Showing posts with label Deficit Super Committee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deficit Super Committee. Show all posts

Friday, November 25, 2011

“Have they gone nuts in Washington?”

David Gergen
David Gergen, senior political analyst with CNN, said it with gusto evidenced by the content of his commentary.  He says this kind of political jockeying has been with us since the beginnings of this nation, but political leaders in the past have been able to work out compromises.  Our ‘leaders’ of today, however, have tossed aside the wisdom of the Founders.”  To most of us, it would appear that they have completely abandoned the clear thinking approach to government for the more trendy partisan fanaticism of left and right.

What they have really abandoned is the American public in favor of Tea Party wackos and a Grover Norquist stand on absolutely no tax increases.  Some Democrats are at fault as well for not realizing there will have to be some painful, perhaps deep, cuts to domestic entitlement programs.



Gergen, who has worked with a number of presidents and has been a political analyst for several years, says the GOP wants federal spending cuts without raising any taxes.  On the other hand, Dems claim the rich have increased their wealth on the backs of the “99%” and should be taxed as a beginning to righting the ship. 

And yes, the White House has been severely lacking in its leadership on this issue by remaining seemingly either resigned to defeat, or not able to come up with the aggressive strategy to prevail.  White House Secretary Jay Carney’s reply to this is that the responsibility for doing a deal belongs to Congress, not the White House.

But a CNN/ORC poll asserts there is an explanation to the Super Committee’s failure.  Although most Americans agree on increasing taxes on the rich and major cuts in domestic spending programs, there is definitely a partisan divide that stands in the way of the committee’s decision.  Two-thirds of the public wants increased taxes on high-income Americans and businesses, 32 percent don’t.  However, Republicans oppose tax increases by 59 percent to 39 percent, and Democrats are against spending cuts by 57 percent to 42 percent.

Grover Norquist fantasy
 When it comes to Independents who are critical to the 2012 elections, a whopping 70 percent are for taxing the wealthy and corporations, but also want major cuts to domestic spending.  It would seem most everyone is against raising taxes on the middle class, 60 percent don’t want major cuts in military spending, and 57 percent oppose any major changes to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

And there are yet other important issues that must be dealt with.  There are pressing deadlines on extending the payroll tax at a cost of over $110 billion.  A temporary extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed costing $55 billion with an added $130 billion for the minimum tax cost.  Canceling doctors’ Medicare fees cuts will cost another $30 billion.

Members of Super Committee
Put the blame on…who?  Neither side wins a popularity contest but the GOP leadership in Congress approval ratings have fallen even further to 21 percent.  The Democratic leadership approval also dropped but remains at a higher 29 percent.  The general consensus is that a plurality of the American public will blame Republicans more than Democrats for the failure of the Super Committee.

Monday, November 21, 2011

75% say deficit Super Committee negotiations are “doo doo”

Deficit "Super Committee"
That’s my term.  The actual words are, “ridiculous, disgusting, stupid, frustrating, childish, and a joke,” according to the Christian Science Monitor.  Just recently NY Sen. Charles Schumer (D) said the committee would fail due to the refusal by Republicans to consider tax increases.  And if that happens, the prediction is that the approval of Congress will drop to yet another low from the current 13 percent.  Only 21 percent of Americans think the panel will accomplish its goal.

The clock is ticking with the deadline Wednesday for a decision by the group of 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans.  The Economist reports the GOP has offered a paltry attempt at a revenue increase consisting of fees, sales and a host of creative ploys, including closing some tax loopholes on charitable deductions and mortgages on a second home.  But the kiss of death comes in the form of making permanent George W. Bush’s tax cuts as well as lowering the top tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, a definite no-no for Democrats.

So, in effect, Republicans have made a mockery of an offer they hope will make them look like they are cooperating in the face of the American public, when all they are hoping for is for the Dems to turn it down so the GOP can use that in 2012.  Pathetic.  Of course there is the slim possibility the GOP is waiting for a counter offer by the left, but not likely since Democrats are adamant they want “real” tax revenue increases in return for cuts to entitlements.

The official deadline to reach the minimum $1.2 trillion cut is Wednesday, but before that date the congressional Budget Office was supposed to evaluate the fiscal impact of the plan.  The latest news as this was being written was that Democrats had rejected the latest proposal from Republicans that would curb deficits by $545 billion over the next decade.  The Dems termed it just “halfway” because there was only $3 billion in tax revenue.



 What happened to the Millionaire’s tax that is backed by 75 percent of the American public?  One of the reasons for this is that the average big-business CEO pay is $9.6 million annually.  Another, 25 percent of millionaires are taxed less than the middle class.  If this 5.6 percent surtax on the super-rich were applied, it still would only put the top rate for the wealthy to approximately where it was during Clinton’s administration, when he turned record deficits into surpluses. 

If the committee doesn’t reach an agreement, there will be automatic cuts in defense and domestic spending starting in 2013.  It will also piss off an American electorate even further that will hopefully go for the jugular in 2012.  This kind of inability to negotiate for the benefit of the country in general is truly grounds for the concept that has been circulating for some time now.  Replace Congress!


Latest Developments: The deficit committee was reporting Sunday that negotiations have ended and the latest activity is trying to figure out just how to release this to the American public.




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