Yes and no. There are no tax increases - until they get around to not extending the Bush-era tax cuts, which will amount to an unlegislated tax increase when they expire.
Then, you have the fact that much, perhaps all, of the “budget cuts” that we got were really just slowdowns in the growth of spending - i.e. not REAL cuts.
A partial conceptual victory has won - but it won’t be solid until we actually start seeing real cuts in “entitlements” and other useless spending.
Remember that the Bush tax cuts do not only affect the “rich”...that was the reason that Obama extended them in Dec. He KNEW that the middle class would be pissed when their taxes went up. I don’t think that Dec 2012 is going to be much different. Is Obama REALLY going to let the tax cuts expire so that EVERYONE’S taxes (including those making 40,000) goes up? If congress votes to extend the tax cuts (a great possibility if our economy is STILL in the tank as it is now), will Obama truly veto it?
Only scenario where that happens is if he loses the election and then he has NOTHING to lose.
>> but it won’t be solid until we actually start seeing real cuts in “entitlements” and other useless spending. <<
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Precisely, and we will not see any cuts. We’ve been this route so many times before that the hole is getting too large to even enjoy the sex. This is binding on no one. the next congress will just look the other way as the opportunity to cut falls under the bus of “feel good” politics.