[MNJohnnie]

In all the hand wringing and hysterics one major impact of this event has been overlooked.

Zero, on the verge of a brutal 2012 political campaign, has totally demoralized and disheartened his political base.

[SeekAndFind]

It is this so called SuperCommittee made up of Republicans and Democrats that is going to lead this country through the same fiscal budgeting torture that it is going through right now.

Watch out for this in 2013. The GOP has negotiated themselves to a point where even if they won both houses and the presidency next year, Democrats will still have a say on how the $1.5 Trillion spending cuts get done.

can you hear the words -— REVENUE ENHANCERS ( Code for tax hokes ) and Defense Cuts?

[Texas Eagle]

Why does it always come down to Medicare and Defense?

There are literally thousands of bureaucratic monstrosities that can be cut.

[dalereed]

That is a spending increase!

Make it 1.5 trlion cut each year more than the prior budget and it might mean something!

[EternalVigilance]

"Fiscal responsibility in our time!"

[Retain Mike]

Current debt limit options allow the Administration and Congress to perpetuate a tiresome fraud on this country. The proposals discussed allow debt accumulated over 230 years to 2006 to double in six more. The media as usual provides an un-penetrating analysis abetting this alternate reality.

Alternate reality resides within a 1974 act and amendments proscribing Base Line Budgeting. The baseline budget emerges by increasing previous year appropriations for estimated inflation and enhancements to all existing programs, and then extrapolating those adjustments for ten years. The Office of Management and Budget must next score any reductions in the rate of growth in federal spending for ten years as “budget cuts”.

This approach can work if an organization is generally headed correctly and only minor changes in spending levels are required. However, bond rating agencies such as Moody’s emphatically warn the country must reject profligate spending to retain its AAA bond rating. At the margin, the U.S. also expects the world to buy its long term bonds to finance current government expenditures dedicated over 60% to social programs and interest.

Sending a balanced budget amendment to the states and abandoning Base Line Budgeting present the only avenues out of this dilemma.

Wikipedia Baseline Budgeting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseline_(budgeting)

Rush Says Baseline Budgeting Makes Real Cuts Impossible in Washington
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_072711/content/01125106.guest.html

Moody’s: Neither Debt Plan Protects the Nation’s AAA Rating
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/174447-moodys-neither-plan-protects-the-nations-aaa-rating

[sickoflibs]

RE :”The budget deal requires an additional $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to be designed by a “super-committee of legislators” who will propose painful recommendations—and if those recommendations aren’t accepted by both Houses, there will be automatic cuts to Defense and Medicare. The idea here is that Republicans will be restrained from avoiding tough choices by the supercommittee by the prospect of big defense cuts, while Democrats will feel the same way about Medicare. Oh? So, going into an extremely nerve-wracking election season, only Republicans will care about defense spending? Defense spending has been all but sacrosanct for the past decade, and there’s a reason for that: the public loves the military, it’s the most popular institution in America, we’re fighting two wars, and whatever the military wants it gets. “

The voters tolerate or support military spending while they are getting their tax cuts and medical bills (Medicare) paid. That's why Bush increased all spending while cutting taxes silly, and why many Republicans defended his spending at the time.

You start messing with Medicare and you will see many voters turn on anything that doesn't benefit them personally. Ryan and CO knows/knew this, that is why their proposed medicare reform doesn't switch on till 2021 or later even though that part of it is a pretty bad idea in itself.

I am not arguing against or for the big military cuts proposed in the trigger here , but dont expect to fare well if Medicare vs Military is put as a mandated choice(short another direct attack on the US) .

[Prokopton]

Sorry John, there's no way to spin pig manure into perfume.

[throwback]

Congress is like water; it will follow the path of least resistance as always. It will not affirmatively vote for this committe’s recommendations. So the actual cuts will be whatever the pre-agreed list is. Look for the dims to have stacked that list. Also, dims never have a problem with tax increases on the rich, nor does their base have a problem with cuts to the military whatsoever. Dims will win as always.

[tflabo]

As Joe Plugs would say, BFD. NOT... This all just amounts to kick the can down the road but a shorter distance this time. Maybe slight edge to GOP in the pissing match but as for enacting an effective solution fahgedaboudit.

[Georgia Girl 2]

So if we have a super committee (Gang of 12) where does this leave my US rep? Or yours? This is not the way Congress is supposed to work. We are going to end up with 12 people dictating legislation. It will derail or ignore competing plans from Congressmen/women who are not in the Gang of 12. Plans that might be better.