Look, if it is anyone's fault, it is everyone's fault. If you read the press release by Standard & Poors on why they downgraded our credit score it comes down to two reasons. First, and this was proven to be in error, the agency felt that the debt agreement didn't cut spending enough. They later admitted that their calculations were off by $2tr. The more serious justification was that the agency did not have confidence in the American government to effectively come to ANY agreement. That means that even if we agreed to a BAD plan three months ago, we wouldn't have suffered a credit downgrade because we at least acted in unison. Instead, BOTH parties in Congress used default as a bargaining chip and played a game of chicken with OUR ECONOMY.
Look, the President has no say in the budget. The best he can do is make suggestions. This is in no way his fault. It DOES reflect the gross lack of respect the rest of Congress has for him. I am a Kennedy Democrat, and I say to Congress and EVERYONE in this country: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." We are in big trouble, financially, and everyone is going to have to take one for the team. Yes, government programs need to be carefully looked at, and some of them are going to have to take some budget cuts. That being said, people are going to have to accept that maybe some of the tax loopholes like the Bush Tax Cuts might have to be closed.... which will result in a raise in taxes. DEAL WITH IT. We are in the shit, people. Time to be more open minded about what we are willing to do to put everyone back to work and get the money flowing again.
Originally Posted by akito237
LOL, so the threat to Veto has no bearing on the budget process? As leader of his party (the one that didn't even bother to propose a budget the last two years they held the House) he has no influence? Pushing huge government spending programs isn't Obama's fault? A Kennedy democrat who has forgotten that a rising tide lift's all boats (the first, best description of Reaganomics)? Or are you a "Ted" Kennedy democrat?
The way to put people back to work is to put government on a severe diet. There were NO spending cuts in this deal, only a decrease
in the amount of proposed spending INCREASES.
On second thought, don't bother to answer, in one paragraph you say it's "everyone's fault" in the next that it's everyone's except the chief architect of the biggest peacetime escalation of government spending in history.
This is why I put all such posters on ignore, pure idolatry of "The One". Answer if you will, but I have no interest in reading it.
Rest assured Sir, we started "dealing" with it last November and will finish "dealing with it" next year.