Fiscal cliff

The “fiscal cliff” is a very tempting item to write about, particularly now, in these moments when the mainstream power brokers seem to be hammering out their lines of defense. These are pre-emptive strikes against the finger pointing that will occur when our national representatives show that—despite the mandate provided in the last election that we Americans really, really don’t like a dysfunctional Congress—they still favor party over people.

It’s kind of funny, actually. The fiscal cliff may be a radical answer to the stalemates over taxation and social programs, but in a bigger way, it’s also an answer to the intransigence demonstrated by both parties since the Bush the First years.

The fiscal cliff, while evoking images of Thelma & Louise, is actually a bunch of tax hikes and spending cuts that were negotiated by a bi-partisan group in order to force Republicans and Democrats to negotiate a public debt ceiling agreement. They did it because few could imagine that representatives would choose to cut off their own noses despite voters’ faces rather than simply negotiate—but guess what? It sure looks like that could happen.

So Harry Reid brings up the specter of filibuster reform, which is exactly what he should have done many times in the past over important things like immigration reform, health care reform, appointments—too many things to mention, knowing that the Senate’s minority must negotiate or get made irrelevant, which would create a whole new form of dysfunctionality on Capitol Hill.

So then what happens if he does “reform” filibusters? The fiscal cliff is avoided, and we’ll see a tsunami of Democratic legislation shoved through.

But nothing will be fixed. The next election could change the character of the Senate, and then the majority party could push through their favored programs while repealing the work of the previous Congress.

Ahh, but this fiscal cliff. It would start on Jan. 2, 2013, and would enact incrementally over years. It would increase taxes on all Americans, lower deficits and cut spending. In short, in some ways, it’s a very real fix to the problems Congress has created since Bush the Second destroyed our balanced budget with his warmongering and anti-regulation policies for the country’s economic engines.

And do you know what would happen then, beginning Jan. 3, 2013? Negotiation, mediation, statesmanship. Maybe another horrible recession. But as soon as every single American began paying higher taxes because these jackoffs couldn’t honestly negotiate, we would see an unprecedented wave of removals from office. The radicals on both sides would get their status and probably their pensions taken from them. There is no doubt they would be punished for their failure to protect the citizens’ interests.

And this message, this message, would be a shout heard all the way to Washington. Yes, the landing at the bottom of the fiscal cliff would hurt for a few months, but it would be hardly more painful than the long drop it took to get there.