Media love the “middle” in politics–where leaders of the two major parties come together to find common ground, renew the national spirit and/or live up to the ideals of the Founders. Time magazine (7/14/11) has a soppy piece about Barack Obama and Republican leader John Boehner‘s attempt to reach a budget deal.
Those efforts–some of which happened in secret–are, according to reporters Jay Newton-Small and Michael Scherer,
the story of two self-described dealmakers in a town where dealing is often a synonym for surrender, who ran up against the limits of their roles, their powers and their colleagues. Boehner and Obama have gotten credit for thinking big and working to overhaul outdated economic policies. But they waited too long to start, in part because they didn’t take the time to get to know each other years ago. They also misjudged their armies: They rode out to rescue the country, only to watch many of their followers run for the hills.
They explain how the pair came up with the idea to use the debt ceiling as a lever for a budget deal in order to
freeze out their respective extremists and make the kind of historic deal that no one really thought possible anymore–bigger than when Reagan and Tip O’Neill overhauled the tax code in 1986 or when Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich passed welfare reform a decade later.
You got it– each side has its crazies that prevent great things from happening. Obama tried to freeze the left-wing extremists, and Boehner has…. well…I guess the upshot, according to Time, is unfortunately all the extremists balked; the left wouldn’t cut Social Security benefits, the right wouldn’t make wealthy people pay any more in taxes:
The Republican refusal to consider any new revenues, including making easy fixes to the tax code to close loopholes for businesses and other groups that don’t need public subsidies, is as recklessly absolutist as Democrats’ insistence that bloated entitlement programs are untouchable.
Protecting Social Security benefits (average monthly check: $1,177) is just the same as protecting corporations from paying higher taxes. That makes sense only in The Sensible Center that the Beltway media have concocted.
William K. Holsman
I can’t understand how even the sensible center (a misnomer for sure)can make a comparison in these circumstances except that they somehow think these tax v. spend issues happen to be on one side (so to speak) or the other of a budget problem. Wow!
Robert Grant
You have two choices, heads or tails. It is the same coin. A two party system is easy to control. That’s why we have it that way.
Things are starting to look like the 1948 German economic reform. Germany just couldn’t pay for WW2. We still have to pay for Chaney’s Iraq War. Someone has to pay.
Michael Shaw
Sensible Center is a buzz term for neoconservative.
Michael Shaw
It also makes it justify another false term, compromise.
Michael Shaw
As for the leftist crazies, we’re mostly the sick and elderly and people who respect the Bill of Rights and the New Deal. We are also the victims of this latest tirade committed by the one big two party system.
Jean Clelland-Morin
“..Reagan and Tip O’Neill overhauled the tax code…”?!!!!! What did they do? It’s still a stinky, convoluted, corrupt system. / I didn’t vote for “bipartisanship” or compromise. I voted for CHANGE!
Desiree
I voted for CHANGE as well . Haven’t seen much of it. I’ve seen a lot of the SAME!
Martha H
Social Security is not causing the deficit. The Social Security program has an indedendent budget that is separate from the rest of the federal government. My mom worked for 50+ years, until she was 80! Her SS check before she passed away was less than $1000/ month. How is this a “bloated entitlement?” Just eliminate the cap on earnings that are taxed, and Social Security will thrive forever! (Unless the R’s get their way and privatize it, in which case seniors will be screwed.)
michael e
Obama threatens to stop SS checks?…..I thought it was in the lock box. Completely solvent.Actually it is just another ponzi scheme.As far as this idea of working together …nothing will be accomplished as long as Obama leads.
michael e
Top economists just said the top tax bracket is heading toward 70% in the next ten years when all things (obama care) are factored in.The village idiot is truly in charge
B. S. D'Tecktor
More imaginary numbers from a single economist who works at the Hoover Institute writing a WSJ op-ed….less month a different writer said the number was 62%
He’s not talking about the top federal marginal rate….he’s mixing state and federal income taxes with payroll taxes and combining them all into a figure.
He also takes the state with the highest state income tax rates, California to get to 70%. That means the rate wouldn’t apply to people in the other 49 states.
Then he adds possible future actions that nobody has proposed to make the already imaginary tax rate even higher.
The increase in payroll taxes to fund the healthcare act is a tiny part of the total: 0.9%
Boskin also writes “First, as college students learn in Econ 101, higher marginal rates cause real economic harm. ”
That’s not supported by the data….an examination of the historical record of the past 80 years shows no correlation between the top marginal rate and economic growth.
He also acts like the Laffer curve is something to be taken seriously. It’s the WSJ; they have a vested interest in lying about this stuff.
michael e
Bs all things factored in for sure.What they forgot to factor into that is the devaluation of the dollar. Imagine when all things are combined today what any one of us has in his hand after that dollar is taken away to be carved up.For get the extra kick in the ass if you are rich.Very little my friend very little.Yet…………………THEY WANT MORE.Always more.
michael e
President just spoke of cutting 4 trillion.CBO again says nothing is specific that they can run the numbers on.Nothing on paper after 3 YEARS!We are close to default and this….president(i use the term loosely)has offered nothing.Actually He did say he would raise Social security age by two years.Well that is specific i guess.BEGINNING IN 2036!!!!!How long oh lord before we overcome?The only people right now with anything at all on paper are the Republicans. Several things in fact.