White House open to future ‘grand bargain’ on taxes, spending

[alp227]

Source: Washington Post

The White House is eyeing a return to elements of a “grand bargain” it tried to reach late last year with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) as perhaps the best hope of defusing a fresh threat to the U.S. economy in just two months, according to people familiar with the discussions.

As planning begins for the next phase of Washington’s fiscal wars, attention is turning to a strategy for avoiding deep automatic cuts to domestic and defense spending and averting a government default — which could all hit at the same moment.

Democratic and Republican officials say they could build on the grand bargain talks, which looked at raising new revenue through an overhaul of the tax code and reducing spending, including on Medicare, Social Security and other entitlement programs.

As in the earlier negotiations, however, there remain sticking points. How much new tax revenue would Republicans accept, especially now that tax rates on the wealthy are already climbing under the “fiscal cliff” agreement? And how far will President Obama go in meeting the GOP demand for deep spending cuts?

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/fiscal-cliff/white-house-weighs-new-grand-bargain-on-taxes-spending/2013/01/04/da3db9b8-55f0-11e2-bf3e-76c0a789346f_singlePage.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. This is getting to be like Groundhog Day... n/t

[MotherPetrie]

2. Without the laughs...

[demwing]

3. An entire article without a single substantive quote

to support the title. That's all this is...

[grahamhgreen]

4. We don't need a grand bamboozle shocked in a the last minute again. Pass each measure seperately.

Cut Defense.

[cliffordu]

5. Ah, the next session of rope a dope is getting warmed up.

good work, White House!!!

[Bluenorthwest]

6. The Circle Game, it goes round and round.....

A bunch of sell outs.

[Cosmocat]

7. It isn't the debt ceiling, but the sequester

or the government spending bill that will drive this.

I hold out a mild bit of belief that the President and democrats will indeed refuse to negotiate over the debt ceiling, as they should.

But, make no mistake, SS and Medicade will ONCE AGAIN put put up during the sequester debate.

Chris Hayes made a VERY good observation yesterday.

What these clowns debate PUBICALLY is the stuff that should not even be debated. What they do behind the scenes with no debate, is the bad stuff - witness that we had the payroll tax holiday expire, and all the porkish crap tax cuts for Hollywood/Nascar/Big Banks ect that got NO public discussion and easy "bi-partisan" agreement.

But, everyone is now on to the drama about the debt ceiling.

But, the dirty will be done over the sequester.

Now, will the jackasses in the House be willing to accept anything less than the total elimination of SS and Medicade along with the 98% of the country directly paying taxes to the job creating 2%?

THAT is the question.

[forestpath]

8. Here come the SS/Medicare cuts right on schedule.

[JoePhilly]

9. Thought those were supposed to happen in the fiscal cliff deal ....

And in the debt ceiling fight last summer.

And in Obama's 2011 Budget.

And in Obama's 2010 Budget.

And in Obama's SOTU speech in 2010.

And a few other times throughout his first term.

And so now your prediction is THIS TIME its going to happen for sure.