tagged 
Boehner, Debt Ceiling, Deficit, Democrats, Michele Bachmann, Obama, Republicans, Revenue, Taxes
Boehner, Debt Ceiling, Deficit, Democrats, Michele Bachmann, Obama, Republicans, Revenue, Taxes Entries in Michele Bachmann (3)
Monday, July 11, 2011 at 2:00 PM
The Debt Ceiling: It's Not About the Deficit
By Keith Doughty On Monday, July 11, 2011 at 2:00PM
Keith Doughty On Monday, July 11, 2011 at 2:00PM 
News organizations tend to report on the debt ceiling negotiations as if reducing the deficit is the main concern for both parties. Unfortunately that is not really the case. I say unfortunately because if Democrats and Republicans had the same overall goal, it would be much easier to get a deal done (and as previously discussed, a deal to raise the debt ceiling is absolutely necessary).
If reducing the deficit as much as possible was the goal of both parties, a deal could be struck in which spending cuts that Republicans covet would be traded for revenue raisers (tax increases, elimination of tax breaks, etc) that Democrats desire. The resulting deal would reduce the deficit by a certain amount and both sides would declare victory. This is the type of deal Reagan and Clinton enacted to reduce the deficit and it’s similar to what I expected to happen in this case.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Zelda Convention - June 28, 2011
By Rob Dean On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:00PM
Rob Dean On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:00PM 
Monday, June 27, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Follow Ups, Round Ups and Mrs. Brady had Crabs
By Keith Doughty On Monday, June 27, 2011 at 2:00PM
Keith Doughty On Monday, June 27, 2011 at 2:00PM 
Instead of taking on a new topic this week, I’m going to post a few quick follow up items to two of my last posts as well as a couple links to articles I found interesting or noteworthy.
Follow up items:
- In last week’s post on contradictions in the debt ceiling negotiations, I stated that the negotiations were progressing better than they might appear and that it was likely Republicans would eventually agree to increased taxes via the elimination of tax breaks. Then, on Thursday, Congressional Republicans pulled out of the debt ceiling negotiations over the issue of taxes.
Whoops! It is now likely that President Obama will have to hammer out a deal directly with Speaker Boehner. While it is still possible that the final deal will include the elimination of tax breaks, I’m less confident than I was last week. This is due to the fact that Republicans have hardened their rhetoric around tax cuts and Democrats have seemed increasingly focused on getting additional economic stimulus (in the form of an employer payroll tax cut) into the final deal.