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Michael Bennet proposes the same basic framework that created the fiscal cliff in the first place
It feels like we are living through the legislative equivalent of Groundhog Day. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have put together a bipartisan back-up plan in case a deal on the fiscal cliff can’t be reached in time. From The Hill:
The break-the-glass emergency proposal would make a substantial down payment toward deficit reduction during the lame-duck session, create a streamlined process to reach a broader deal next year and implement a default deficit-reduction plan if Congress still cannot break a stalemate in 2013.
“It simply pushes the pause button on all the elements of the fiscal cliff, extends everything for a year and then gives us six months in which to reform entitlements and reform taxes and reduce the debt,” said Alexander.
If this sounds familiar, it should. This is the same basic framework agreed to in 2011 that created the fiscal cliff to begin with. President Obama and Speaker John Boehner agreed to a down payment and the default deficit-reduction “sequestrations” if a deal could not be reached by the end of this year.
So apparently the solution of these two Senators to this current artificial crisis we face is just to create a new fake crisis in another few months. Why anyone thinks it will work better a second time is beyond me.
It seems Congress’s plan now is just to keep itself in a constant state of artificial crisis about the deficit to give concern trolls more time to try to undermine support for our social safety net and create an excuse for Congress for not dealing with the actual problems we are facing.
It hasn’t been stated enough that if members of Congress are really concerned about the negative economic consequences of letting the sequestration cuts go into effect, they can simple take ten minutes to repeal them. There is zero need for a broad deal or a can-kicking back-up plan to address the immediate economic issues.
Photo by cityyear under Creative Commons license
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I saw this hilarious failure by one of WaPo’s favorite concern trolls, Charles Lane:
That identical correction (referring to “Charles Lane’s Nov. 19 column” instead of “An earlier version of this column”) was printed today at the bottom of WaPo’s op-ed page! Astounding. Charles Lane “incorrectly reported … the Tax Policy Center’s calculation …. The two budgets started from different base lines, making any such comparison unsound.”
How hard is it to compare apples to apples when quoting data? Apparently too hard for this stooge for the plutocrats. Even in the “updated” version, Lane is still quoting figures from the Tax Policy Center and comparing them to preznit’s budget. He still does not explain the differences between the “two budgets” he is looking at. His words are useless until he shows his math.
His whole column seems pointless, but I guess WaPo had a big hole to fill in its plutocrat propaganda, so WaPo left his gibberish on its website even though he has been discredited by his own editors.
“It seems Congress’s plan now is just to keep itself in a constant state of artificial crisis about the deficit to give concern trolls more time to try to undermine support for our social safety net and create an excuse for Congress for not dealing with the actual problems we are facing.”
the importance or irrelevance of “concern trolls” notwithstanding i think thats the game…except with a billion dollar national media strategy…the so called “major news organizations” almost unanimously are nothing more than press offices for the oligarchy…we even have a degenerate class of petty nobles with massively oversized power for political malfesance now like any collapsing society worth its salt…Russia and the Ukraine had the Boyars, Germany had the Junkers, we have “The CEO’s”
Great read Jon. Keep telling the truth. Plausible rationalization for whatever bad acts they do. The Congress as the servants of the upper class do not care but will keep the BS going in their well oiled propaganda machine.
Makes perfect (non)sense really. Nobody wants “defense” (war) cuts, GOPers don’t’ want tax hikes, Dems don’t want SS/Medicare cuts. Result: can kick with pinky swear to fix it by (fill in date).
Jon,
Thank you for the post. This is going to get worse before the end of the year.
Today or yesterday, John Boehner said he wants Obamacare put on the negotiating table.
The other night on CBS Evening News, the head of Goldman Sachs, (cannot think of the SOB’s name right now), suggested we needed cuts to the safety net in any negotiations before the end of the year. This creep got a big bank bailout to keep him afloat in 2008-09 and now he becomes an expert on what should happen to the poor and middle classes.
The Democrats are in the driver’s seat if they do not blow this.
Just tell the Republicans, we’re going to end all tax cuts at the end of the year and start anew next year with the new Congress.
Your last paragraph should be faxed to all members of this,stoopid,congress.
Thank you Newt, you evil waste of flesh.
That asshole was the one that separated the debit limit from the spending bill so he could grandstand on “out of control Democratic spending”. He even admitted it when they did that.