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Expert: Don't Expect Super Committee to Reach Solution to U.S. Dysfunction

Nation Can't Function as Democracy Because of Political Stalemate On Taxes

August 21, 2011       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Thomas Mann says "the way out of the morass caused by the debt-ceiling dispute is likely to be long and troubled."
 

Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution said on C-Span last Tuesday that the way out of the morass caused by the debt-ceiling dispute is likely to be long and troubled.

Man was the lead speaker on a panel discussion examining the effects of American political problems on the world economy.

The so-called Debt Super Committee of Congress, which includes two members from Michigan, Republicans Dave Camp of Midland and Fred Upton of St. Joseph, is handcuffed by reluctance to raise tax revenues.

Charles Riley, writing for CNN Money, profiles the Michigan duo:

"Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan (Republican): Camp -- the House Ways and Means Committee chairman -- served on President Obama's debt commission, but voted against it. He objected to the plan's tax hikes and said it failed to address rising health care costs.

"An expert on taxes -- he will bolster GOP credentials on any tax reform that might be discussed.

"Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan (Republican): Upton chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He has taken some moderate positions in the past, including attempts to decrease tax cuts in the George W. Bush administration that remain contentious today."

"The signs of dysfunction are all around us, said Mr. Mann. "Most immediately was the dreadful experience that Charles Krauthammer (Fox News columnist) has seen as a sign that the American system is working, but everyone else sees as truly an embarrassment, a matter of great seriousness and potential damage, but utterly unnecessary.

"I'm talking, of course, about the hostage-taking of the debt ceiling increase that was planned a year earlier, used in a way that it never has been before, forcing, it was hoped, instead of changes, but in the end produced a paltry payoff that left most observers sickened by the risks that were taken on, and very much unimpressed by the results that came from it."

Mr. Mann went on to address economic concerns:

"You put that together with sluggish growth, high unemployment, projected increase in the debt to GDP ratio, and the fact that no action on any of these matters is likely to occur before the 2012 election. And it's not clear how things will get themselves resolved afterward. The S&P downgrade was part of this; although I think the global rush to treasuries remind all of us that S&P is likely to suffer a greater downgrade than the U.S."

"I think underlying these specific things are sort of two widespread views about the craziness afoot in America."

The political part of the national dysfunction brought these comments:

"The first has to do with the contemporary Republican Party, its ideological extremism, and a sort of sense to deny reality, whether it's the efficacy of the financial stabilization and stimulus, the utility of the tax pledge, the non-existence of climate change, this occurring both among prominent leaders and members of the Party in Congress and among all but one of their presidential aspirants. That sends a signal, I think, across the globe that sort of America is in trouble. It's fallen off track, that something is amiss, that it's not just a sort of temporary episode of conservatism populism, but one of our major political parties no longer maintains an adult status, one in which they can wrestle and are willing to wrestle responsibly over legitimate differences with the opposition and have something come from it."

President Obama did not escape criticism:

"And finally I think coming out of all of this now, there is developing a perception of the weakness of our President in the face of all of these difficulties. People see him in his futile search for a negotiating partner and politics to deliver on his promise of a post-partisan politics in government, and see him sort of maneuvered into a misplaced emphasis on deficits and debt at a time when the economy is floundering and there's little sign of the growth in jobs that would actually, combined with serious action on deficits, allow us to regain our footing and some traction."

Mr. Mann summarized:

"I mean, I think all of those contribute to the perception of dysfunction. If you see what's coming in the next few months in the time before the election, the only solace you take is I don't think we're going to have quite the crisis that was contrived around the debt ceiling. It's past the election. We'll return to that in 2013. There's basically agreement on the budget for this coming year. Some minor adjustments have to be made, but there's no opportunity to really shut the government down over that. So, at the very least, it's possible that we won't be put through the melodrama of the last months."

The Super Committee, seen by some as hope for compromise, probably won't, according to Mr. Mann:

Having said that, the odds of the so-called Super Committee, really a joint committee of Congress, 12 members, equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, all of whom are viewed as reliable players by their respective leaders. It wouldn't matter if they were all wild independents. They're operating under a set of imposed political rules, the most important of which is no increased tax revenues that mean nothing of consequence is likely to come out of this.

"So, we will fall back on the triggers. Of course, those don't go into effect until after the election, so there's still time to ward them off. But I think the safest bet is nothing will happen, and that will contribute to the sense that we can't function as a democracy."



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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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