The fiscal cliff is looming in front of us getting ever so closer. It is a disaster waiting to happen. Coupled with the upcoming “Affordable” Health Care Act taxes the country is in for a rocky ride. There is plenty of blame to go around…but most of it lies with the American press which for all intents and purposes is more interested in celebrity than facts. In my entire lifetime I don’t ever remember the body politic being so uninformed, especially in an era in which we are being crushed with available information.
This year’s fiscal cliff is the result of bad leadership by the Republican House this past spring. Barack Obama wanted massive tax hikes on the “wealthy” and John Boehner wanted badly needed spending cuts. The debate centered on raising the debt ceiling, and what came out of the fiasco was a debt ceiling increase, a national credit rating reduction, with an agreement that if no tax/spending plan could be reached by January 1, 2013, the Bush tax cuts in their entirety would be repealed and massive spending cuts would be implemented mostly centered on Defense.
What Boehner failed to realize then and is again failing to realize, is Barack Obama is a progressive ideologue who has NEVER compromised once in his life. To a person like Barack Obama, the fiscal cliff is a wet dream. It contains everything the progressive liberal agenda demands….high taxes on everybody and massive defense cuts. Going over the cliff is viewed as a good thing, and if there is a little pain in the process, so be it. Obama doesn’t have to run for re-election and thus there are no consequences.
While the press has focused on the class warfare and folks paying their fair share (notwithstanding 48% of working Americans pay NO federal income tax), Obama has offered NOTHING in return. Oh sure, he has offered spending “cuts”, most of which are found in ending wars or pushing the desired expenditure out of the budget of a year or two. The press doesn’t care. I have not seen one budget analysis outside of the business channels. Pushing the can down the road one more time doesn’t solve the mounting problems. The President has NEVER negotiated seriously on any fiscal issue. He has not produced a budget during his entire presidency.
Speaker Boehner should have played it smart. After the election he should have said that elections have consequences. He should have said that the House of Representatives would agree with anything Obama wanted to do. Send the bill over and we will pass it. Obama and his progressive cohorts would own it entirely. Obama would be on the spot. He would actually have to do something. Then Boehner and the Republicans would retreat to prepare to pick up the pieces, and the drooling press would learn a very hard lesson.
Lack of critical reporting on an incumbent President also has consequences. By failing to inform the public about the nature of the financial crisis the country is facing, these smarmy reporters have done a major disservice to all of us. At the end of the day, just like in your household, unlimited borrowing and spending leads to bankruptcy. Sooner or later it’s going to hit the fan, and it will be the poor and middle class that ends up paying the bill.
As these fiscal shocks hit the economy, rising interest rates, rising inflation and high unemployment are inevitable. In the short run, given the poor performance of John Boehner and the rabid press, the Republicans will take the hit. But four years from now, it will be Barack Obama’s presidency that will ultimately be blamed. Even the fawning press will not be able protect what looks to be a dreary legacy.
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