The Fiscal Cliff thread.

[PeterMP]

I'll just add that I strongly doubt that Obama minds cuts to the social safety net as much as is presented in that article. I think both parties know that taxes and spending are out of wack, they just can't find a political way to put their name behind something that would fix it. So this whole game of deadline politics gives both sides the political cover to make changes while blaming the other side for 1) deadlines and 2) wanting so much worse, so we had to save what we could.

If I were a smidgen crazier, I'd say that Obama, Reid, Boehner, McConnell and Pelosi are all part of the NWO and they've just created this fake story for the public, knowing all along what's going to happen at each step.

I suspect Obama knows there has to be some reform the safety net. He's only been talking about the need for entitlement reform as long as he's been talked about as being President.

I suspect Boehner has some idea what he'll go for, and I suspect that Boehner knows he's not going to get a Paul Ryan over all and Obama has some idea of what he'd settle for.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if they staked out public positions pretty far from what they'd settle for, settle on something in the middle, and then both declare victory.

And if it works out that way, I suspect I won't be overly upset (in fact, I can of hope it does).

[Gallen5862]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...=al_comboPNE_p

Senate votes to temporarily suspend federal debt limit


Congress gave final approval Thursday to a plan to temporarily suspend the legal limit on the national debt, permitting the Treasury Department to keep borrowing and lifting the threat of a government default until early August.

The measure, approved by the Senate 64 to 34, now goes to the White House for President Obama’s signature. Without congressional action, the administration had predicted that the Treasury would run out money to pay the nation’s bills by early March.



On May 19, the debt limit will kick back in and automatically reset at a higher level, reflecting the additional borrowing. Treasury officials can then begin taking what they call “extraordinary measures” to continue paying the nation’s bills.

The Bipartisan Policy Center predicts that the Treasury will run up about $450 billion in additional debt during that period and that the date of a potential default will be postponed until the beginning of August. In recent days, administration officials have advised lawmakers that the center’s analysis matches the White House calculations.