Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« A Bit O' Schadenfreude in the Key of Dem [Journolist] | Main | Barney Frank (Team Unicorn) To GOP: Have Fun Confiscating the Skittles We Just Pooped Out to the American People [Dan Cleary] »
November 24, 2010

Debt/Deficit Reduction: Will Obama Again be AWOL? [rdbrewer]

Last year, Obama was criticized for not taking the lead on health care reform. After Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts, Obama's involvement in the negotiatons evaporated. At one point, even Al Franken took David Axlerod aside to ask why the Whitehouse wasn't doing more to help. Franken joined Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown in public criticism of the Whitehouse role. That was around the time Obama turned over health care reform to Nancy Pelosi for the most part.

Now for delegation of leadership, part II. A while back, the Whitehouse charged Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson with discovering what could be done about the debt/deficit. Obama made them co-chairs of the bi-partisan Debt Commission. Good so far. But since the time of their November 10th draft proposal, liberals and conservatives alike have been grousing, since both spending cuts and tax increases have been proposed. On the plus side, there has been scant praise--which is better than no praise. What is a politican like Obama to do? Well, he could duck and cover like he did when Scott Brown was elected.

Yet missing from the conversation in any kind of forceful way has been the president himself. When former Senator Simpson and Mr. Bowles, President Clinton's former chief of staff, put out their draft plan (in a surprise move three weeks before the final report's Dec. 1 due date), Obama was in Asia. A spokesman said he would wait for the final report before commenting.

Obama's Nov. 13 radio address did take a baby step toward committing on fiscal matters: In addressing earmarks, he spoke of putting "our country on the path of fiscal discipline and responsibility."

But Obama probably can't rely on others to do the heavy lifting. Few observers expect the fiscal commission to reach the supermajority needed – 14 out of 18 members, most of them politically sensitive members of Congress – to approve a final report. That means Congress is likely not to face a vote on its recommendations.

But final report or not, Obama has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on a matter of central national importance. Dec. 1 "should mark the handing of the torch to the president to start running with this issue," says Maya MacGuineas, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation in Washington.

The proposal has many worthwhile elements. For example, federal payroll would be cut by 10%. The spending cuts in the plan amount to twice the debt/deficit reduction as do the tax increases.

A week after the Debt Commission released its draft proposal, another bi-partisan committee headed by Alice Rivlin and Pete Domenici released a even tougher proposal. But I'm suspicious of a plan that introduces a federal sales tax without replacing the income tax. Regardless, there are many avenues toward reducing the debt/deficit--many excellent bits and pieces in these plans--and it is looking like Obama will again be AWOL. He's missing an excellent opportunity to take the lead and cobble together a workable plan from these parts. Maybe he could put Nancy Pelosi on it.

Thanks to Gabriel Malor.


digg this
posted by Open Blogger at 02:23 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
JackStraw: ">>Yeah, right AfD wants safety and security for it ..."

grammie winger - cheesehead: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..."

fd: "Mostly peaceful Muslim. Mostly. ..."

FenelonSpoke: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..."

FenelonSpoke: "Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at ..."

Gary Cooper: "Timeanddate is very good, you can put your exact l ..."

Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "The NZ launch reminds me that on last night's ONT ..."

publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " The German elite want to ban the AfD party. Th ..."

Mary Jane Rottencrotch: ">>My ass smells like my ass. Meh.. ..."

grammie winger - cheesehead: "Apparently the Christmas Market murderer was a Sau ..."

publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " "Noon" comes from Latin. The Romans originally ..."

Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "139 Not the best employees will never be found on ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64