Congressional deficit reduction task force – plan due after midterm election
Continuing in the spirit of federal government transparency, Congress authorized creation of a deficit reduction task force this week that will meet privately through the end of 2010. Suggestions and trial balloons will begin to leak in January 2011 to ensure task force ideas would not become fodder of political campaigns.
Get that? Can’t have the common folk have information that may help them choose who they should vote for in Nov. 2010.
The task force will consist of congress-critters from both parties and representation from the Executive Branch, and Investor’s Business Daily reminds us no task force for the federal government has ever been able to reduce costs or cut the deficit in any significant way.
The panel will be put together to figure out which wells the government can go to to improve the failing revenue stream. In other words – where can they raise taxes. IBD has more.
Today’s record federal debt and deficits are inarguably a threat to our prosperity, and most Americans would agree they must be brought under control. But some in Washington don’t believe that can happen through traditional channels.
We’d guess Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana sums up the Beltway wisdom when he says that tension across party lines makes it tough to rein in the debt and deficits. “Democrats want to spend more than we can afford,” he said. “Republicans want to cut more taxes than we can afford.”
GOP Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who with Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota came up with the idea for the panel, sees the parties in conflict joining hands and jumping “off a cliff together.” As inspiring as that would be for many voters weary of Washington’s insatiable appetite for other people’s money, it’s not likely to turn out that way.
Right now, tax increases of any kind should be completely off the table, but federal government efforts like these are specifically designed to increase taxes while saying they “tried as hard as possible” not to do so.
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The classic story of the fox being commissioned to watch the chicken house comes to mind….
When a dog finishes dropping its business, the hind legs kick up a thin layer of grass to cover the dung. Obama has a similar pernicious instinct. Whenever Obama Achieves a big political victory that spends a trillion dollars , he follows the very next week with a "balanced budget initiative" . We saw it after the stimulous package. Now again with the healthcare breakthrough we get another "deficit summit" that leaves everyone wondering…why do you mock us ? Is it not bad enough to make people your slaves….. you have to mock us too. …?