Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

"Determined to have a deficit commission with or without Congress' backing, President Barack Obama plans to announce on Thursday that he is establishing a panel similar to � although weaker than_ the one lawmakers rejected...

"Obama's version of the commission is a weak substitute for what he really wanted: a panel created by Congress that could force lawmakers to consider unpopular remedies to reduce the debt, including curbing politically sensitive entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.

"As rejected, the bipartisan 18-member panel would have worked for much of the year and, if 14 members agree, report a deficit reduction blueprint after the November elections that would be voted on before the new Congress convenes next year. The 14 would have to include at least half of the panel's Republicans."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/obama-debt-commission-ers_n_465008.html

Initially, I opposed it on the grounds that dealing with issues of gov't expenditures and taxation is a main reason we have elections and pay Congress a decent salary.

I have since changed my mind...When the 7 Republicans who co-sponsored the bill switched their vote, apparently just because Obama supported it, I came around. Congress is broken when the minority party acts like that in the midst of a major crisis.

I see no other way. (I'd actually like them to finish their report in about 6 months and submit it to Congress. Then I'd like to see the administration bribe, blackmail and/or strong-arm Congress into accepting it.)

[Ya-ta Boy]

�There isn�t a single sitting member of Congress � not one � that doesn�t know exactly where we�re headed,� Mr. Simpson said in a telephone interview Tuesday just before word of his role got out. �And to use the politics of fear and division and hate on each other � we are at a point right now where it doesn�t make a damn whether you�re a Democrat or a Republican if you�ve forgotten you�re an American.�

"While he criticized some liberal Democrats� refusal to reduce entitlement benefits, Mr. Simpson also dismissed Republicans� antitax arguments that deficits could be controlled with spending cuts alone. �But they don�t cut spending,� he said, referring to the years Republicans governed with President George W. Bush."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/business/economy/17gridlock.html

I always did rather like Simpson.

[djsmnc]

Honestly, I have never taken a stand on the Deficit Commission. It is what it is and it does what it does. I try to keep up with this kind of stuff, but not all of it catches my attention. So I stand by my stand.

[ontheway]

Some kind of deficit reduction commission is a good idea. It's too bad that this has been used for partisan gain.

However, it does seem useless to form a commission made up of the same Senators and House members who created the problem. And certainly no lawyers should be included in such a group.

It would be better to constitute a commission made up of 9 members chosen from professions that understand money: accountants, actuaries and other business and financial professionals and 9 members from the general public - chosen at random from voter registration lists - 3 enrolled Dems, 3 enrolled Reps, and 3 registered voters enrolled as independents or third party members. And of course, lawyers and current and former political officeholders should be excluded.

[The Happy Warrior]

[Fox]

Band-aid for a gunshot wound.