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Mr. Obama compromised by offering to move from $250K to $400K, perpetuating a substantial portion of the high-income Bush tax cuts and cutting Social Security benefits by changing the inflation adjustment. But that isn't considered compromise, to some.
On the other hand, the Republicans moved in the other direction -- raising their bottom level of those who would be taxed higher to one million dollars in income and not identifying a single meaningful program to cut -- nevertheless, a plan the base said they would vote down. But those on the right think that they are the ones compromising.
The American people won't be fooled by the antics of the Republicans. For starters - they haven't been able to get their message across for some time. It's no different now. What noble objectives do they serve other than to stonewall the President and hurt the public they serve?
That IS what people think at this point. They just look foolish. McConnell filibustering his own bill; Boehner's own party refusing to vote on his Plan B.
They look like a bunch of Clowns trying desperately to hold on to power they don't have.
Both sides are eager to do nothing because it is an easy out. The Republicans will not have to agree to tax increases and the democrats will not have to agree to spending cuts. If these cuts and tax increases happen automatically then each party can point the finger at the other party blaming them for failure to act.
The funny thing is the automatic cuts/tax increases will not do much to resolve our problems. The cuts/tax increases only amount to 1 trillion over ten years or 100 billion per year. Considering the government is spending 1,200 billion per year in deficit the "fiscal cliff" will only be an 8.3% reduction in overspending.
Both sides are eager to do nothing because it is an easy out. The Republicans will not have to agree to tax increases and the democrats will not have to agree to spending cuts. If these cuts and tax increases happen automatically then each party can point the finger at the other party blaming them for failure to act.
The funny thing is the automatic cuts/tax increases will not do much to resolve our problems. The cuts/tax increases only amount to 1 trillion over ten years or 100 billion per year. Considering the government is spending 1,200 billion per year in deficit the "fiscal cliff" will only be an 8.3% reduction in overspending.
I disagree. President Obama has come far closer to Boehner's wants than vice versa. There is ONE party that is eager to do nothing. And that is the Republican party. They won't have to violate their silly pledge; the most extreme tea partiers won't have to *gasp* raise one tax; they won't be accused in any way of cooperating with President Obama and the democrats; AND they can say they voted to LOWER taxes once we go off the cliff.
The American people won't be fooled by the antics of the Republicans. For starters - they haven't been able to get their message across for some time. It's no different now. What noble objectives do they serve other than to stonewall the President and hurt the public they serve?
That IS what people think at this point. They just look foolish. McConnell filibustering his own bill; Boehner's own party refusing to vote on his Plan B.
They look like a bunch of Clowns trying desperately to hold on to power they don't have.
It's pathetic, really.
You are right. Anyone paying attention will see that the GOP objective is to protect plutocrats.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wartrace
Both sides are eager to do nothing because it is an easy out. The Republicans will not have to agree to tax increases and the democrats will not have to agree to spending cuts. If these cuts and tax increases happen automatically then each party can point the finger at the other party blaming them for failure to act.
The funny thing is the automatic cuts/tax increases will not do much to resolve our problems. The cuts/tax increases only amount to 1 trillion over ten years or 100 billion per year. Considering the government is spending 1,200 billion per year in deficit the "fiscal cliff" will only be an 8.3% reduction in overspending.
In view of the fact that Democrats have already offered $1.6 trillion in spending cuts, it's clear which side isn't negotiating in good faith.
We have a deficit because of two major events. 1) A drop in revenue due to the economy. 2) an increase in social spending because of the economy. Perpetuating a bad economy, which the austerity bomb will certainly do, is not a prescription to heal a bad economy.
The Republicans believed that their torpedoing the economy would cause Mr. Obama's defeat in the election. They were wrong and have no plan "B." Now they are scrambling with incoherent strategies.
Evan Soltas of Wonkblog provides detail on the deficit:
Quote:
The right way to evaluate the U.S.'s current fiscal condition is not to look at at its budget deficit, which fluctuates sharply due to economic conditions. Rather, it is to calculate the structural budget deficit, the difference between government spending and revenues when the economy is normal. (More technically, it is when the "output gap," the difference between actual and long-run potential economic output, is zero.)
For this post, I have calculated estimates of the current structural fiscal deficit from 1949 to 2012 with data from the Office of Management and Budget.These estimates come from breaking down the deficit into its components -- spending by individual program and revenues from each tax -- and computing their sensitivity to the output gap over time through linear regression. My estimates of the output gap come from the Congressional Budget Office.
For fiscal year 2012, the annual structural deficit was $325 billion, or 2.1 percent of GDP. (See the first graph accompanying this post.)
That is worse than no structural deficit at all. But it is hardly unsustainable. The U.S. economy is capable of growing at that pace over thelong run, which means that the ratio of debt to GDP, a key measure of sustainability, will be stable. The weak economy explains the remaining $1 trillion of the deficit, which amounts to 6.5 percent of GDP.
Harry Reid has stated that we are about to fall off the so called "Fiscal Cliff" because Republicans refuse to compromise, YET, the Democrats absolutely refuse to compromise their position.
Isn't compromise a 2 way street? Give and take?
I think it is the fault of BOTH parties.
Republicans need to compromise, but the Democrats need to offer equal counter compromises as well.
What compromise? It was an a "my way or the highway" demand. Everyone knew there was 0% chance of success.
And there you have it - thumbs up for the Democrats not compromising. While at the same time conducting a narrative about obstructionist Republicans. A crystal clear example of liberal hypocrisy.
What compromise? It was an a "my way or the highway" demand. Everyone knew there was 0% chance of success.
The Republicans offered at least three different compromises.
WHich one was the "my way or the highway" DEMAND you are imagining?
When you liberals get cornered and can't explain yourselves, you come up with some of the silliest lies sometimes.
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