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
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:23 pm
Here you go, getalife. Listen to some Deniece Williams and let all the peaceful vibes flow through your body. Life is too short to be a hater.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9GnkEF_on0
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:31 pm
They have to power to obstruct and they are.
When you can point to any actual legislation coming from the Dem side that the Repubs have blocked, I will agree with you. Not vague proposals thrown out for show, but actual bills that have been presented for a vote.
Politics first, country last.
If Obama wanted to work with the Republicans, he could. But, he’s getting too much political mileage out of doing nothing and blaming the other guy. And as long as rubes like you keep falling for his excuses, nothing is going to change. So that means we’re looking at 4 more uninspiring years of excuses.
Obama = Excuse Maker In Chief.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
7:41 pm
“Life is too short to be a hater.”
Says the con that freaked out about ObamaCare and committed blog suicide.
Anyhoo, stay the course.
Lose again.
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:41 pm
Dreamed of you this morning……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBTZX1eixc
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
7:47 pm
Hope you cheer up soon, get.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD-VvbGa8H4
getalife
March 1st, 2013
7:56 pm
No scandals, no new wars, no attacks on the homeland, no collapses, steady job growth, etc….
I am happy with our President but still have to work on creating jobs not killing them.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:05 pm
Cheesy: Real men like that ?
———————
Real men like those who don’t wear Mom-jeans, girls bike helmets, and wh can throw a baseball. Real men who solve problems instead of creating them and then rabble-rousing to get his Idiot receptacles to the polls. Real men who sign budgets.
Obozo: Worst ever.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:06 pm
LOL @ “steady job growth”.
Unemployment higher today than when your messiah took office.
Heckuva job, Barry.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 1st, 2013
8:08 pm
…and blaming the other guy.
Jimmy Carter says, “What?”
And as long as rubes like you keep falling for his excuses, nothing is going to change.
The smoking gun is the mushroom cloud.
We will be greeted as liberators.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
8:09 pm
Obozo: Worst ever.
And yet, Romney still couldn’t defeat him.
Maybe y’all shoulda gone with Elmer Fudd, huh?
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:12 pm
Obozo: Worst ever. And yet, Romney still couldn’t defeat him.
——————
Yep. Santa Claus is still undefeated. Parasites win again.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:13 pm
Remember when presidents led? So four years ago.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
8:15 pm
Yep. Santa Claus is still undefeated.
You still believe in Santa Claus?
There’s your sign.
Stand up straight son, the top of your head isn’t visible over that podium in the county commissioners office.
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
8:16 pm
Can’t wait for the warm weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFt7JHwJeg
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:17 pm
Our President Bush was handed a dot-com bomb and fixed it. He was handed the 9/11 attack, hatched and launched by his do-nothing predecessor, and fixed Islamofascist terrorism. Bush was handed a country full of Democrats who stopped paying their mortgages and fixed the financial meltdown.
Obozo: Nada. Another do-nothing, America-hating petulant putz creating problems for Real Americans to solve after he’s gone.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:18 pm
“the top of your head isn’t visible over that podium in the county commissioners office”
————–
Still stuck on stupid, Kammy? You have me confused with someone else.
Bruno
March 1st, 2013
8:20 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi7mq3MEVeM
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
March 1st, 2013
8:28 pm
LBB,you never have to ask if Kamchak is stuck on stupid.
His misinformed and repetitive statements proves that it is his default state.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
8:29 pm
You have me confused with someone else.
The Hansard family knows exactly who you are.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
8:31 pm
Bait.
Cast.
STRIKE!
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:32 pm
Kammy’s complete, total, and unconditional surrender are accepted.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:33 pm
Kammy, put away your Popeil Pocket Fisherman. It’s pathetic. Just like your Idiot Messiah and his loser base.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
March 1st, 2013
8:35 pm
Trying to convince Kamchak hat he is wrong about something is like arguing with a wall.
Except the wall is much smarter.
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
8:36 pm
Kammy’s complete, total, and unconditional surrender are[sic] accepted.
There’s your sign.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
8:40 pm
Oh, I’m not trying to convince Kammy of anything. Just playing with the silly toy.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
March 1st, 2013
8:49 pm
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?
Excuse me whackjob, but exactly who is paying for obozo’s extravagance?
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
9:04 pm
who is paying for obozo’s extravagance?
——————
China and your grandkids.
indigo
March 1st, 2013
9:08 pm
Barry
You want Obama, covered in sackcloth and ashes, and on bended knee before Boehner, begging forgiveness for his liberal sins.
Your foolishness is only matched by your ignorance.
And, you are a poster boy for why no one should ever be home schooled.
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
9:13 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbpwlqp5Qw
Hillbilly D
March 1st, 2013
9:22 pm
If you’re under the influence of any mind altering substances, you probably ought to pass this one up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VHGHId6-OU
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
9:22 pm
indigo: You want Obama, covered in sackcloth and ashes, and on bended knee before Boehner
—————————
I’d settle for him acting like a man, an American, a competent adult.
ODD OWL
March 1st, 2013
9:32 pm
The non rich people who vote Republican are responsible for their economic predicament and they want to drag the rational people who vote Democrat down into the bottom of the economic abysis with them… Misery loves company…
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
9:37 pm
Excuse me whackjob, but exactly who is paying for obozo’s extravagance?
George W. Bush says,
“What?”“Now, watch this drive!”ODD OWL
March 1st, 2013
9:43 pm
We know that rich millionaires and billionaires are not paying for anything… The elite privileged pay only a minimal 13% capital gain tax rate on their millions and billions… The non rich pay a hefty 35% federal income tax rate… Fair and balance is totally out of balance and unfair…
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
March 1st, 2013
9:47 pm
kamwhack – I like totally understand where you are coming from. My president golfed when times were good but soon ditched the game because troops were overseas fighting for the country. Your “president” golfs while the economy is in the tank, he threatens working people with their jobs and tells the rest of us to “tighten our belts,” but what I understand is that you are a stooge and a tool and would never question the actions of your tinpot.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
9:55 pm
ODD OWL
We know that rich millionaires and billionaires are not paying for anything
The fact is that millionaires and billionaires pay a higher rate than you do.
The elite privileged pay only a minimal 13% capital gain tax rate on their millions and billions
There is no 13% rate on capital gains for anyone.
The non rich pay a hefty 35% federal income tax rate
There isn’t an income quintile that pays a 35% federal income tax rate.
If you insist on being smacked down, I’ll be happy to provide links to federal government websites that show that you’re lying.
But I suspect your post is merely an ignorant drive-by.
James
March 1st, 2013
9:59 pm
Obama, ” The Buck stops over there “
Old Timer
March 1st, 2013
10:01 pm
Just remember folks nearly Half of the country didn’t vote for Obama. The Demo’s bought off the Major Networks, the Auto Indudstry and lot of votes in Pennsylvania. He doesn’t really represent nearly half of the population. Keep that in mind. If he was a kid in the old days he would probably had his mouth washed out wiith soap for telling big ones. He was too young for Viet Nam. I would have liked to see him stand before the a Drill Instructor I had during the Korean War..
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
March 1st, 2013
10:08 pm
Obozo doesn’t represent half the nation, but he does represent ALL the parasites.
ODD OWL
March 1st, 2013
10:42 pm
There is nothing worse than a bunch of Republican losers making up lame arse excuses for hanging on to the coattail of a loser like Mittens Romney… Most of the “for sale” signs in the town i live in are in front of houses own by non rich, paycheck to paycheck lower class and middle class people who vote Republican… Non rich Republicans = Losers
Kamchak - You cons said Elmer Fudd could defeat Obama, so why didn't you nominate him?
March 1st, 2013
10:42 pm
Shorter Fable boy: IOKIYAR
getalife
March 1st, 2013
10:43 pm
He is President of the United States.
Show some respect cons.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
March 1st, 2013
10:48 pm
I will never respect socialist tinpots.
bluecoat
March 1st, 2013
10:58 pm
Cursings and blessings coming out of the same mouth.
bluecoat
March 1st, 2013
11:01 pm
The guy in fl,whose bedroom fell into the sinkhole may have thought the sky was falling.If he had time to think.sad
nomaj
March 1st, 2013
11:01 pm
Pull out of Afghanistan now, and cut the military budget in half.
bluecoat
March 1st, 2013
11:10 pm
Cotton picker even told Chrysler moving Jeep production to China,Don’t blame you Oldtimer I would not have voted for him either.
getalife
March 1st, 2013
11:13 pm
“I will never respect socialist tinpots.”
So we have Canada care?
Nope.
The Kid
March 1st, 2013
11:46 pm
You white boys just can’t stand the fact that a brother is the president. That’s what’s wrong with them boys in Washington. Ole Mitch and Short man Rand from racist Kentucky are plum flabbergasted. Them boys back home would never let them live it down if they took orders from a ‘ colerd’. Blubbering Boehner, Miss Lyndsey Graham and Senile McCain are just all a-twisted. Everybody already knows what to expect from backwards Ga. In fact you confederates should just secede from these here newnighted states.
Patty
March 2nd, 2013
12:02 am
Oh my gosh, Kid, what hole did you crawl out of? And why is it every time someone disagrees with the President, someone has to play the race card? I don’t give a flying fart if Obama is black, white, purple or green–he’s not leading this country. Just kicking the can down the road and blaming everyone in his wake.