The Democrats’ peculiar negotiating strategy. Over the past year, Republicans have learned something important about negotiating budget deals with Democrats: If you don’t like their offer, just wait a couple of months. Capitol Hill Democrats, constantly ceding ground. (Susan Walsh - Associated Press) The first budget showdown came in the lame-duck Congress, when Democrats tried to pass a spending bill funding the government through 2011. Republicans filibustered it. Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) emerged with a compromise proposal that would cap 2011’s appropriations at about $1.08 trillion, with more cuts coming in the years after that.
Democrats defeated it by one vote. Today, many Democrats would love to go back in time and accept the McCaskill-Sessions bill. Consider the evolution of the debt deals over the past year. The next major budget plan that emerged was House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s. Then came the debt-ceiling debate. The Woman Who Knew Too Much | Politics. This Wall Street psychosis—“We did nothing wrong, but everyone is trying to hurt us”—was given a dramatic airing in June by Jamie Dimon, the chairman of JPMorgan Chase, at a conference in Atlanta.
Clearly agitated during a Q&A with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Dimon launched into the reasons why the regulators were being too tough on banks. The causes of the financial crisis had been dealt with. “Most of the bad actors are gone,” he said, rattling off a long list of the perpetrators, which included C.D.O.’s, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, “thrifts, all the mortgage brokers, and, uh, obviously some banks.” He said that he worried that Dodd-Frank was “holding us back at this point”—suggesting that the regulation of banks was the reason why the economy was not recovering. In other words, what was bad for Wall Street was very bad for the country. Warren followed Bachus to the podium at that conference. But while audiences applauded her, Warren’s opponents lacerated her. Wonkbook: Should we try everything? Or try nothing?
If you take the two parties at their word, Congress is currently gridlocked because Democrats and Republicans can't agree on the cause of our problems, which means they can't agree on the nature of their solutions. But that leaves them with two options: Try everything, or try nothing. And one is clearly superior to the other. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, accompanied by, from left, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 18, 2011.
(Jacquelyn Martin - AP) Republicans have converged around a critique of stimulus spending that focuses on its temporary nature. As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in dismissing the Democrats' proposal for further state aid, this is "the same temporary stimulus spending that's failed to solve our jobs crisis. " Katz is right. The truth is that everyone can have a piece of the answer here -- and a piece of the solution. Top stories Economy.
Mitt: I Won’t Detail Plans, Because Then I’d Lose. Mitt Romney has embraced a budget plan that would entail cutting federal programs other than defense and Social Security by more than half. It does raise the question of how he plans to carry out such a sweeping goal. In an interview with the Weekly Standard, Romney says he'd eliminate a bunch of departments.
But he won’t say which ones: One of the things I found in a short campaign against Ted Kennedy was that when I said, for instance, that I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, that was used to suggest I don’t care about education,” Romney recalled. “So I think it’s important for me to point out that I anticipate that there will be departments and agencies that will either be eliminated or combined with other agencies. One of the things I have found in previous elections is that announcing my plans makes people want to vote against me! Eliminating departments sounds great in general. Reality Check: Effective U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Much Lower Than Most Other Developed Nations. By Pat Garofalo on March 30, 2012 at 5:45 pm "Reality Check: Effective U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Much Lower Than Most Other Developed Nations" Republicans have been kvetching today about the fact that, as of Sunday, the U.S. will have the highest statutory corporate tax rate in the world following a scheduled cut in Japan’s corporate tax.
“The United States is a world leader in countless ways. ‘World’s Highest Taxes’ is a title we should give up as soon as possible,” wrote Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) in a Fox News op-ed. “This isn’t an April Fool’s Day joke; as of April 1, the United States of America will have reached the inauspicious position of having the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world,” said Sen. This is constant refrain from Republicans, who then blame the supposedly high U.S. corporate tax rate for discouraging job creation.
Why Is the GOP Suddenly Turning Against College? - James Kwak - Business. Rick Santorum called universities "indoctrination mills. " Mitt Romney told a student not to expect any government help if he picks an expensive school. How did it come to this? Reuters Republican presidential candidates have aimed their guns at higher education. This assault was highlighted by Rick Santorum's fantastical claim that colleges and universities are "indoctrination mills. " But perhaps more disturbing is the ever-sober Mitt Romney's advice to high school seniors considering college: shop around, try to save money, and don't count on government help. In other words, you're on your own.
In this election, we expect Santorum to represent the reactionary wing of the fourth century. Paul Krugman argues that Republicans prefer tax cuts to education for political reasons: Their goal to preserve upper-class prosperity comes at the expense of heightened middle-class insecurity. Imagine for a moment that the American political system is controlled by rich people. Occupy Wall Street. The GOP Establishment Is Finally Panicking About All The Dopes Running For President. The gaffe that broke the camel's back? Michael Shear at The New York Times reports today that the GOP establishment is finally tiring of its gaffe-ridden presidential line-up and is getting concerned all the 'oops' moments could inflict long-term damage on the party. But the embarrassing moments are piling up, and some veteran Republicans are beginning to wonder whether the cumulative effect weakens the party brand, especially in foreign policy and national security, where Republicans have typically dominated Democrats.
“It is an ‘Animal House.’ It’s a food fight,” said Kenneth Duberstein, a chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan. “Honestly, the Republican debates have become a reality show. “No one expects a person who hasn’t been commander in chief before to know everything about every topic. The article later notes that Romney, Huntsman and Gingrich had not been prone to gaffes (and Ron Paul is simply, always, just Ron Paul).
Is The GOP Getting Too Callous For The Religious Right. Mitt Romney’s unexplored vulnerability: His millionaire tax rate - The Plum Line. Posted at 03:49 PM ET, 10/20/2011 Oct 20, 2011 07:49 PM EDT TheWashingtonPost A few weeks ago, Paul Begala, one of the operatives behind the Obama-allied group Priorities USA Action, emailed me an offhand gag: The “Romney Rule” seems to be that millionaires like Mitt should pay a lower tax rate than maids. Now it looks like the “Romney Rule” is making its official debut in Campaign 2012. “Have you heard of the Romney rule? As I’ve been noting here regularly, Dems are currently experimenting with how far to go in attacking Romney over his wealth and tax rate.
But I continue to think that Romney’s tax rate in particular remains one of his unexplored vulnerabilities in a general election. You’d think the fact that Romney himself is one of the “millionaires and billionaires” who pays lower tax rates would render him a less than ideal messenger to make the case against Obama’s push for tax fairness. Meet The Man Who Has 279 Members Of Congress In His Pocket. AP Photo/Yuri Gripas Grover Norquist, the founder and head of Americans For Tax Reform, is arguably the most powerful non-elected person in Washington — and in many ways he is more powerful than even the Speaker of the House. He's the keeper of "The Pledge," the 60-some-odd promise never to raise taxes, that has become a virtual requirement for Republicans running for state or federal office.
All in all 279 sitting members of Congress are bound by the pledge — and good luck getting out of it. "The pledge is not to me. But Norquist's position of defender of the pledge has made him enemies in Washington — Former Sen. "He may well be the most powerful man in America today," Simpson said. Rep. "My word has been good on this tax pledge for 18 years. Watch the video below: