
 |
|
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
June 3, 2011
/ 1 Sivan, 5771
Cut, cap and balance
By
Cheri Jacobus
| 
|
|
|
| |
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
This week a group of serious, committed advocacy organizations banded together to send a clear message to Washington and urged members of Congress to sign their pledge, titled "Cut, Cap and Balance."
Minus the usual double-speak and mind-numbing verbal gymnastics Americans have come to expect and associate with politicians discussing budgets, 11 Republican senators, and even more Republicans in the House, pledged to refrain from supporting a debt-ceiling hike without a constitutional amendment to balance the budget, accompanied by critical deep spending cuts. The "Cut, Cap and Balance" pledge advocated by a long list of fiscally conservative groups is a strong measure indeed. Until you remember that raising the debt ceiling and driving the national debt past the $14.3 trillion level for the next generation to suffer the consequences is an unacceptable legacy. In light of the current $46,000 (and change) share of federal debt with which each newborn is greeted, the proposal feels like the only responsible, sane solution on the table. It would force Washington to do the right thing now that it's clear Washington won't do the right thing without being forced.
So what are the right things to do, according to the pledge?
Cut Substantial cuts in spending that will reduce the deficit next year and thereafter.
Cap Enforceable spending caps that will put federal spending on a path to a balanced budget.
Balance Passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution but only if it includes both a spending limitation and a supermajority for raising taxes, in addition to balancing revenues and expenses.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warns the debt-ceiling hike is not optional. A growing number of Americans of various political persuasions are telling Washington that spending away the greatness of the United States and throwing away our future is not an option. Cutting spending, capping debt and balancing budgets is not optional. It's difficult to imagine a GOP primary and a general election without spending and debt as a top-tier issue. The Cap, Cut, and Balance pledge certainly goes a long way toward making federal debt and spending a personal, parochial issue for Americans, competing with the fear, ignorance and government dependency Obama and congressional Democrats propagate.
With the general public, the worm has turned and Americans are now more fearful of the looming European-style debt crisis and dismal future the left is creating than they are of the pain of large spending cuts. A Bloomberg poll shows 76 percent of Americans think the economy is getting worse or is stagnant, and only three in 10 would reelect Obama. An Associated Press poll shows four out of five think the economy is in bad shape and 59 percent disapprove of how Obama is handling the economy and unemployment. And a new poll by Public Notice shows 62 percent of Americans, including 40 percent of Democrats, are worried Congress will not cut enough spending, which means people are watching what Congress does rather closely. Fifty-one percent of Democrats say they would be more inclined to vote for a member of Congress who raised the debt ceiling only with significant spending cuts. Similarly, 54 percent of self-identified Tea Party supporters, 54 percent of Independents and 58 percent of Republicans share the sentiment. Women more than men believe the debt ceiling should not be raised, along with 52 percent of Hispanic/Latino voters.
So there appears to be nowhere for Obama and congressional Democrats to hide on the issue of massive spending cuts and strict fiscal discipline when broaching the issue of raising the debt ceiling. So what does a Democrat do with so little wiggle room?
Look for Democrats to start acting more like Republicans and embracing the Tea Party, rather than embracing the top of their own ticket with Obama's bottom-of-the-barrel poll numbers.
Senate Democrats are proposing a payroll tax deduction under the header of "stimulus" and "job creation." But since a rose by any other name still smells as sweet, it's a tax cut and from the party that argues ad nauseam that tax cuts do not stimulate the economy! So let's all please remember this moment. When the chips were down and measures to spur economic growth became vital to our survival, Democrats proposed tax cuts.
Perhaps a few brave Democrats will do the right thing and embrace Cut, Cap and Balance even if they want to call it something else entirely.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
To comment, please click here.
JWR contributor Cheri Jacobus, president of Capitol Strategies PR, has managed congressional campaigns, worked on Capitol Hill and is an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. She is a columnist for The Hill and appears on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News as a GOP strategist.
Previously:
06/03/11: Weiner Twitter kerfuffle
05/16/11: Osama, Obama and 2012
04/19/11: Obama's charity state
04/12/11: Dems too crazy to win
03/21/11: Revere real journalism
03/14/11: Dems generous to a fault
03/07/11: Cut with a machete
03/02/11: $100,000,000,000 of waste is immoral
02/28/11: GOP 2012 hopefuls are getting in touch with their inner Cheesehead
02/14/11: Patriot Act needs diligence
06/15/10: Republican girl power
06/01/10: The petulant president
05/26/10: Party like it's 1994
04/26/10: For animals' sake, or yours
04/19/10: My friend Michael Steele should resign
03/16/10: Waste, fraud and abuse
02/24/10: Put down the shovel
12/22/09: Hurry up and slow down
11/24/09: Jury of peers
11/10/09: Czar light, czar bright
11/02/09: Reid's landmines
10/26/09: Public option for Congress
10/19/09: Big Brother wins
10/13/09: Dancin' DeLay
09/26/09: Paterson under the bus
09/14/09: Start over, Mr. President
© 2009, Cheri Jacobus
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|