Explaining Super Committee Failure

After weeks of negotiations the great Congressional Super Committee that was supposed to come up with budget cuts at or above $1.2 trillion over a ten year period has resulted in a much
predicted Super Failure!




I suppose you could say:

"since not much was expected ... so not much was delivered."

Given the deep ideological divides between Senate Democrats and Republicans this situation was all to easy to predict. Now, because the Super Commitee couldn't come up with their own budget cut agreements the automatic cuts previously agreed on in the debt deal are set to take effect – in 2013 – which is after the elections! From The Blaze:


Congress’ Super Committee conceded ignominious defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending.

President Barack Obama held a press conference at 5:45 p.m. Monday to discuss the committee’s impotence, and threatened that he will veto any effort to get rid of automatic spending cuts that would take effect in 2013 if Congress can’t find other ways of trimming government deficits:

Those spending cuts include significant reductions to the Pentagon that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said would be devastating to the military…

Based on accounts provided by officials familiar with the talks, it appeared that weeks of private negotiations did nothing to alter a fundamental divide between the two political parties. Before and during the talks, Democrats said they would agree to significant savings from benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security only if Republicans would agree to a hefty dose of higher taxes, including cancellation of Bush-era cuts at upper-income brackets. In contrast, The GOP side said spending, not revenue, was the cause of the government’s chronic budget deficits, and insisted that the tax cuts approved in the previous decade all be made permanent…

Negotiations in the Capitol led by Vice President Joseph Biden were followed by an extraordinary round of White House talks in which Obama and House Speaker John Boehner sought a sweeping compromise to cut trillions from future deficits. They outlined a potential accord that would make far-reaching changes in Medicare and other programs, while generating up to $800 billion in higher revenue through an overhaul of the tax code. But in the end, they failed to agree.

By contrast, the Super Committee never came close, instead swapping increasingly small-bore offers that the other side swiftly rejected.

Within the past week, Democrats said they would accept a Republican framework for $400 billion in higher tax revenue and $800 billion or so in spending cuts, while rejecting numerous key proposals.

Late last week, Boehner floated an offer that included $543 billion in spending cuts, fees and other non-tax revenue, as well as $3 billion in tax revenue from closing a special tax break for corporate purchases of private jets. It also assumed $98 billion in reduced interest costs.

It was swiftly rejected.

As an added note the U.S. debt has now surpassed $15 Trillion. That is $15,000,000,000,000. As long as every America pays up $48,000 we can pay it all off! Grab your checkbook! Liberty Juice 11/23/2011

Sad to say it but our government is clearly dissfunctional.