Look at what they’ve already agreed to

Look at what they’ve already agreed to

by digby

Ezra reported this morning on the latest gossip about the debt ceiling negotiations:

Both sides, as they often said, were shooting for about $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. They’d already agreed on around $1 trillion in spending cuts and were making good progress on the rest of it. But Democrats insisted that $400 billion — so, 17 percent — of the package be tax increases. And that’s when Republicans walked.

Gosh, I sure do hope that the President can hold tough and get that whole 17% in tax increases or it will make the Democrats look like they really got screwed in this deal.

See what’s happening here? They aren’t having any trouble agreeing to trillions of dollars in spending cuts, are they? The talks aren’t breaking down over that. It’s the measly little tax increases on some luxury goods for millionaires that they are now pretending to haggle over. The rst of the “deal” is just fine with both parties.

Believe me these Republicans are not going to crash the global economy over some tax loopholes for jet travel. Maybe they genuinely don’t want to give Obama this band-aid and maybe Obama will hold out for it and get it. Or not. But who cares? I think it’s pretty clear that the debt ceiling is going to be raised as a result of a deal that cuts trillions of dollars worth of spending from the federal government at a time of 9.1% unemployment and an economy that is slowing. The “win” they are building up here (and alleged capitulation by the Republicans) is a joke.

It didn’t have to happen this way.

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