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In the press conference, Obama presented his plan to the American people: the American people should call up their elected representatives and ask them to do … stuff. Seriously. “If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit,” he intoned, “let your member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.” If you believe that people need to be nice to each other, call your senator! If you think friendship is better than enmity, email your representative!
To be fair, Obama’s pitch was slightly more sophisticated than that. He was essentially training the American public to become a million little Obama minions: he wanted them to use his buzzwords to pressure lawmakers. Most people are in favor of “balanced” approaches to things, as opposed to unbalanced approaches. What Obama means by balance, however, is raising taxes. So his big debt reduction plan is, apparently, to pretend that the word “balanced” means raising taxes, but not to clearly state that to the American people, so that they will begin using the word “balanced”; then our congresspeople, using their magic Obama decoder rings, will think that the American people are calling on them to embrace Obama’s heretofore unpresented plan.
If this plan makes sense to you, there is a solid shot that you are not smarter than a fifth grader.
In the end, Obama wants the responsibility of dealing with the debt crisis lifted from his shoulders. Congress shouldn’t do it. We should leave the debt limit precisely where it is. Either Democrats in Congress will decide on elements to cut, or President Obama will unilaterally have to do so. Then he’ll have to finally take the heat for his political actions. For years, Obama has been able to have his cake (spending) and eat it too (increasing deficits). If we cut off his monetary supply – to which he is wildly addicted — Obama will have to decide between spending the available cash on fiscal vegetables like paying down the debt, or on fiscal alcohol like paying off the unions.
His feet must be held to the fire. Either he or the Democrats in Congress must be made to choose where, when it comes right down to it, they want to prioritize their spending. Then we’ll see whether their spending choices can meet the scrutiny of American voters.
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