Guest
07-09-2011, 09:09 PM
...coming back one last time to point out who seems to be really serious about fiscal reform in Washington. I was very pleased when President Obama upped the ante and called for $4 trillion in deficit reductions instead of the $2 trillion proposed by the GOP conservatives and tea partiers. The President's proposal actually embraced much of what was proposed in Paul Ryan's budget proposal. I had hoped that such a bold proposal would get everyone on board and working towards a solution to a dire problem for the country.
But tonight's press release by John Boehner, before the meeting to continue the negotiations, tells the tale as to who's serious and who's not about cutting government spending, to include a reworking of the entitlement programs and cutting the defense budget, which everyone admits are at the heart of the problem. Boehner admitted that the GOP will settle for far less in spending cuts because they are unwilling to consider a reworking of the tax code and corporate deductions and other benefits and increased taxes on the top 1% of personal income earners.
Boehner proposed that a "smaller deal could be sold as a 'downpayment' to Congress, but it won't be enough to stop the growth of ballooning deficits, which are expected to worsen in the next decade because of the aging U.S. population and rising health care costs..." Here's the article from The Wall Street Journal on Boehner's announcement...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576436593803873296.html?m od=djemalertNEWS
The president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said, "It's unfortunate if they can't find a way to make a big deal workable, because anything short of that means we are going to have to go through all of these difficult negotiations again in the near future,"
Yeah, it is sad. But it clearly shows who's serious and who's not about cutting federal spending. And it is a clear an indication as any we've seen on who's doing what the special interests and big donors want and who's willing to pay a political price for some tough decisions. What you'll hear echoing on the news analyses of this decision by the Republicans will be that the GOP fixation with protecting tax breaks for corporate special interests and the very wealthy prevented them from agreeing to a balanced and broad deficit reduction plan to help our economy and our country. What a shame!
But tonight's press release by John Boehner, before the meeting to continue the negotiations, tells the tale as to who's serious and who's not about cutting government spending, to include a reworking of the entitlement programs and cutting the defense budget, which everyone admits are at the heart of the problem. Boehner admitted that the GOP will settle for far less in spending cuts because they are unwilling to consider a reworking of the tax code and corporate deductions and other benefits and increased taxes on the top 1% of personal income earners.
Boehner proposed that a "smaller deal could be sold as a 'downpayment' to Congress, but it won't be enough to stop the growth of ballooning deficits, which are expected to worsen in the next decade because of the aging U.S. population and rising health care costs..." Here's the article from The Wall Street Journal on Boehner's announcement...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576436593803873296.html?m od=djemalertNEWS
The president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said, "It's unfortunate if they can't find a way to make a big deal workable, because anything short of that means we are going to have to go through all of these difficult negotiations again in the near future,"
Yeah, it is sad. But it clearly shows who's serious and who's not about cutting federal spending. And it is a clear an indication as any we've seen on who's doing what the special interests and big donors want and who's willing to pay a political price for some tough decisions. What you'll hear echoing on the news analyses of this decision by the Republicans will be that the GOP fixation with protecting tax breaks for corporate special interests and the very wealthy prevented them from agreeing to a balanced and broad deficit reduction plan to help our economy and our country. What a shame!