Cook Report: Blame Republicans for Debt Crisis
By flinching at the prospect of significant deficit reduction, the GOP will have to deal with the fallout.
The Cook Report - Charlie Cook
National Journal
Updated: July 15, 2011 | 10:21 a.m.
Remember the old joke that ended with the punch line, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is negotiable?” That seems to be the Republican position in the debt-ceiling debate now that House Speaker John Boehner has been forced to renounce any tax increases and, for that matter, any net revenue increases. It also seems exceedingly doubtful that Republicans will go along with meaningful cuts in defense spending. Because of this intransigence, Democrats will, in turn, pull virtually any changes to entitlements off the table, and cuts to domestic discretionary spending will be harder to sell to their rank and file.
The result will be a deal that not only falls short of the $4 trillion target but probably also comes up shy of the smaller $2.4 trillion goal that the bipartisan working group led by Vice President Joe Biden was heading toward. The can is kicked down the road one more time.
Republicans don’t seem to understand the symbiotic relationships in this negotiation. Democrats hate entitlement cuts just as much as Republicans despise tax hikes. Likewise, just as Republicans dislike defense cuts, Democrats dislike domestic spending cuts. Yet, both are necessary. If Republicans expect Democrats to go along with entitlement cuts, the GOP has to be willing to go along with some revenue increases. If Republicans expect Democrats to swallow deep hits to domestic spending, the GOP has to swallow deep hits to defense. Instead, the Republicans’ position seems to be that they should be allowed to stand on their principles while Democrats are required to compromise theirs.
A deal to raise the debt limit will surely pass, and the United States will probably avoid default. But the business community and the financial markets will see no sign that Washington is committed to fiscal sanity. The eventual deal will give them little reason for confidence in the country’s political leadership and economic future, and they will likely keep sitting on the cash in their corporate coffers.
(More here.)
The Cook Report - Charlie Cook
National Journal
Updated: July 15, 2011 | 10:21 a.m.
Remember the old joke that ended with the punch line, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is negotiable?” That seems to be the Republican position in the debt-ceiling debate now that House Speaker John Boehner has been forced to renounce any tax increases and, for that matter, any net revenue increases. It also seems exceedingly doubtful that Republicans will go along with meaningful cuts in defense spending. Because of this intransigence, Democrats will, in turn, pull virtually any changes to entitlements off the table, and cuts to domestic discretionary spending will be harder to sell to their rank and file.
The result will be a deal that not only falls short of the $4 trillion target but probably also comes up shy of the smaller $2.4 trillion goal that the bipartisan working group led by Vice President Joe Biden was heading toward. The can is kicked down the road one more time.
Republicans don’t seem to understand the symbiotic relationships in this negotiation. Democrats hate entitlement cuts just as much as Republicans despise tax hikes. Likewise, just as Republicans dislike defense cuts, Democrats dislike domestic spending cuts. Yet, both are necessary. If Republicans expect Democrats to go along with entitlement cuts, the GOP has to be willing to go along with some revenue increases. If Republicans expect Democrats to swallow deep hits to domestic spending, the GOP has to swallow deep hits to defense. Instead, the Republicans’ position seems to be that they should be allowed to stand on their principles while Democrats are required to compromise theirs.
A deal to raise the debt limit will surely pass, and the United States will probably avoid default. But the business community and the financial markets will see no sign that Washington is committed to fiscal sanity. The eventual deal will give them little reason for confidence in the country’s political leadership and economic future, and they will likely keep sitting on the cash in their corporate coffers.
(More here.)
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