“You can blame the whole mess on cynical Democrats like Harry Reid, who could have raised the debt ceiling while in control of Congress last year. But they simply didn’t want to, preferring to play politics with the nation’s finances instead.”
— The Rhetorican, “A debt deal has been reached”
[…] TOM links. […]
I model myself on Senator Pat Geary of Nevada.
I just don’t remember what happened that night…
Fox is reporting that there are assumed tax increases in this deal. This might refer to the fact the CBO counts on all of the Bush tax rates expiring. If they don’t expire the CBO scores that as a deficit increase that would have to be compensated for when the trigger kicks.
What Reid said was worse than that. During his little press conference this morning, he said that Cantor said this “Super Congress” will have the authority to raise revenue.
Unconstitutional, but don’t look for the GOP to put up a fuss. This is a way to do an end run around the voters – something both parties can happily support.
The CBO scoring of the Bush tax cuts expiring is the insurance AGAINST a tax hike coming out of the “super-duper-blooper-itty-bitty-nitty-gritty committee.” Any tax hike would have to score beyond $3.5 trillion before it counted as any additional deficit reduction, so it would have to be massive, and that would never pass either House or Senate (which do get to vote on the recommendations, some of the hysteria makes it sound like the committee gets the final word).
Look, no one should look at this plan as anything but what it is: a way to avoid default and/or bond rating downgrades until after the next election. Then whoever wins will revisit the whole thing. If Obama and Democrats win, they will scrap it and go back to wild spending without a budget at all. If Republicans win, we will have to go at it with a sword, and probably take a bath in the 2014 midterms because of the cuts we have to make, but that’s reality.
Anyone thinking this current deal is any kind of “solution” to any of our problems really hasn’t been paying attention.
It would have been easier to make the cuts we will need to make now – using the Ryan plan would have been the least painful way possible. Small cuts today compound over the ten year budget window because of baseline budgeting, so failing to make them means bigger cuts will be required in two years.
[…] some help. Last year the Democrats could have raised the debt ceiling to a bazillion dollars, but they thought they’d wait so the Republicans could share the blame. I can see why they’d want to […]
[…] A comment worth noting: Look, no one should look at this plan as anything but what it is: a way to avoid default and/or […]
This deal does not keep us from losing our AAA rating.
The Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of 2012.
I see most folks here are using the standard Progressive Terminology: “Bush Tax Cuts” instead the correct “Current Tax Rates.”
Adobe_Walls is spot on: our AAA is now shot. Cutting $2T out of a projected $40T in spending is like going to a barber and asking for a single nose-hair to be trimmed.
Wonder when the Navy will be putting aircraft carriers up for sale on E-bay?
Thanks for the correction.