I don't believe this! 
The Bachmann deficit plan: Double-counting, ask schools to repay stimulus, and raise taxesby Jed Lewison
Mon Jan 24, 2011
Okay, Michele Bachmann has a plan to slash the deficit. Without even spending more than 5 minutes looking at it, the following items jumped out at me:
1.
She offers two options to cut education spending. Her second option, which she says will save $29 billion, would "stop payout of the balance of the stimulus incentive grants for Race to the Top." The problem is that those grants have already been awarded (in the springs of 2009 and 2010). The only way to get that money back would be to ask for a refund.
2.
Bachmann also says we can save $60 billion with a "repeal" of "unspent stimulus funds." Uh, excuse me, but didn't she just call for that very same thing with the stimulus incentive grants? Can you say double-counting?
3.
There's another problem with respect to Bachmann's "repeal" of "unspent stimulus funds." She's calling for $60 billion in savings, but as of January 14, there was only $39.5 billion in unspent stimulus funds left. The only way to get $60 billion of savings out of the stimulus at this point would be to raise taxes that were lowered by the stimulus. So Bachmann's plan either calls for tax increases or it is a complete mirage...or both.
4. Finally, even if you ignore these problems and don't look for any others,
by her own numbers, Bachmann's plan would still keep the deficit at around $1 trillion.So if even Michele Bachmann can't cut her way to a balanced budget, doesn't that pretty much settle the debate over whether we should be focusing on austerity or driving economic growth?
I think this is all a lib/commie conspiracy to make Michelle look bad! Bachmann is the person ready to fix America's problems!
