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President Obama hardly needs more taxes to slash the federal deficit but Congressional Republicans do need new taxes to survive politically.

Puzzled? Be not! Washington is a city of paradoxes, where economics may define what is good, but politics defines virtue.

Since 2007, when Democrats took control of Congress, federal spending is up $1.1 trillion -- $900 billion more than was needed for inflation. The federal deficit has jumped from $161 billion to $1.6 trillion.
Surely, President Obama could cut the additional spending in half, and save the country $450 billion each year and $4.5 trillion over 10 years. Congressman Paul Ryan is right -- the county has a spending problem, not a taxing problem.

Republicans took control of the House in the last election on a cut federal spending and deficit platform. Americans were disgusted with the President’s bailouts of banks and auto companies, and Democrats big spending, and they want an adjustment to the center -- perhaps the center right -- but Republicans don’t have a mandate to impose a severe conservative agenda.

The Tea Party remains a minority of House members, and the Republicans must strike a balance between fiscal austerity and voters aspirations on health care and the like to create a sustainable majority.

The strongest evidence I can cite is that the President’s approval ratings have improved through these budget negotiations, even as economic news gets darker and darker. In daily tracking policies, since June 20, his approval rating has improved and the ratio of approve-disapproval has gone from negative to positive.

Americans may hold the President accountable for the bad economy and even worse jobs market, but they don’t hold much malice toward his position that some increased taxes -- a contribution from the wealthy and closing abusive business deductions—has some merit.

Voters do vary on where they draw line in defining the wealth and tax abuse, but hardly any national politician can play a winning hand completely rebuking the President’s fairness argument.

Saturday evening, Speaker Boehner pronounced that a grand deal on deficit -- slashing it by $4 trillion dollars over 10 years -- was not possible, because the President insists on higher taxes as part of the package. He was giving in to pressure from his right wing, led by Majority Leader Cantor.

The hard reality is that Cantor is politically tone deaf, Barack Obama is not, which explains why the former is a Congressman and the latter is a President, and the 2012 elections are not like to change that.

Just as President Obama and Speaker Pelosi mistook their 2008 victory as a mandate for a hard left agenda and got shellacked in 2010, Cantor & Company, with their severe conservative agenda, are taking Republicans down the same well trod path of hubris and defeat.

If the Republicans were smart, they would recognize giving the President some tax measures in a package that is overwhelmingly spending cuts is the best path politically.

Obama is playing it smart, Cantor is not!

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/11/republicans-need-new-taxes-president-obama-does-not/#ixzz1Rp3SwjK1

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President Obama said today that he's willing to "to tackle our debt and deficits in a serious way," but House Speaker John Boehner says that isn't true.

"This boils down to two things," Boehner told reporters, after Mr. Obama gave a White House press conference regarding negotiations to lower the deficit and raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before August 2. By that date, the administration says, the United States will no longer be able to pay its bills without an increase in the amount it can borrow.

"The president continues to insist on raising taxes, and [Democrats] are just not serious enough about fundamental entitlement reform to solve the problem," Boehner said. "It takes two to tango, and they're not there yet."

Boehner said today he agrees with the president that the debt ceiling must be raised. "We cannot allow our nation to default on our debt," he said. The United States has never defaulted on its debt.

Mr. Obama has been seeking a deal that includes $4 trillion in budget savings over a decade, but Boehner said on Saturday that a mid-size package of reforms -- closer to $2 trillion in savings, with no tax increases -- is the only politically viable solution.

Boehner said there had been a conversation underway about raising revenues.

"Revenues in the context of tax reform -- lowering the rates, broadening the base," Boehner explained. "There is in, fact, a way to do this."

Yet, he said, "That conversation can't continue if they're not serious about fundamental reform of entitlement programs."

Mr. Obama said today that he was willing to make political sacrifices in order to reach a deal, including agreeing to changes in programs like Social Security. Boehner said, however, that the president was not willing to make changes that were significant enough.

"I understand this is going to take sacrifice and political capital on both sides. I'm certainly willing to take my share of it," Boehner said. "If we're going to take political capital, let's step up and do the big thing and the right thing for the country."

In addition to significant changes to entitlement programs, Boehner said Republicans were seeking a balanced budget amendment, spending cuts that are larger than the hike in the debt limit, and spending caps.

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The Republicans are only hurting them selves with this.  Through offering to cut entitlements and things dear to the left the Democrats have shown a willingness to compromise, however the Republicans have stuck to their guns and refused the middle ground.  They're using the threat of forcing default to try to force a resolution that only benefits them.  Thats ganna be hard to defend in the coming PR battle.

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Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:
The Republicans are only hurting them selves with this.  Through offering to cut entitlements and things dear to the left the Democrats have shown a willingness to compromise, however the Republicans have stuck to their guns and refused the middle ground.  They're using the threat of forcing default to try to force a resolution that only benefits them.  Thats ganna be hard to defend in the coming PR battle.

actually, OBAMA has at least shown a willingness to compromise, but that doesn't mean his party is behind it. i'm also wondering if the way the republicans were duped with the supposed historic cuts that didn't turn out to be all they were cracked up to be, when they signed off on the budget deal, has anything to do with their reluctance to trust obama and the democrats this time around.