Breaking News Alert: Lawmakers Concede Budget Talks Are Close to Failure

[Mira]

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Sunday, November 20, 2011 -- 1:25 PM EST
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Lawmakers Concede Budget Talks Are Close to Failure

Conceding that talks on a grand budget deal are near failure, Congressional leaders on Sunday pointed fingers at each other as they tried to deflect blame for their inability to figure out a way to lower the federal deficit without having to rely on automated cuts.
The testy exchanges — which dominated the Sunday talk shows — made clear that leaders in both parties now see the so-called “sequester,” a term meaning an automatic spending cut, as the most likely solution to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years, instead of the negotiated package of spending reductions and tax increases they have been unable to achieve over the last 10 weeks.
Democrats blamed the Republicans for their unwillingness to walk away from a no-new-taxes pact they signed at the request of a conservative, anti-tax group, arguing that the American public realizes that no grand deal could be reached without a combination of spending cuts and new tax revenues.



Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/us/politics/lawmakers-concede-budget-talks-are-close-to-failure.html?emc=na

About This E-Mail

[tblue]

1. I guess I'm surprised the Dems are holding their ground.

But I knew the deadlock was a real possibility. Where's the POTUS on this?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

2. Any danger we're going to face another credit downgrade?

I hope not.

[xchrom]

3. yes, there is. the ratings companies have already issued their 'warnings'. nt

[cutlassmama]

4. Actually yes.

[Vincardog]

5. Blame the GOP and their economic fantasies

[RKP5637]

11. Supercommittee failure could trigger US credit downgrade, economists warn

"Economists are warning of dire consequences if US politicians fail to make progress this weekend in tense talks aimed at reducing America's massive deficit ahead of a Wednesday deadline."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/18/supercommittee-failure-credit-downgrade-warning?newsfeed=true

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. The whole POINT of the "failure" was to trigger the automatic cuts.

So no one politician would have to be blamed on making the cuts.
The Super Committee was a set up, it has the built in "trigger" that was dependent on failure of the committee.

[RKP5637]

21. Yep, exactly! n/t

[gkhouston]

19. Yup. And to avoid that dire, horrible, unthinkable fate, they'll screw us again.

As many of us suspected months ago.

[lamp_shade]

6. I seem to recall that the last time he got involved, he was told to stay out of it.

What do you suppose they want him to do anyway? Talk his Dems into caving? They (repubs) need to put on their big boy/girl pants, grow up, stop whining and do their job. I don't want the President involved at this point. It's as if they're setting him up so they can blame him for the impasse.

[femrap]

7. I knew this would happen....

now, no one has to take responsibility. That's why it was set up this way. There should have been a 'tie-breaker' set up in this stupid anti-constitutional Super Stupid Committee. This isn't Democracy...It's a corrupted system.

[Contrary1]

9. Exactly.

What really pisses me off is that they expect us all to believe it was not a farce to begin with.

[lonestarnot]

8. Welp...SUEprize SUEprize.

:crazy: At least we haven't caved yet.

[RKP5637]

10. 9% approval rating for congress is way toooooo high. n/t

[rsmith6621]

12. Just What The Republicans Wanted...

This is their Christmas gift,it will be in a box called SLASH-N-BURN

[CarmanK]

13. Krugman says FAILURE in this case is GOOD!!

[Hutzpa]

14. FLAGRANT

:banghead:

:grr:

[spanone]

15. this had failure written all over it from the get go.

now the republicans can spend the next year lying to the american public on how they tried and tried and tried, but those mean old democrats wouldn't allow them to save this once great nation....

[piratefish08]

17. Recall each and every one of them. They are clearly not fit to lead and negotiate.

next?

[Historic NY]

18. Wow I never would have predicted it.....

:sarcasm:

[SoCalMusicLover]

20. Breaking News?

Is something you could see several months ago seriously breaking news?

If I predict snow in Canada this January, and it snows, will it be called breaking news in January?