I agree with some of what the article says, disagree with others. Same with the previous posters on this thread.

What's more important to me now is how we get out of this debt limit pickle. From all that I'm reading and hearing, virtually all constituencies seem to be in favor of the Senate proposal that has been crafted by the Gang of Six rather than the Tea Party House-sponsored bill passed yesterday in the House. That House bill has no chance of enactment into law and everyone knows it. It seems to be a bill passed purely for political reasons.

The more attractive proposal seems to be that which is emerging from the Gang of Six in the Senate. That proposal is very consistent with the proposals made by the Simpson-Bowles Commission and seems to be embraced by almost everyone--except the Tea Party. That seems to include the business community, the financial press, almost all economists that I've read, the foreign press, even the financial markets and the majority of the American public.

The Tea Party proposal--no their demands, really--sets forth a set of conditions that are pretty good ones over the long run, but it'll run the country and our economy off the cliff in the next couple of weeks unless they get realistic. That's what maddens me about the Tea Party, they have some fundamentally good ideas--really good ideas as far as I'm concerned--but they are trying to get them implemented in a way that is sophomoric in the context of how the Congress works and potentially destructive to the country and even the world economy. It's as if they're new to playing the game and don't know the rules. They seem to want the big bite and want it right now, even though they'll find the bite difficult or impossible to swallow. They are adamant instead of accepting a pretty substantial "nibble" (if you call $4 trillion in deficit reductions a nibble) over a longer period and ultimately getting to all of what they stand for.

The potential disaster that would be caused by the enactment of "cut, cap and balance" is so obvious that the Senate has created their own proposed legislation, even though it is exactly opposite of what the Constitution dictates. The Constitution, in Article I, Section 7, says...“All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills."

Our system of government has been in effect and evolving for more than two centuries. The Tea Party is not going to be able to change it in a 180-degree movement overnight. I hope they come to realize that and accept the almost $4 trillion cuts in the deficit that are on the table, leaving the rest of cut, cap and balance for another day--maybe after the 2012 elections. I sure hope they come to that realization soon.