Missed Opportunity

For John, BLUF:  Regarding the Fiscal Cliff, our Congress has only kicked the can down the road for two months.

Over at the CNN Political Ticker we have some reaction to the House of Representatives voting to avoid the "Fiscal Cliff". 

11:19 p.m. ET - Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the bi-partisan co-chairs of Obama’s deficit reduction commission, said in a statement after the vote that the deal “is truly a missed opportunity to do something big to reduce our long term fiscal problems, but it is a small step forward in our efforts to reduce the federal deficit.”

“Washington missed this magic moment to do something big to reduce the deficit, reform our tax code, and fix our entitlement programs,” the said.  “We have all known for over a year that this fiscal cliff was coming.  In fact Washington politicians set it up to force themselves to seriously deal with our Nation's long term fiscal problems.  Yet even after taking the country to the brink of economic disaster, Washington still could not forge a common sense bipartisan consensus on a plan that stabilizes the debt.”

After the commission submitted a report which was received coolly by the president, who did not work to turn its recommendations into law, the two founded the group Fix the Debt.  Among other things, the group released a web video in which Simpson performed the “Gangnam style” dance.

In fact, Mssrs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, after their report to the President was filed, formed a committee, The Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget, to track what is happening.  Their most recent web posting looks at the Senate, and now Congressional, bill.  It is titled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the Fiscal Cliff Package".

The larger Federal fiscal problem hasn't gone away.  It is still there and will eventually impact financial markets and the larger US and world economies.

The question is, having missed the starting gun in 2011 and again in 2012, will the US Congress finally grasp the nettle over the Federal fiscal problem.

Regards  —  Cliff