people. If that means sending them to jail, so be it. This is not only a security issue — people being able to get into the White House and get up close to the president, and who knows where that kind of thing goes — but this is also sort of an insult to the American people.

"State dinners are part of the symbols of our democracy, like the White House itself, like the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. And when people are making fun of those things, when they're doing what these people did, that's an insult to awful all of us. And if these people go to jail, that will be just fine with me."

  • David Morgan

    David Morgan is a senior editor at CBSNews.com and cbssundaymorning.com.

Add a Comment
by sdh26234 December 6, 2009 4:57 AM EST
The more I hear and read the more I come to the conclusion that very few Americans and even in the News Media whether FOX, CBS, ABC,MSNBC, etc., etc.,et., do not know that the true National Debt is now well over 100 trillion dollars and growing, with a life of its own like snowball rolling down the hill uncontrolable and getting bigger and bigger. The unfunded liabilities presently that of Social Security and Medicare, as reported by Richard Fisher, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas stand at 99.2 trillion dollars than add to this the official federal debt of 11.3 dollars. However the Federal Government never tells Americans the true story, as evidence is proof! Yes, America refers to itself as the worlds greatest Capitalistic with free market economy and yet, Socialism/Communism plus Imperialism is to America what true termites are to a wooden structure, with the inhabitants in either case not beeing aware of this disaster. If the Founding Fathers were to rise they would be immediatly scandalized back to their graves seing their America in action at home and abroad all over the world with its evermore inhumane and horrendous war machine now circling the globe. The following words spoken so long ago hereby: "No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious or an economy of time more valuable". By George Washington "Ovwergrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty". By George Washington. I rest my case, with wishing good luck to America on the road of self-destruction like all previous Empires.
Reply to this comment
by sdh26234 December 6, 2009 4:54 AM EST
The more I hear and read the more I come to the conclusion that very few Americans and even in the News Media whether FOX, CBS, ABC,MSNBC, etc., etc.,et., do not know that the true National Debt is now well over 100 trillion dollars and growing, with a life of its own like snowball rolling down the hill uncontrolable and getting bigger and bigger. The unfunded liabilities presently that of Social Security and Medicare, as reported by Richard Fisher, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas stand at 99.2 trillion dollars than add to this the official federal debt of 11.3 dollars. However the Federal Government never tells Americans the true story, as evidence is proof! Yes, America refers to itself as the worlds greatest Capitalistic with free market economy and yet, Socialism/Communism plus Imperialism is to America what true termites are to a wooden structure, with the inhabitants in either case not beeing aware of this disaster. If the Founding Fathers were to rise they would be immediatly scandalized back to their graves seing their America in action at home and abroad all over the world with its evermore inhumane and horrendous war machine now circling the globe. The following words spoken so long ago hereby: "No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious or an economy of time more valuable". By George Washington "Ovwergrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty". By George Washington. I rest my case, with wishing good luck to America on the road of self-destruction like all previous Empires.
Reply to this comment
by YDD2HQY December 4, 2009 1:26 PM EST
OH YES BOB TO COMPLET MY MESSAGE ABOUT NO SANTA THIS YEAR, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE US LAUGH AT YOU AND ALL THE OTHERS THAT HAVE VERY GOOD JOBS AND MUCH MORE MONEY THAN $1300 PER MONTH TO LIVE ON......NOW STOP AND THINK ABOUT OBAMA AND HIS WIFE WHEN THEY GO OVERSEAS TO LET US SAY TRY TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS BUT RUNNING AROUND BESIDES SIGHT SEEING RUNNING THE COST UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN. $1300 PER MONTH AND THAT IS JUST A DROP IN THE BUCKET OF THOSE JUST LIKE THIS WOMAN.

RJB
Reply to this comment
by YDD2HQY December 4, 2009 1:20 PM EST
OH YES BOB, I WAS JUST LOOKING INTO THE NEWS IN ANOTHER AREA AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW HOW BAD THINGS ARE FOR SOME OF US, IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE THE ONES THAT WILL REALLY HAVE NO SANTA THIS YEAR AND THE WAY THINGS LOOK LIKE WITH THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION NEVER WILL AGAIN, BUT TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE'S REAL PROBLEMS.

Others aren't sure what to do. Evodkia Kresch, 83, takes pills for glaucoma, diabetes and heart problems and has been in the doughnut hole for several months. She grew up in Ukraine and lost her parents and six siblings in the Holocaust. Her husband died two years ago and she lives off a Social Security check of about $1,300 a month. She doesn't have much hope things will change in Washington.

$1300 A MONTH AND NO RAISE IN SOCIAL SECURITY...MAYBE JUST THE LITTLE BIT WE USUALLY RECEIVE EVERY YEAR MAY HAVE HELPED SOME.

RJB
Reply to this comment
by YDD2HQY December 4, 2009 12:30 PM EST
BOB, HOW CAN YOU SAY OBAMA WON'T HAVE SANTA THIS YEAR. WHAT A LAUGH. JUST LOOK AT THE EXPENSIVE DRESS HIS WIFE WAS WEARING TO THE STATE DINNER.....PLEASE...AND ALL THE RUNNING AROUND THE WORLD USING ALL THAT MONEY GOING SIGHT SEEING, SUCKING UP AND BOWING TO ALL OUR TO ALL OF OUR ENEMIES. TAKING HIS WIFE TO CHICAGO TO DINNER TRYING TO GET THINGS DONE FOR CHICAGO THAT DOESN'T AMOUNT TO A HILL OF BEANS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'S FINANCES. NOT GIVING THE ELDERY A COST OF LIVING RAISE WHEN SOME OF THOSE THAT IS THE ONLY MONEY THEY HAVE TO LIVE ON AND THEN WATCHING HIM AND HIS WIFE SPEND ALL THAT MONEY. PLEASE...DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH.....RJB
Reply to this comment
by pubsrtoast December 4, 2009 10:06 AM EST
Dear uncle Sam,
As an individual I have declared myself "Too big to fail". Please remit my bailout money in the form of a cashiers check or money order (sorry uncle, your credit just isn't that good) to Pubsrtoast.
Reply to this comment
by infantryman1968 December 4, 2009 8:20 AM EST
Schieffer: Gov't Not Santa Claus This Year

Last Christmas season, as the economy fell into a tailspin, Washington filled the stockings of suffering companies ? and not always checking whether they'd been naughty or nice.

President Bush offered up $17.4 billion in loans to troubled U.S. automakers, and Congress OK'd the administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of troubled financial institutions (with $1.6 billion of that going to bonuses and perks for bank executives.)

Gee Bob, how come you always leave out that President Obama helped broker the Auto Company's (UAW) Bail Out and voted for the 700 Billion for the Banks of which all of the perks were handed out by the Obama Administration?

Come on Bob, Report All of the news.
Reply to this comment
by inketolstoy December 4, 2009 9:58 AM EST
Bob had to devote the rest of the article to the oh, so important uninvited guest story. Pay no attention to the lines of unemployed getting longer. Let's talk about those silly rich people in Washinton.
.

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