Obama has yet to come out with his budget cutting proposal, but I hope he is serious about it. Ryan came out with a Republican wish list more than a serious proposal, but it is a politically risky start of the negotiation, so good for him.
I firmly believe that what is needed is both spending cuts and revenue increases. Those who think they can get out of the impending bankruptcy of the nation with only one half of that formula are being childish – wanting to avoid looking at the problems and keep running up the debts. They are spending their energies on attacking their political opponents rather than solving the problem, and with winning elections rather than solving this crisis.
This is an issue where both parties must move at the same time to do politically suicidal things. It is suicide for Republicans to raise taxes, and it is suicide for Democrats to cut spending. I had hoped they would each offer both cuts and increases, but it looks like the Reps will end up offering cuts and the Dems will end up offering tax increases, and the only one who can lead to come up with a real fiscal overhaul that combines the two is the president.
Either Obama does it now, or his replacement will do it in 2013.
