Steve Benen: What hath the GOP wrought

[babylonsister]

Posted with permission.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_08/what_hath_the_gop_wrought031360.php#


What hath the GOP wrought

By Steve Benen


Standard & Poor’s dubious credibility notwithstanding, there’s no great mystery as to how we arrived at last night’s downgrade announcement.

Ordinarily, a downgrade has a fairly specific meaning: it refers to an institution that may struggle to pay its bills. No one seriously doubts whether the United States, the single wealthiest country on the planet by a large margin, will have the financial resources available to pay its bills, but the question under consideration is whether our political system will undermine our ability to be responsible.

And that’s really what the S&P announcement boils down to. This was a condemnation of American politics, not American finances. One would like to think the ratings agency used some kind of economic/fiscal/monetary measurements, applying a rigorous a test to draw an objective conclusion. In reality, however, Standard & Poor’s “is just making stuff up.”

For the conservatives celebrating this morning — I vaguely recall a time those rooting against the United States saw their patriotism called into question — it might be worthwhile to take a close look at the Standard & Poor’s report. Judd Legum highlighted some of the key takeaways from the S&P analysis:

The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. <…>

It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options. <…>

The act contains no measures to raise taxes or otherwise enhance revenues, though the committee could recommend them. <…>

Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

It’s only fair to note that the same analysis pressed Democrats on the need to consider entitlement changes, but in reality, Democrats did put entitlements on the negotiating table, only to discover that Republicans would refuse to compromise.

The downgrade, in other words, was the direct result of Republicans playing a hopelessly insane game with the full faith and credit of the United States, and then refusing to consider even a penny of tax increases on anyone at any time. Worse, GOP leaders have spent the week boasting of their intention to do all of this again, for as long into the future as they can.

Americans elected lunatics to help run Congress; they launched a reckless scheme; and now they appear to have sabotaged our fiscal credibility and standing.

The 2010 midterms are proving to be one of the most dramatic national mistakes in generations.

[Frustratedlady]

1. The Repugs should pay dearly for it, too. In all my years of following politics,

I have never seen such a display of irresponsibility. They should be shunned in disgrace. It will take years to repair the damage they've done in the last decade.

You can add Kochs and their ilk to the shunning list, as well.

Treasonous, all of them!

[daa]

2. The only problem is 74 senators were not all repugs and

95 dems were not repugs and Obama signed it after they passed it. I realize he hid in the bedroom to sign it instead of standing tall with Boner and No Lips, and Nancy and Harry, but the pugs don't own this. Obama is making the case why this is good, not blaming them for anything.

[Faygo Kid]

3. "2010 midterms. . .one of the most dramatic national mistakes in generations." Next to 2000.

In my lifetime, the two most calamitous elections (or selections) may very well turn out to be 2000 and 2010.

2000 set the stage for 2010, so I put it first. 1980 was no picnic, either, but there was still a modicum of sanity in some elements of the GOP.

That left the building in 1994 when Limbaugh was crowned "the majority maker," although GHWB was no radical.

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. Thank you Steve, and thank you Babylonsis. I wish I could rec x 1000.

:kick:

[treestar]

5. K&R yep they need a taste of their own medicine

And to have their alleged patriotism called into question.

[slipslidingaway]

6. Link to S&P statement, they also talk about entitlements, specifically Medicare ...

United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'AA+' Due To Political Risks, Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative

http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/articles/en/us/?assetID=1245316529563

"...The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as
America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective,
and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt
ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in
the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our
view, the differences between political parties have proven to be
extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting
agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program
that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and
Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on
discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on
more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have
dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions
only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements,
the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key
to long-term fiscal sustainability.

...A new political consensus might (or might not) emerge after the 2012 elections, but we believe that by
then, the government debt burden will likely be higher, the needed medium-term
fiscal adjustment potentially greater, and the inflection point on the U.S.
population's demographics and other age-related spending drivers closer at
hand (see "Global Aging 2011: In The U.S., Going Gray Will Likely Cost Even
More Green, Now," June 21, 2011).

Standard & Poor's takes no position on the mix of spending and revenue
measures that Congress and the Administration might conclude is appropriate
for putting the U.S.'s finances on a sustainable footing..."