Maybe this is the end whose arrival T.S. Eliot ordained would come “not with a bang, but a whimper.” Ignore the puffed-up rhetoric. Set aside the dramatics of casting major votes less than 48 hours before a new Congress took the oath of office. The deal that staggered across the president’s desk last week was a legislative whimper of the first order.
Where are the tough choices? Where are the sacrifices? Avoiding the immediate consequences of the “fiscal cliff” involved two actions that come naturally to most legislators: not cutting spending and not raising taxes. It was the easy path, and that’s precisely why we’re in trouble.
Comments
Johnny one note is at it again. Narry a peek when Bush ran up the deficit and wayward banks and financiers pushed the country into deep recession. It was endured until the bottom fell out and now the creators of the mess want us to enjoin their solutions. No thanks and it is time for them to step aside so those suffering from their mayhem can be helped and the nation's economic bearings regained. Sorry Mr. Sununu you were part of the problem and offering the same after such failure means stepping aside for real progress.
There are several administrations that are responsible for the situation we're in today. Obama has had a hand in it but, to your point, Bush is the worst of the culprits. Not only did he offer no solutions to long term spending issues with entitlement programs, but he ran up government spending and got us into two unnecessary wars. Worst president ever. That said, health care spending and problems with social security were known when Clinton was in office but nothing was done. The fact of the matter is that it's been decades since we've seen true leadership.
An old story. You can't have guns and butter. Wars require sacrifices. The fact that that the wars were an egregious error is at the center of the problem.
Yet another self-aggrandizing regurgitation from the Globe's most insightful observer of contemporary politics. Pixie Dust? Such compelling and useful imagery. No arguments that the solution was a whimper. No arguments that government is at a frightening level of dysfunction. But this column is a perfect example of why it is the way it is. One-directional finger pointing, flagrant self-interest, and no realistic offers for solutions.
Brilliant piece, John. It does amaze me how this president can slog though his presidency by eking out minor concessions from the GOP, only to set up another crisis in the future. He is unable to lead, and he cares only about scoring political points. Solving problems is just not on his agenda-unless raising the tax rates on a minute sliver of the population qualifies. Of course, this will probably lead to second Nobel Peace prize, and his face to be carved on Mt Rushmore.
Rather than write a long reply I refer you to "Attaturk"'s comment. Take off the blinders, if the R's or more specifically the Tea Party had any interest in actually governing a deal involving spending and taxes could have been done. That was the opportunity lost.
Actually I would agreed with John for once but then he had to throw in a final over the top swipe at the Pres. He is however absolutely correct when it comes to a missed opportunity. John however forgets the R's turned down one deal after another regarding a combination of cuts and taxes. No, they had to make the ideological stand as opposed to the practical compromise. So we end up standing on the edge and they have no other option than to buckle.
Let's face the R's have legitimate issues and concerns as do the D's. However, let us not blame others for the political ineptitude of Mr. Boehner and the House leadership. They get run around by TP's who have no interest in governing and therefor they are simply incapable of developing legislatin that both sides can accept.
If we are to get the reductions that we need in the federal budget the only real hope is that Mr. Boehner becomes leader of the enitire House and not merely the Republican caucus. For he will get nothing plausible passed if he seeks the TP's support.
This comment has been removed.
It's not like we just became aware of problems with entitlement programs. Problems have been known for well over 10 years yet our "leaders" have failed to take action on any changes. Obama aside, we have a Congress full of politicians who are more concerned with staying in office than finding solutions to what will be this country's undoing, including entitlement program reform, defense spending, discretionary spending, and tax code reform. We need to stop re-electing career politicians and elect those who are intent on problem solving. Our current pols seem to have forgotten that that's why they're in office.
With respect to Obama, I agree with Sununu that his press conference celebrating his "win" was unnecessary and, by rubbing Republicans noses in it, harmed negotiations on what was deferred a couple months. We need politicians who are willing to compromise for the good of the country, not those who celebrate "wins" for their party. Both parties need to understand this.
I agree we need more (bipartisan) statesmen right now . . . and maybe fewer (partisan) "politicians."
Obama has showed his true colors during all this. All he wants is class warfarte and to destroy the republican party. Now he and others are talking about more "fairness" and wanting more tax revenues. Obama has just killed any hope for a recovery with this deal and Obama care. The unwillingness of the MSM to call him out on his bullying and complete lack of trying to find consensus is astonishing. The MSM is dead
Come on "be" I expect better from you than this. We got a trillion in cuts over the last debt ceiling debacle and I would agree that even that isn't enough. Obamacare, not even an issue in fact we know it will long range lower costs in terms of the deficit.
We need entitlement reform. You know it. I know it. They know it. But you will not get one R to say how he will cut entitlement costs our of fear of losing an election. You also won't get one D for the same reason. You can't get tax reform because the R's want it revenue neutral. Now they know we need to move revenue's closer to 20% of GDP and expenditures down to that number also. But neither side not just Obama or the D's or the R's will make the arguement because they know they won't get re-elected. So who's fault is that? It's the electorate, the media, and the pols on all sides refusing to do what is right. The TP's forget them they don't care what is right they just hate their own country and its government. But they too are nothing more than a sorry reflection of the electorate in their districts.
I would post a good article i read over the weekend, but all the lefties will hate the source (not Breitbart). I stand by my assertion that this "deal" is going to be awful for the economy as will Obama care
While I find it risible that Sununu would blame the President and the Democrats if he ignored their warnings to bring an umbrella and was consequently soaked in the rain, he does bring up a valid point. After so much posturing, this. The President (or more accurately, Congressional Democrats) know they need to make cuts in entitlements. The Republicans and Democrats both know there are other cuts, such as defense spending, that need to be trimmed while preserving our military strength, and the Republicans know, whether they will admit it or not, that they need to raise revenue, since interest on existing debt is already poised to gobble up unacceptable portions of the budget.
"be" Okay I read it. What can I say? Well as to read, a little out of context there he wasn't talking about the Pres. and if anyone let NY, NJ down it was the southern R's. A group that should be a discussio for another day.
As to press coverage I have no love for the press corp. Easy on Obama, I think so. Alos easy on RR the teflon man, also easy on GW as far as I'm concerned. In fact I find the press in general to be shallow, lacking information, a failure in its job, a complete failure in explaining how govt., how the govts. budget, basically fails to explain anything in manner which would elucidate the public on any subject. Amongst those failing I would include the Weekly Standard, the Boston Globe, the Herald, the Times, NBC, ABC, CBS just about all of them.
Yet after all of that how does any of it relate to the budgetary problem except to explain why the public is clueless. Yet for as long as you and I or Kitch and I or the long line of people discuss amongst themselves issues that have nothing to do with the deficit. The pols win.