How the present fiscal ‘crisis’ rolls right into the next one
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had any pieces of sky falling on my head today.
The automatic spending cuts known as sequestration take effect beginning today. It’s a little early to gauge whether doom is truly upon us, but the way Americans sense the cuts have affected them — or not — will help determine how the next serial “crisis” is teed up.
We already know what that crisis will be: the debate over a new continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. Because congressional Democrats have given up on the budgeting process, which would force them to commit in black-letter documents to the kind of tax-and-spend plans they desire for the coming years, the government ends up being funded for a few months at a time. The latest CR expires later this month, so it would seem the debate will now shift to that fight.
It would seem so, except that that fight is the one the White House has been waging for a couple of weeks now.
The intent of the scare stories about sequestration, in all likelihood, were only partly about sequestration. President Obama no doubt would have loved for congressional Republicans to back down and either kick the cuts down the road a bit further, as they did in the “fiscal cliff” deal, or even agree to some new taxes in place of, say, defense cuts. But he was also fully aware that leverage was ultimately on Republicans’ side if they were resolved to let sequestration proceed — as was the case for him in the fiscal-cliff talks, when taxes were scheduled to go up if no one did anything.
So, it’s altogether likely that Obama wanted to talk up the effects of the sequestration cuts not just to pressure them to cave now, but also to build leverage for the CR discussions. After all, if Americans do feel pain from sequestration, he can argue for higher spending in the CR. If they don’t, he can claim to have taken all possible measures to avoid pain now — but to be without any such protective options if spending falls further in the CR.
The talk about “balance” — i.e., raising taxes — will become even louder when the CR is debated. Never mind that the tax hikes in the fiscal-cliff deal are double the spending cuts under sequestration.
The question now becomes: What do most Americans think about the changes wrought by both deals? Will they feel more affected by the tax hikes or the spending cuts? And will they then balk at going further down one road or the other — or maybe find themselves willing to keep going down both?
One would think the fact that everyone’s payroll taxes went up would trump the far less universal spending cuts. But there will be a lot of argument-by-anecdote about spending cuts in the coming weeks to try to negate that.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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499 comments Add your comment
Real Athens
March 1st, 2013
4:19 pm
Ahhh, political blogging — the golf of sports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCm9788Tb5g
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:19 pm
“Doubt he’ll ever get back in. ”
The sequestration was his idea and they tried it before but congress made sure nothing was cut.
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
4:20 pm
The obamickens are having obamagasums thinking about how to blame the GOP and the right for any economic pain from sequestration. They hope obama’s doom and gloom predictions all come true in apocalyptic fashion.
However, all of this might do some real good when states and people learn that withdrawal symptoms from a Federal funding addiction can be a painful thing. Possibly they might want to become recovering addicts?
Don Abernethy
March 1st, 2013
4:20 pm
I am 77 years old and this Congress and President are the poorest leaders I have ever witnessed since I started voting over 50 years ago. If ,God forbid, we had another WW II we would be in serious trouble.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:22 pm
“You went full-tilt left, I went full-tilt right.”
Actually, I moved from center right to center left but you moved into a radical rw extremist
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
4:24 pm
getalife
Gramm went to help the banks and make a lot of money, so he’s no reason to go back. Besides, he works for a big international bank now doesn’t he?
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:25 pm
Don,
Instead of doing their job on a budget, we get this self defeatist, self inflicted congress bs.
The cons blame the President for congress’s failures so congress gets a free pass as usual.
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
4:25 pm
It collapsed under w’s watch but would like to see the list of “there is plenty of blame to go around” to get people like gramm out of government permanently.
Which proves it took time for the collapse to happen that Brooksley Born warned about. Now get an education instead of continuing spouting your ignorance again again and again. Just watch, that should be easy enough even for you.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1302794657/
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:28 pm
“Besides, he works for a big international bank now doesn’t he?”
I should have said his failed ideas should never be used in government but have no idea what he does and do not care.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:29 pm
Micheal,
I listen to folks that predicted the collapse not failed rw media,
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
4:32 pm
getalife you call or dare think PBS is rw media?!
Now what was that you said about a party being STUPID!
@@
March 1st, 2013
4:32 pm
Hillbilly:
I was in lower Alabama earlier this week. Attended my Aunt’s funeral.
Getalife:
rw extremist?
Nah…I can be found somewhere between the Tea Party and OWS, although I’m not looking for a handout, neither am I looking to give the feds one.
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
4:33 pm
Attended my Aunt’s funeral.
Sorry to hear that.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:35 pm
There was one fiscal con during the w disaster and his name was Jeff Flake.
Then you had Senator Dorgan, Dr. Doom, Krugman and Stiglitz that predicted the collapse and how to recover from it.
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
4:37 pm
I can be found somewhere between the Tea Party and OWS,
You may need to learn this and there could be a secret handshake involved, not sure. (IWH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhJWd8-YAso
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:38 pm
@@,
Sorry to hear about your Aunt.
” between the Tea Party and OWS,”
That would be the center.
saywhat?
March 1st, 2013
4:43 pm
Aesop’s Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
March 1st, 2013
4:18 pm
indie – obozo is the time off queen of the world. The teleprompter instructs him to tell us to tighten our belts and then he jets off to some exotic locale.
———————————————-
Your wealth envy is showing. Why do you want to punish success? The man ran for President and won. He wrote two books and they sold well, making him millions (and they weren’t bought by some cheesy conservative think tank and given away for free). Don’t be jealous just because he is so much more capable and successful than you will ever be.
What frickin’ business is it of yours who he golfs with or where? Nobody will criticize YOU if YOU go to Florida and golf with Tiger Woods. If you want to, what’s stopping you? If you don’t, why whine about it if somebody else does?
Politico
March 1st, 2013
4:45 pm
When the best you have is “leg humper” to refute you blatant hypocrisy and lack of character………. it says all you need to know
take care now
getalife
March 1st, 2013
4:52 pm
getalife you call or dare think PBS is rw media?!
Sorry, I stopped reading con links a long time ago but Born told greenspan he failed and she is right.
Also, she said we are repeating the same mistakes and nothing changed wall street.
vitter and brown will try to break up the banks but the banks own congress with unlimited bribes and it will fail.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
March 1st, 2013
4:54 pm
Considering that every response you have for me, politico, is the same thing over and over, leg humper pretty much says it all.
If you want an intelligent conversation, you will need to developed some depth and intelligence.
I’m not holding my breath.
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
4:55 pm
getalife, there were people in the ’90s during the “CLINTON YEARS” who warned of the financial disaster and I gave you one in Brooksley Born. Now face reality you can’t hang the collapse solely on Bush, the GOP or Consevratives.
Clinton and the Democrats were involved in the creation of the collapse as much, if not more than the GOP from the ’90s. It certainly didn’t begin or did it end with Bush.
And by the way, Greenspan is not from the right.He is not a conservative by any stretch.
He is a true left-libertarian, Et al Laissez-faire Capitalist, which means he is a CLASSICAL LIBERAL.
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
4:59 pm
Personally, I think the seeds of our problems were sewn in the bank deregulation that started in the late 1970’s. At the time, I thought it was a good idea but with the benefit of hindsight, I was a damn fool when it came to that.
Politico
March 1st, 2013
4:59 pm
Tiberius
If you quit being a hypocrite and whining about name calling and insults when you are one of the worst on this blog in regards to those very things then I will stop calling you out
little deputy fife
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
5:00 pm
Sorry, I stopped reading con links a long time ago
Oh that’s fine, I still expose liberal lies and ignorance of the facts for the benefit of those who aren’t brainwashed or braindead. They usually realize a link to PBS is more likely to be liberal leaning than conservative.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
5:01 pm
The buck stops with w because he was President when he said this sucker could go down and it did.
It exposed government sponsored enterprise was a bad idea for the people but great for the wealthy that got bailed out with the people’s money. Socialism saved fascism if you will.
Bottom line, it is a horrrible idea to give the banks, corps and military complex a blank check to rob our treasury like the robber barons and then the gop cry about it.
Michael H. Smith
March 1st, 2013
5:03 pm
Goodnight to all.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
5:08 pm
Micheal,
Your party voted for it but you give them a free pass.
Retired Soldier
March 1st, 2013
5:09 pm
AQ-
And denial is not a river.
@@
March 1st, 2013
5:12 pm
Hillbilly:
About that secret handshake
I wouldn’t be holding up that many fingers. Two at the most…one on each hand.
Enough blogging for moi.
Center right, Getalife. The more push from the left, the farther right I’ll go. It’s human nature.
Politico
March 1st, 2013
5:13 pm
“The more push from the left, the farther right I’ll go.”
That works two ways and always as. That’s why we see swings and always will
getalife
March 1st, 2013
5:14 pm
@@,
I am center left so we are not that far apart.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
5:16 pm
The Dems did not start new occupations,collapsed the economy or voted to end SS and Medicare so I have to go left.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
March 1st, 2013
5:19 pm
Politico, when you stop calling me short ( which I have already debunked) and repeating the same issues you think you have with me, I’ll stop referring to you as a leg humper
But I know you’re not capable.
Politico
March 1st, 2013
5:23 pm
yap, yap, yap little hypocrite
don’t fall off that step stool
Politico
March 1st, 2013
5:24 pm
and as for you not being a hypocrite as you are daily
In your own words
“But I know you’re not capable.”
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
March 1st, 2013
5:30 pm
As I surmised.
Google "NEA" and "union"
March 1st, 2013
5:32 pm
This president has indeed turned into The Great Divider over this and other issues.
Hey Kyle, hope you won’t mind too much if I park here a comment left earlier on the Get Schooled blog. The moderator there hates dissenting opinions and so often delays or blocks me—as she did today. The issue discussed was state legislation affecting our schools. Anyway here’s the banned comment:
“Do a Google search on “NEA” and “donations” to see which Democrats are receiving money from the anti-reform, anti-choice National Education Association. Or just click on the link below:
ref: http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000064
Politico
March 1st, 2013
5:45 pm
like wise………..
indigo
March 1st, 2013
5:57 pm
Aesop – 4:18
Clueless, as always.
http://factcheck.org/2010/01/president-obamas-vacation-days/
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
6:30 pm
Big Wingfield “Welcome Back” to @@:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfX7HS1prJc
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
6:35 pm
For the one who still has my heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSfOB8ANdWU
getalife
March 1st, 2013
6:39 pm
We are out of adjectives to describe the party of stupid so I will just use the initials pos, if you will.
The pos will now cry about unemployment rising and austerity will fail to keep our recovery going.
Bottom line, you can’t cry about our economy pos.
Rafe Hollister preparing for an Obamanist America
March 1st, 2013
6:46 pm
getalife is as “center left” as Michael Bloomberg is a “center right Republican”. Whoppers are not just burgers in Louisiana!
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
6:46 pm
No unemployment here, getalife. I’m back to 6 days per week starting next week. You’ll have to find some Libs to cry in your beer with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrdHdxHl3U
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
6:59 pm
When I saw AWB a few years back, my GF and I were the only white people in the audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_sjaHvUINg
getalife
March 1st, 2013
7:12 pm
It is just flat out ignorant and reckless to attack our economy right now.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
7:15 pm
Rafe,
I moved left with our President because I am a proud American fighting against ignorance and self inflicted gop bs.
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:15 pm
getalife–Has it occurred to you that the Republicans have very little power right now?? If you’re looking for a scapegoat, you might consider blaming those who can actually do something about it.
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:18 pm
One more from AWB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Wke_STL5I
getalife
March 1st, 2013
7:19 pm
They have to power to obstruct and they are.
Politics first, country last.