The announcement from the so-called Super Committee that it was impossible for them “to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee deadline” was just a confirmation of the view of many that this committee was doomed from the very start. Formally known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC) , the committee was created by the Budget Control Act of 2011 on August 2, 2011 and was expected to come up with proposals to reduce deficits by November 23, 2011. The committee of 12 is composed of 6 Republicans and 6 Democrats coming from the Senate and the House.
With a gargantuan task at hand of finding ways to find acceptable deficit reduction steps to the tune of $ 1.2 trillion, the committee members came into the picture saddled with individual loads on their shoulder to negotiate without displeasing their respective parties. Republicans had always been opposed to new taxes while the Democrats had always been defensive of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The 12 met with uncompromising personal and party stands and acted like typical politicians and had no choice but to agree to disagree thereby accomplishing nothing.
It is evident that the current economic state of the US requires a compromise between the two opposing parties. Surely it is obvious that the big deficit can only be overcome by steps that would hurt including cuts in entitlements and the introduction of new taxes. The committee’s failure to produce results may lead to automatic across-the board cuts divided between defense and domestic spending or the so-called trigger mechanism which many are viewing with dread. Everyone knows that there is a need to transcend partisan bickering but to many politicians, political survival maybe a more realistic issue.
Originally posted on November 22, 2011 @ 2:52 am