"Supercommittee" Truth
Categories: Ideas, Current Events, Values, Surprises, Republicans, Campaign 2012, thoughts, Protesting, Stupidity, Economy, Media
We need to jump smack-dab into the middle of Paul Krugman's as-always eloquent op-ed piece:
"So the supercommittee brought together legislators who disagree completely both about how the world works and about the proper role of government. Why did anyone think this would work?
"Well, maybe the idea was that the parties would compromise out of fear
that there would be a political price for seeming intransigent. But this
could only happen if the news media were willing to point out who is
really refusing to compromise. And they aren’t. If and when the
supercommittee fails, virtually all news reports will be he-said,
she-said, quoting Democrats who blame Republicans and vice versa without
ever explaining the truth."
And then Mr. Krugman explains that the supercommittee will fail and tells us why that’s good ...
"For one thing, history tells us that the Republican Party would renege on its side of any deal as soon as it got the chance. Remember, the U.S. fiscal outlook was pretty good in 2000, but, as soon as Republicans gained control of the White House, they squandered the surplus on tax cuts and unfunded wars ..."And of course "we eventually have to match spending and revenue.
"But the decision about how to do that isn’t about accounting. It’s about fundamental values — and it’s a decision that should be made by voters, not by some committee that allegedly transcends the partisan divide.
"Eventually, one side or the other of that divide will get the kind of
popular mandate it needs to resolve our long-run budget issues. Until
then, attempts to strike a Grand Bargain are fundamentally destructive.
"If the supercommittee fails, as expected, it will be time to celebrate."
Woo hoo!
Carolan
Comments