Big Deal

This is too good to overlook.  After the Rabid Right GOPers took the country to the brink of a costly government shutdown to get their vaunted budget cuts, they cut a deal that purported to save $39 billion that otherwise would have been added to the deficit and debt.  Shortly thereafter, the actual amount of the cuts and savings began to dwindle.  Now the Congressional Budget Office has done the post mortem.  So how much did all that sturmy angst save?

Nothing.  Nada.  In fact, it spends an additional $3 billion:

It turns out the six-month spending bill Congress passed in March increased discretionary outlays through the remainder of the fiscal year by a bit over $3 billion. In other words, total direct spending will be higher by the end of September than if Congress had just set spending on autopilot for the remainder of the fiscal year back in April.

It isn't that programs weren't cut--programs primarily benefiting the poor, the sick and the middle class were cut.  But defense spending increased, and some defense spending on already allocated funds was shifted into high gear, perhaps because of the threat of a government shutdown, or the threat of cuts.

Now these same GOPer buffoons are holding the United States hostage to their demands for more cuts.  This doesn't exactly inspire confidence, if that were even possible.