by
Emily Miller The Washington Times OpEd Aug. 1, 2011
President Obama wanted three things from the debt-ceiling fight:
trillions in new borrowing authority, status quo on spending and no more
drama before his shot at re-election. He got everything.
Republicans
in control of the House could have refused to raise the debt ceiling,
but their leaders were afraid. They believed failing to raise the debt
ceiling would lead to a default and a disastrous reduction in America’s
credit rating.
So the leaders struck a final deal that will drive
the nation’s debt up to $16.7 trillion, and rating agencies like Moody’s
and Standard & Poor’s are poised to downgrade U.S. credit anyway.
GOP leaders claim they cut the best deal possible in a divided government.
“This
is very important for our fiscal future, but it’s also important for
the fact that our economy needs to get going,” House Speaker John A.
Boehner said on Monday. “Beginning to take steps toward fixing our
fiscal problems will, in fact, provide more confidence for employers in
America.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday night
that the deal “will ensure significant cuts in Washington spending.”
That’s
an exaggeration. The bill would cut a minuscule $7 billion in 2012 and
$3 billion total in 2013 - the only enforceable years. Meanwhile, the
nation will continue to borrow at a rate of $100 billion a month.
The
second tranche of “cuts” will be left up to a new bipartisan committee
tasked with finding up to $1.5 trillion in savings. There are a bunch of
gimmicks involved, but essentially we’re supposed to believe that even
though Congress can’t cut a days’ worth of spending now, it’s somehow
going to have the fortitude to reduce spending by far greater amounts
down the road.
