Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblehead Nuke
We will go over the fiscal cliff. No doubts in my mind.
The Republicans can NOT vote to raise taxes. That would be political suicide.
The Democrats can not to cut spending. The powers that be will cut them off if social programs get cut.
So.. we go over the cliff.
AUTOMATICALLY taxes go up. Period. Spending gets cut . Period. Nobody has to vote for ANYTHING.
Nobody can be held accountable to the 'You voted for XXXX'. You went against the party line.. No finger pointing, finger shaking, etc. All they have to do is stand their respective 'My way is better than your way stance'.
Now, once all this has happened, they can vote to LOWER taxes on specific groups without reprisals. The 'Rich' will be taxed more. They can also vote to INCREASE spending on specific programs so the really needed social programs do not get cut.
Everyone comes out saying that they voted for the things that they 'stood for'. Nobody loses any 'face' or can be called out that they are 'not on board'.
This is a lame way to fix spending without coming out and saying what really needed to be done.
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Pretty much. The problem is so big that we will need both spending cuts and tax incrases to fix it. Tax increases will have to be across the board, not just one segment of society. Spending cuts will have to be in both social programs and defense. It is a painful pill to swallow, but it is necessary. After all, you can only cut so much and you can only tax so much. However, none of our leaders have that 'Gerald Ford' courage to do the right thing in that regard. Yes, it will likely mean the end of their political career, but aren't they elected to that office to make the tough decisions? Is that not what we expect?
Instead we get this 'fiscal cliff' stuff, as you said above.