The debt ceiling is bearing down on Washington. As with most such momentous occasions, plenty of partisan potshots have been exchanged, like this whopper from the White House: that House Republicans who are demanding spending reductions in exchange for increasing the debt limit would compromise the full faith and credit …
President Obama referred repeatedly to the debt ceiling debate in today’s press conference in a textbook example of Washington “spin,” or the art of selectively ignoring certain facts while portraying others in a particular light. “You don’t go out to dinner and then, you know, eat all you want and …
While many Americans resolve to make 2013 the year they really do slim down, exercise more, and spend less, Congress could afford to commit to a few such resolutions of its own. Call them budget resolutions—something Congress hasn’t had in a while. Here are five suggestions: Cut spending. The federal …
Later today the Republican-led House of Representatives will vote on “Plan B,” the latest unsatisfactory proposal put forward by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to avoid the fiscal cliff. Boehner’s plan would protect most Americans, except for millionaires, from a tax hike. But even this is a poor fix because it …
The latest fiscal cliff proposal by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH) is infuriatingly frustrating to conservatives, again. In exchange for $1 trillion in tax hikes—including the President’s immediate tax rate hike on the wealthy—Boehner asked for just $1 trillion in spending cuts. And, to sweeten the pot for …
There are many ways to surrender—and some congressional Republicans seem bent on exploring them all. In the debate over the fiscal cliff, the President’s position is simple: The Republicans must capitulate on income tax rate hikes, and all other serious issues are not up for discussion. Never mind that Obama …
“We make some tough spending cuts on things that we don’t need; and then we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a slightly higher tax rate. And that’s a principle I won’t compromise on.” At yesterday’s fiscal cliff campaign stop in Redford, Michigan, President Obama delivered these remarks and hammered …
When President Obama put forth his first offer on the fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said, “You can’t be serious.” We could say the same thing to the Speaker after his counteroffer yesterday. In a letter signed by House Republican leadership, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and …
The House Republican leadership has offered a substantive counteroffer to President Obama’s frivolous fiscal cliff proposal of last week. At first blush, it appears little more than categorical, pre-emptive capitulation. To be fair, the details of the Republican proposal are extraordinarily vague. Nor is much clarity or comfort gained from …
