tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post3938995440298236297..comments2023-11-03T06:35:48.003-05:00Comments on Shark and Shepherd: Budget Deal is OK - for nowRick Esenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-33973877597437545122011-08-02T10:21:54.429-05:002011-08-02T10:21:54.429-05:00That seems to be the third rail for the GOP.
Then...<i>That seems to be the third rail for the GOP.</i><br /><br />Then I guess that's when we'll find out who's really relevant. Calling it now is a bit premature.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-26487579968681072872011-08-02T08:31:30.517-05:002011-08-02T08:31:30.517-05:00Dude, you're a lawyer
Agreed. I minored in Ec...<i>Dude, you're a lawyer</i><br /><br />Agreed. I minored in Economics but that was a long time ago and that's all it was. And if you are a strong proponent of Keynesian demand management and believe that the only problem with the failed stimuli was that they weren' large enough (a matter of faith than of evidence), then this is a bad deal.<br /><br />Anon 6:56 <br /><br />I think that the second round cuts are designed to be distaseful to both sides but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for tax rate increases (as opposed to elimination of some preferences). That seems to be the third rail for the GOP.Rick Esenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-16953482900923514762011-08-02T07:19:44.035-05:002011-08-02T07:19:44.035-05:00I would agree that Obama was largely irrelevant in...I would agree that Obama was largely irrelevant in this. He was the only major public figure calling for tax increases, and the Democratic and Republican leadership alike ignored him. <br /><br />I disagree that this is the best they could do, though. If they really were willing to let that debt ceiling be hit (since it could not be raised without their acquiescence), they could have gotten almost anything they asked for. It might have been hard for them politically, but it would have been a much better step in the right direction than this plan, which merely slows the increase in spending rather than actually cutting.<br /><br />Lastly, for anybody who criticizes the Republicans for playing this game of chicken, I ask them, "What is a debt ceiling for, if not this?" The debt ceiling serves absolutely no purpose if it just gets raised automatically without comment. It is only useful when politicians put it to use as a bargaining chip.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10287196327536226744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-972132446699871132011-08-02T06:56:52.634-05:002011-08-02T06:56:52.634-05:00largely rendered President Obama irrelevant
Hardl...<i>largely rendered President Obama irrelevant</i><br /><br />Hardly. The deal agreed to in the past couple of days is all cuts, but key is where those cuts are triggered to originate. Specifically, they're heavily weighted toward defense. In all likelihood, this is going to result in increases in revenue via the bipartisan committee since GOP deficit hawks are not going to tolerate those cuts, at least not without fracturing the base.<br /><br />To be sure, if the president really was irrelevant, your post wouldn't include the words "ok" or "for now."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-46958654722000459962011-08-01T19:36:59.662-05:002011-08-01T19:36:59.662-05:00Yeah, the GOP used the threat of a credit default ...Yeah, the GOP used the threat of a credit default (talk about "likely to be a disaster") to force the country in a direction that seems <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/us/politics/01econ.html?_r=1&ref=politics" rel="nofollow"><br />likely to weaken</a> an already weak economy. Quite the visionaries on the right.<br /><br />And spending reductions balanced with revenue increases to address our nation's deficit is a coherent vision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-16577270754611879362011-08-01T19:15:08.813-05:002011-08-01T19:15:08.813-05:00The biggest victory has been the change in the foc...The biggest victory has been the change in the focus of the debate. It has been years since we have had serious discussions about debt and entitlements.<br /><br />In Congress, remarkable work by <br />speaker Boehner. To criticize him is totally unrealistic. He made the best of the what he had to work with, and achieved more than anyone expected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-86603502069678339932011-08-01T14:33:02.511-05:002011-08-01T14:33:02.511-05:00Dude, you're a lawyer. You embarrass yourself...Dude, you're a lawyer. You embarrass yourself every time you talk about economics. You should stop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-73209663311040574982011-08-01T12:45:13.314-05:002011-08-01T12:45:13.314-05:00Our gov needs to prevent deficits by making sure o...Our gov needs to prevent deficits by making sure our debt to income ratio is in line...bailing out corporations and unions and not the people is doing things ass backwards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com