The Undead, Unnecessary, Unhelpful Grand Bargain - Salon

[WillyT]

The undead, unnecessary, unhelpful Grand Bargain
Begging Republicans to let us cut Social Security and Medicare is insane (no matter how much pundits lust after it)
BY ALEX PAREENE - Salon
MONDAY, MAR 11, 2013 04:45 AM PDT

<snip>

Washington has Grand Bargain fever, again. Thanks to the sequestration, Republican government-shrinking mania and Barack Obama’s apparently sincere desire to get some sort of huge long-term debt deal done, the Grand Bargain is looking more possible than at any point since the heady days of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility.

For some reason, the options for dealing with sequestration — a self-inflicted made-up austerity crisis — are being purposefully and pointlessly limited to a) spending cuts, either those in sequestration or different ones, or b) spending cuts and tax increases. “Let’s just not do this, everyone” is rarely presented as a viable option. Instead, the single best end result, according to lots of pundits, Democrats and even Republicans, is tthe Mythical Grand Bargain.

This is awful news, for most people. A “grand bargain” is not going to be good. But after Barack Obama had fancy dinners with some Republicans last week, everyone is again hopeful. The president is hopeful. John Boehner is hopeful. David Gergen is probably hopeful. They can all taste the Bargain. Ooh, it’ll be so great when we get that Bargain!

The Grand Bargain is revered, among the Sunday Show set, as a goal essentially for its own sake. Its Grandness is its point. The thought of the parties coming together, agreeing on a mutually unpleasant compromise involving great political “sacrifice” (symbolic sacrifice for the politicians, likely eventual actual sacrifice for the constituents), warms the cockles of the Beltway Establishmentarian’s heart. If liberals and conservatives can’t stand the deal, all the better, even if one or both sides have perfectly valid reasons for blanching. The Bargain must, by necessity, reduce the deficit by “reining in entitlements.” “Entitlements” means Social Security and Medicare, two very popular and successful programs designed to keep retired people alive. Social Security and Medicare “reforms” that make both programs less generous are among the least popular policy proposals in America today, but both parties — at least, the leaders of both parties — support them (rhetorically). Cutting these programs is probably the single highest priority of the tiny centrist elite, and it has been for years, excepting the usual run-ups to our various wars. Part of the elaborate theater of Performing Seriousness in Washington is claiming that “everyone agrees” that the cuts are urgent and necessary, while also bemoaning that no politicians are “brave” enough to support them.

Cuts to those programs have been offered, repeatedly, by the president, to Republicans. Republicans, thus far, have pretended not to notice, because their parallel news media misinforms them and because they incorrectly believe the president to be insincere in his desire to hack away at those very popular and successful programs. The recent Obama charm offensive is designed to convince Republicans that he is very sincere in his efforts to get a Serious Debt Deal, involving “entitlement” cuts and tax reform.

Here’s a fun secret: Tax reform (in this case referring to eliminating or scaling back “tax expenditures”) is technically a conservative policy priority...

<snip>

More: http://www.salon.com/2013/03/11/the_undead_unnecessary_unhelpful_grand_bargain/singleton/

[MotherPetrie]

1. To think I not only voted for this betayer, I donated money I could ill afford to his reelection

[WillyT]

2. Apparently... He Does Not Care About The SMALL Donors...

If ya know what I mean.

[MotherPetrie]

4. Sadly, I do now. I should have learned my lesson the first time. I let myself get hoodwinked again.

What kills me is I KNEW better. But I got caught up in the reelection and I hated Romney so much. I wanted Obama to squash him like a bug. What a Pyrrhic victory.

[midnight]

3. The Grand Bargain.. Where the heck did that term come from? I would hope that instead of

the debt, that the jobs discussion would be the "Grand Bargain"

[Macoy51]

5. Do it Now, or Pay More Later

We can fix the problem now, at a huge cost, or we can kick the can down the road ten years or so and pay a much, much, higher cost. We shoiuld have fixed this back in the 80's (remember the Gramm-Rudman Act). Now we are paying the price.





Macoy

[midnight]

6. I have to confess that I vaguely remember and had to look it up:

Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, officially the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, U.S. budget deficit reduction measure. The law provided for automatic spending cuts to take effect if the president and Congress failed to reach established targets; the U.S. comptroller general was given the right to order spending cuts. Because the automatic cuts were declared unconstitutional, a revised version of the act was passed in 1987; it failed to result in reduced deficits. A 1990 revision of the act changed its focus from deficit reduction to spending control.


If this deficit reduction or spending control needs a grand bargain at least make it with those who caused this over spending...

[WillyT]

7. We Can Do It Right Now, And With Better Outcomes... Go Here:

DU Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022497503