Just because the delegation of budget cutting has been relegated to a “Super Committee” doesn’t mean it has any more ability then the previous 4 committees to make the necessary moves towards shrinking the nation’s debt. If anything the term Super Committee reflects the absurdly unrealistic aspirations that a bipartisan group can agree on a plan to cut at least $1.5 trillion in spending over ten years and rewrite the nations tax code in less than three months. Not even the Super Friends would be expected to accomplish such a feat.
The president did not have the power to push through his budget. Or a jobs plan the majority of economists deemed well structured. Romney and Perry both pledge to cut taxes further, regardless of the now common knowledge that the “1%” now control 23.5% of all income and assets. Both parties have been unable to agree on a debt reduction plan. Clearly we are the posterchild of effective governance.
If you’re in a sinking ship and a breached compartment has to be sealed, you don’t stand around arguing why the lever should be pulled, you just do it.
Democrats refuse to cut entitlement spending without tax increases on the highest income bracket, Republicans refuse to raise taxes under any circumstance and want to cut entitlement spending. They say stalemate, I say checkmate. The Democrats are willing to compromise, why aren’t the Republicans?
Don’t worry, the Super Committee will save the day. Oh, did I mention they are at a standstill and no longer seem to be meeting? Did I mention they have until November 23rd to solve all the countries problems? Or did anyone take into consideration that no matter what the Super Committee does, both houses still have to pass their recommendations? Who could expect anything less. The Super Committee is just a miniature Congress with all the same caveats.
Lets look closely at the goals. The budget deficit for 2011 is $1.3 trillion. So let me get this straight, the debt problem will be solved if they agree to $1.5 trillion in cuts over a decade, while in just one year we added $1.3 trillion? Even if they fail and the $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts go through we can still call it a failure. Estimates put the necessary amount needed to stabilize the debt need to be around 4 to 5 trillion dollars in cuts or additional revenue over the next decade. Now rumors are going around that even the $1.2 in auto cuts are no longer sacred, nor is the budget ceiling…again.
Congress looks a lot like Occupy Wall Street: no one wants to be in charge, no one can agree on anything, and nothing substantial is being accomplished. I ask the future Mr. President if he is ready to face a Europe like crisis and what does he plan on doing about it? All we can do is hope Europe keeps the bond markets distracted long enough for us to put our own debt crisis, the US government’s Legion of Doom, out of its misery.
