[I’d like to know just what you would have done IF you only control one branch of government. Just what would you have done?]
I would have refused to raise the debt limit. There you go, mission accomplished, balanced budget. That is what the House should have done.
A sudden, forced 45% reduction in federal spending in one fell swoop would have caused the Dow to plummet, unemployment to increase to 11 - 14% (federal and contractor layoffs), etc., etc.
Now, some Cloward-Piven types say “let it crash, it has to...” but let me ask you a question...
If all the above happened, what would happen in November 2012? The GOP House would be squarely blamed for the chaos, and thrown out of office, along with Obama’s re-election.
Then, the new Dem Congress just raises the debt ceiling anyway, but this time, the revenues are even lower due to higher unemployment and lower GDP than we have now.