On the Dotty Line
ABC’s Jon Karl:
ABC News has learned that Republicans and the White House have struck a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. It’s not done yet, but here is the framework of the tentative deal they have worked out, according to a source familiar with the negotiations:
•Debt ceiling increase of up to $2.8 trillion
•Spending cuts of roughly $1 trillion
•Vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment
•Special committee to recommend cuts of $1.8 trillion (or whatever it takes to add up to the total of the debt ceiling increase)
Committee must make recommendations before Thanksgiving recess
•If Congress does not approve those cuts by late December, automatic across-the-board cuts go into effect, including cuts to Defense and Medicare.A senior White House aide pushed back against the idea that a deal was struck.
This is not a good deal. But it is almost certainly the best doable deal. And if the across-the-board cuts can be made to stick, that would be preferable to another round of endless/fruitless/drama-queenatic horse-trading.
If Boehner can whip his caucus into line, there’s not a hemophiliac’s chance at a vampire convention that the President won’t sign it — no matter how he might protest tonight.
The Dems are the vampire convention, led by Count Barackula.
The Vampire L’etat!
It occurred to me to wonder whether the whole $2.8T number that is supposed to get the government through the 2012 elections is based on some sort of realistic economic forecast or the kind of unicorn / rainbow thinking that goes into budget discussions from both parties. It would be horrible if they suddenly came up short in, say, October next year. Absolutely horrible.
From a tactical standpoint, a bad compromise just gives more rhetorical ammunition to the libertarian wing of the GOP… which, let’s face it, is the most motivated bunch right now.
The only way they’re going to come up short is if the budget coming out of the GOP House has higher deficits than the last budget passed, what, 850 days ago. That would not, as they say, have good optics.
I guess if France decides to bomb another 3rd world hellhole we’d have to shell out a few billion more in bombs and fuel.
What’s wrong with the deal? Big cuts, no tax increases, and it gives the Republicans a win that they can’t bugger up before the next election. I mean yeah, those cuts probably won’t add up to as much as they ought to, but no set of cuts ever would. This is a lot better than I thought they’d get to in the end.
Harry won’t go for it. He hates everything.
if the across-the-board cuts can be made to stick,
Bwahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahha……
Wait, you were serious about that?
It’s a big If.
That part about the committee agreeing on 1.8 trillion in cuts “or whatever it takes to add up to the debt ceiling increase” is troubling. What can” whatever it takes mean other than tax increases? Despite that objection, I agree that this is pobably the best deal we can get in the current environment, ssoironically im as happy as obama that the next time this comes up is after the election, when gop senate and president can do a deal that might actually help the country
I hope the increase is enough. I do not want this argument again before the election, nor even before the next Congress.
I would rather the cuts be far less, and just over the next 2 years, not 10. If they will cut $300b (real cuts) over the next 2 years, I would be thrilled. I do not care about cuts in the out-years. Cut now.
Reducing spending one trillion a year is a solid start.
There are no or almost no actual cuts to spending merely reductions in the rate of spending growth. If the “triggers” kick in almost all the cuts are in defense and Medicare. Thus the spending “baseline” for all other discretionary continues to go up up up. Further more the triggered cuts don’t kick in till 2013. Last but not least the proposed cuts are far less than 4 trillion which is the amount needed to avoid a rating downgrade. So like Scarlett we’ve debased ourselves to no purpose.