Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said the goal of slicing more than $2 trillion from the federal budget by 2021 falls far short of the savings needed to stabilize borrowing, reenergize the economy and avert the threat of a debt crisis.
“A $2 trillion package sounds big, but I think most serious observers would tell you that it takes a package of at least $4 trillion to fundamentally change the trajectory we’re on,” Conrad told reporters. “In the context of our debt, which is nearly $15 trillion and is headed for $25 trillion, $2 trillion over 10 years does not do the job.”
To recap, the Dems' point man in the Senate on the debt ceiling is saying giving away $2 trillion in spending cuts is too small. He wants at least $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years, which will basically guarantee anyone not making six figures is going to be screwed. As Steve Benen asks, if Conrad and the Senate Democrats' official position is that they want $4 trillion in cuts, what do the Republicans want? They've already doubled back on business payroll tax cuts. The answer of course is Social Security cuts. What about the White House? Who knows?
It's pretty grim here, folks. And the best part is when the economy stalls into a long-term recession, Republicans will blame the Dems for not cutting enough spending. Why the Dems are falling for this idiocy, I'll never understand.
Stan Collender tries to make sense of it all:
Given that a debt ceiling increase is even more politically toxic than the [2010 continuing budget resolution], it’s likely that anything Boehner might agree to while playing golf with the president or Cantor agrees to as part of the Biden-led summit won’t be acceptable to large numbers of the House GOP caucus.
The same is true on the other side of the aisle because it’s not clear that an administration-negotiated deal will be acceptable to all Democrats.
This is especially the case now because the president’s Osama bin Laden bump in the polls is over and his approval rating again is hovering between 46 percent and 49 percent.
In addition, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to many that the almost guaranteed opposition by a substantial number of Republicans to a debt ceiling increase means that no bill can pass the House without substantial Democratic support. That math will prevent the president from agreeing to the type of budget agreement the GOP says it must have.
On top of everything else, there are strong indications that, contrary to initial statements by some on Capitol Hill, Wall Street will react negatively and that what so far has been limited pressure on Members of Congress to raise the debt ceiling will be substantially different in the not-too-distant future.
Which is what I've been saying for months now.
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