Deficit solution will have to wait for 2012 elections
So, the congressional “super committee” failed to agree to a deal that would cut deficits. Maybe the defense-heavy spending cuts will now take effect, or maybe Congress will find a way to finagle its way out of them.
A deal that reformed entitlements and the tax code would have been great. But it was never terribly likely.
As much as people like to wring their hands about partisanship and ideological inflexibility, the fact is that there is a deep divide in this country about how to fix the nation’s finances. Oh, sure, you can find polls whose respondents largely say, “cut spending and raise taxes!” But dig much deeper, and the specifics — usually, cut the spending I don’t like (on programs that amount to peanuts), and raise other people’s taxes — don’t lend themselves to a grand bargain.
There is an election in 11.5 months, and no issue before the electorate surpasses the urgent importance of this one. There won’t be a breakthrough on it before then. Whether we get one afterward, and how soon, will depend a) on the results, and b) how soon the inevitable arrives.
Because the day of reckoning is inevitable: Anything that can’t go on forever, as the economist Herb Stein is said to have pointed out, won’t. And this definitely can’t.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
178 comments Add your comment
gm
November 22nd, 2011
12:30 pm
UGA 1999
2012 Republicans will win by a landslide for the Presidency and the Senate
What are you smoking the trouble with you right nuts, the nation is watching those idiots you have up there debating, not one of those people look like they can run this nation, all of them have baggage from womenizing to cheating on their wifes, do you think the American people are stupid?
You rep right wing think you are the only people in America, their are a lot of people that dont look like you who are laughing at those idiots, please stop looking at 3 time college drop out, hypocrite Sean Hannity and high school drop out rush limbaugh they have no clue about real Americans”””
Bart Abel
November 22nd, 2011
12:32 pm
Correcting my typo” “…in which case $1.2 trillion in defense and non-defense spending would be triggered…”
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:32 pm
Bart….then you need to watch it again and again and again until the message sinks in.
Now medicare, defense and other governmental programs. Good Job Obama….taking Medicare away from those poor and elderly folks….shame on you.
Bart Abel
November 22nd, 2011
12:33 pm
Correcting my typo again: “…in which case $1.2 trillion in defense and non-defense spending CUTS would be triggered…”
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:35 pm
gm…and they are all more electable than Obama right now. Thanks.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:36 pm
Bart….yep GREAT idea. Lets cut funding to our beloved troops…>great job!
Bart Abel
November 22nd, 2011
12:39 pm
Listening to a video 100 times doesn’t make something that wasn’t said magically appear.
You you refuse to provide an EXACT quote, in quotation marks, of what he said that you claim is a lie. Instead, you claim he said something, no quotation, that isn’t in your video.
What is it with you guys? You try to have a discussion, but you don’t even care about the most fundamental facts. You posted a video, UGA, and claimed the President said something that he didn’t say, and then called that thing that he didn’t say a lie. Truly bizarre.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:40 pm
Bart….Exact quote??? How about the entire thing!
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
12:41 pm
UGA, there is no reason to cut funding for our troops, yet every reason to bring them home and stop the spending of U.S. dollars in foreign countries. Surely you don’t believe that all defense funding goes directly to the troops and their support, do you?
There’s plenty to cut in defense without endangering our troops.
gm
November 22nd, 2011
12:43 pm
UGA 1999
That why Obama beats them in every poll, with a bad economy, and with the campign ads they are running against him, wait till Obama starts running ads against these hypocrites and expose them forwhat they really are, he wins by a landslide.”””
Family values and morals values along gets him a landslide””
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:44 pm
Tiberius….yes every dollar that goes to the military supports our troops in some capacity. I agree that the majority of our troops should come home….no arguement there.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:46 pm
Gm….”That why Obama beats them in every poll, with a bad economy, and with the campign ads”
#1 Nice grammar!
#2 Bad economy, thanks Obama!
Dont you realize that Obama has been campaigning over the past two years. Sorry bro, the Hope and Change BS is not going to work this time. He knows it.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
12:47 pm
“yes every dollar that goes to the military supports our troops in some capacity.”
Not even close, UGA. There is a HUGE infrastructure being funded by our tax dollars in defense that has virtually nothing to do with support for the troops in the field.
Bart Abel
November 22nd, 2011
12:47 pm
Cutting defense funding is not the same as cutting funding to our troops. It’s odd that Republicans think that there’s so much waste in government…except defense.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:48 pm
Tiberius….any infrastructure is being build to support America and our troops.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
12:49 pm
Bart…..you are right.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
12:52 pm
“That why Obama beats them in every poll, with a bad economy, and with the campign ads they are running against him, wait till Obama starts running ads against these hypocrites and expose them forwhat they really are, he wins by a landslide.”
Except that he doesn’t beat them in every poll, gm, and national polls mean nothing when it comes to the Electoral College. State polls mean much more, and they aren’t nearly as favorable to the current disaster-in-chief. In addition, he has the bully pulpit of 24/7 campaigning right now, and his numbers are simply horrendous, so the addition of ads once a GOP nominee is selected will be minimal.
“Family values and morals values along gets him a landslide”
There will be no landslide on either side. No more than a 30-50 win at best depending on the direction about 10 swing states go. And family values and morals takes a solid back seat to the economy and jobs, gm.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
12:55 pm
“any infrastructure is being build to support America and our troops.”
So you see absolutely no waste in our defense department, UGA, even though there is waste and fraud in virtually every other government agency we have? Defense is magically waste and fraud-free?
Really?
gm
November 22nd, 2011
1:03 pm
UGA 1999
You are dreaming my man, the tea party and fox news are not going to get the rep party in the white house.
I was happy when the rep took the house in 2010, because I knew these people were going to be exposed for protecting the rich and America has discover these people care nothing about jobs and the working class.
What is congress approval rating around 8% know one expect Obama to win in the south the menatlity speaks for it self, thank God we have normal Americans in the North and Midwest, who want the President of the United States to succceed.
Thank God for Florida who people are a little more open minded than the billy bobs of the south, expectations in the south is always lower, look at Georgia with rep the state, it speaks for it self”””’
HDB
November 22nd, 2011
1:04 pm
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
11:10 am
I can debate the level of spending…sometimes, you HAVE to spend more to arrest certain things…like a recession!!! If you look at where bush LEFT us….and what Obama has had to do to CORRECT this….then it’s evident that the spending was NECESSARY!!!
Bush’s spending was NEVER questioned while he was in office……and it’s BECAUSE of what he did, Obama had to do what HE DID!!
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
1:09 pm
“Bush’s spending was NEVER questioned while he was in office”
Yes, it was. Just not enough, by enough.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
1:16 pm
“know one expect Obama to win in the south the menatlity speaks for it self,”
When one is decrying the “mentality of the south”, one should be cognizant of the following things:
1. Run-on sentences are a no-no.
2. You should use the proper usage of the work “no”. Which you obviously don’t “know”.
3. “Expect” when used in this sentence should be “expects”.
4. “South” should be capitalized.
5. A “.” or a “;” should follow “South.
6. Never accuse someone of being of lesser intelligence when you can’t properly form a coherent and properly spelled sentence, gm.
“thank God we have normal Americans in the North and Midwest”
YOU do not get to determine what or who is “normal” for Americans, gm.
gm
November 22nd, 2011
1:53 pm
Tiberius – Your lightning rod of hate!
I guess when you have no answer you have to be a english teacher now, I expected just a little bit come back, the truth always hurt the billy bobs of the south.
The problems with people like you and the south, your history is such a dark and ugly place, the rest of the world expects nothing different, that why people can say you are not normal your history proved that.
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
2:11 pm
HDB….Really? Obama had to spend $105 Billion on Obamacare? He had to? Really?
UGA 1999
November 22nd, 2011
2:12 pm
Tiber…..Gm is a fool, just let him be.
bigguy
November 22nd, 2011
4:51 pm
UGA, the scary part is that people like gm elected Obummer.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
November 22nd, 2011
5:01 pm
gm, for your information, I was born and raised in Massachusetts.
Fool.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
November 23rd, 2011
7:12 am
At least defense spending goes to an actual responsibility of the federal government, rather than to any of the many unconstitutional libtard wealth redistribution failures.