Just A New Way Of Talking About ...Still Kicking The Can Down The Road
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEBT DEAL: It's Pretty Much Meaningless
"The "historic, bipartisan compromise" reached to raise the debt limit does not end the struggle to reign in the federal deficit — in fact, it pushes the most difficult decisions off into the future.
More surprising, the debt deal actually cuts almost nothing now--it just promises future cuts that may or may not materialize.
There are very few specific cuts in the deal — and the $1 trillion in immediate cuts are almost entirely constituted of caps on future spending. And those caps are not required to be honored by future congresses.
The "real" spending cuts to current programs will come out of a bipartisan committee of Representatives and Senators, which is charged with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in savings from the federal deficit.
But White House and Republican leaders appear split on exactly what the so-called "Super Committee" can do.
In a presentation to his caucus, Speaker of the House John Boehner said it would "be effectively...impossible for [the] Joint Committee to increase taxes," even though it could consider reforming the tax code.
White House officials strongly pushed back on that remark, saying revenue-increasing reform is possible — even though it almost certainly would not be able to get through Congress.
The committee is modeled on "BRAC" or the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, whose recommendations are presented to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote with no amendments allowed. Instead of non-partisan commissioners, each congressional leader will appoint three members of Congress to the committee.
If the Super-Committee can't reach an agreement, or their recommendations cannot pass Congress, deep "real" spending cuts, which are painful to both sides, would take effect. For Democrats, entitlement cuts are at risk, while Republicans would see cuts to defense spending.
Additionally, President Barack Obama has the ability to veto an extension of the Bush tax cuts if he deems the committee's solution insufficiently "balanced."
So, again, other than cuts to federally subsidized student loans to graduate and professional school students, the debt deal actually cuts NOTHING now, and only promises future reductions that may never materialize.
In short, for the past month, Congress has been arguing about little more than an agreement to reach an agreement at some point in the future. Your tax dollars at work."
However, the damage has been done to the world's remaining faith in the dollar. This theater exposed the small minded pettiness and unconcern that the pipsqueaks in Washington have for 1. taking real responsibility and 2. the impact on the world economy.
"Obama had many options for avoiding this "crisis," long before it came to a head. He didn't take those options because, like all good disaster capitalists, he wanted and needed a crisis of this sort to enact the brutal economic agenda he has openly advocated from the beginning. The result, of course, will be further impoverishment and diminishment in the lives of millions of ordinary people, for years to come -- and, ironically, the eventual collapse of the monstrous system that supports the ravenous elite that Obama serves with such panache."
Psychopaths: the perfect academic word for US political, economic "leadership"
Anyone Who Thinks The Debt Deal Is A Victory For America Understands Neither Economics Nor Politics
"Anyone who characterizes the deal between the President and Republican leaders as a victory for the American people over partisanship understands neither economics nor politics.
The deal does not raise taxes on America’s wealthy and most fortunate — who are now taking home a larger share of total income and wealth, and whose tax rates are already lower than they have been in eighty years. Yet it puts the nation’s most important safety nets and public investments on the chopping block."
"The "historic, bipartisan compromise" reached to raise the debt limit does not end the struggle to reign in the federal deficit — in fact, it pushes the most difficult decisions off into the future.
More surprising, the debt deal actually cuts almost nothing now--it just promises future cuts that may or may not materialize.
There are very few specific cuts in the deal — and the $1 trillion in immediate cuts are almost entirely constituted of caps on future spending. And those caps are not required to be honored by future congresses.
The "real" spending cuts to current programs will come out of a bipartisan committee of Representatives and Senators, which is charged with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in savings from the federal deficit.
But White House and Republican leaders appear split on exactly what the so-called "Super Committee" can do.
In a presentation to his caucus, Speaker of the House John Boehner said it would "be effectively...impossible for [the] Joint Committee to increase taxes," even though it could consider reforming the tax code.
White House officials strongly pushed back on that remark, saying revenue-increasing reform is possible — even though it almost certainly would not be able to get through Congress.
The committee is modeled on "BRAC" or the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, whose recommendations are presented to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote with no amendments allowed. Instead of non-partisan commissioners, each congressional leader will appoint three members of Congress to the committee.
If the Super-Committee can't reach an agreement, or their recommendations cannot pass Congress, deep "real" spending cuts, which are painful to both sides, would take effect. For Democrats, entitlement cuts are at risk, while Republicans would see cuts to defense spending.
Additionally, President Barack Obama has the ability to veto an extension of the Bush tax cuts if he deems the committee's solution insufficiently "balanced."
So, again, other than cuts to federally subsidized student loans to graduate and professional school students, the debt deal actually cuts NOTHING now, and only promises future reductions that may never materialize.
In short, for the past month, Congress has been arguing about little more than an agreement to reach an agreement at some point in the future. Your tax dollars at work."
However, the damage has been done to the world's remaining faith in the dollar. This theater exposed the small minded pettiness and unconcern that the pipsqueaks in Washington have for 1. taking real responsibility and 2. the impact on the world economy.
"Obama had many options for avoiding this "crisis," long before it came to a head. He didn't take those options because, like all good disaster capitalists, he wanted and needed a crisis of this sort to enact the brutal economic agenda he has openly advocated from the beginning. The result, of course, will be further impoverishment and diminishment in the lives of millions of ordinary people, for years to come -- and, ironically, the eventual collapse of the monstrous system that supports the ravenous elite that Obama serves with such panache."
Psychopaths: the perfect academic word for US political, economic "leadership"
Anyone Who Thinks The Debt Deal Is A Victory For America Understands Neither Economics Nor Politics
"Anyone who characterizes the deal between the President and Republican leaders as a victory for the American people over partisanship understands neither economics nor politics.
The deal does not raise taxes on America’s wealthy and most fortunate — who are now taking home a larger share of total income and wealth, and whose tax rates are already lower than they have been in eighty years. Yet it puts the nation’s most important safety nets and public investments on the chopping block."
posted by nolocontendere at 1:58 PM
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