But most observers say the budget is likely to just keep going down until some big new threat comes along to wake up Washington to the consequences of its actions.

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So I'm going to call on a young lady first, and then I'm going to call on a gentleman, and we're just going to keep on going down the line, and we'll get through as many as we can.

WHITEHOUSE: Creating New Jobs by Investing in High-Speed Rail

"People say, 'My stock is down, and I'm going to just keep it until it's back to where I bought it, '" says John Nersesian, managing director of wealth management services for Nuveen Investments.

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