This is Not Rocket Science

If I can understand it ,then it's not rocket science.

A continuing resolution (CR) is a temporary spending bill (two to three months), and it shouldn't ever be mistaken for an annual budget. Why would major policy issues be attached to a short term device meant to keep the government running? The current CR keeps spending levels close to that of the GOP's budget request.  As Harry Reid said last night,"the Republicans don't know when to say yes."

The debt ceiling is just a promissory note that states that Congress will pay the debts they incurred through appropriations. It is possible to negotiate concessions, but both parties must know that at the end of the day; the debt ceiling will be raised   Denmark is the only other country that has a debt ceiling. I don't think we need another government duplication, but if we insist on keeping it, then we should attach it to a budget resolution. Holding the debt ceiling hostage is a bad precedent for future presidents. If the Republicans ever regained  the presidency, I don't believe they would like a lone Democrat to hold up the debt ceiling, just to destroy the economy for the current administration.

Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman said, " we are not going to be disrespected, We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is."There in lies the problem. In the budget negotiations of 2011, the GOP rolled over Pres. Obama and I remember John Boehner saying, "I got 90% of what I wanted."Republican expected the president to blink again but Obama learned his lesson, and he's standing his ground. Democrats are united and then will not fall for the gimmicks that the House is trying to pass. Joe Scarborough asked, "why won't Democrats allow funding for the VA, national parks, and NIH" and former White House Sec., Robert Gibbs said," all the GOP needs to do is pass a clean CR, and everything  will be funded. "

Joe Scarborough was pretty subdued today, but it may be because of what happened yesterday on MSNBC. It's common knowledge that MSNBC leans to the left,but Yesterday, Joe Scarborough had on Bill Kristol, and together they team up to go after Carl Bernstein. Carl did not stay for the second segment. Twitter exploded with liberal rants including Alex Baldwin. A guest with a different perspective is a premium but  there is very little difference between Bill Kristol and Glenn Beck.

A while ago, liberals let NBC know that they didn't appreciate Chuck Todd saying that it was not his job to stop politicians from distorting the facts about Obamacare. This morning Chuck Todd interrupted and corrected, Tea Party representative Tom Cotton of Arkansas when he tried to distort the facts about Obamacare. I think it's the media's job to correct politicians, no matter what party they are affiliated with. Not that many Republicans go on MSNBC, but I suspect that whatever that number was, it will dwindle to near zero.

Let the women negotiate a deal

Senators Claire McCaskill and Susan Collins said if we had more women in Congress, we would have a deal right now, because women know how to compromise. I believe that. What we have now is a battle of male egos trotting out their same old talking points hoping that this time, they will stick. The media encourages it because they think that Obama has to give John Boehner enough for him to hang his head high; regardless of what it does to our economy. I'm sorry but elections have consequences and to the “victor goes the spoils” because that's what the American people voted for. We didn't have that in 2009, so the president had to suffer the consequences of obstruction.

I saw a couple letters this morning describing the fiscal cliff as being an easy fix. Nothing could be further from the truth because of the time restraints and the elephant in room that no one wants to discuss. That elephant in the room is the impending debt ceiling crisis. The White House doesn't want to make a deal to get us through this year but then have to fight the opposition again in February over something that is much more crucial; paying our bills that we have already incurred. The two letters centered on taxes and spending but, unless we have some incentives for growth, education, infrastructure, jobs and innovation; we're just spinning our wheels. Republicans want to forget that the Democrats gave in to one trillion dollars in spending cuts in the last fight over increasing the debt ceiling. There's not a lot more that can be had in non-defense discretionary spending. The president said he's not going to have that fight anymore and I don't blame him because the world markets think that we're ridiculous for having that fight. The GOP forgets that they are responsible for some of that debt that we have to pay. That's not to say that they can't fight to cut spending during the budget battles.

It's my opinion with exceptions of course; women are much more honest when it comes to negotiating. They're much more adept in calling a “spade a spade” than men are. At the same time, they don't think having compassion is a weakness. I saw an example of this when Mica Brzezinski practically called Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan a liar ,when he said that the bill he recently signed was not anti- union but more pro worker. It gave the panel more room to call out the governor for trying to sugarcoat his actions. The governor said that the bill would lead to more jobs in Michigan but the 23 states that have right- to -work laws do not prove that. He cited the neighboring state of Indiana, who passed a bill similar to his right- to- work law and that state saw an increase in 30 companies coming to their state. He doesn't see the animosity it will create between the “free riders” and those who pay their union dues. The governor conveniently left out the fact that people like the Koch brothers love non- union states. The people for “Americans for Prosperity” were not out in full force to defend workers' rights.

I can't see why people want us to win the “race to the bottom” that began the year we started outsourcing. I don't think that we have to continue lowering wages and benefits just to keep companies in America but we'll never know unless we have access to all their financial records. Major League Baseball and the NFL were grossly underpaying their players. It seems to me "If owners make representations that they're losing money or that they can't afford a certain term in the collective bargaining agreement, then they're obligated to prove their assertion. “We applaud world-class companies like Caterpillar coming into our community bringing in $12.00 an hour jobs. We're part of the corporations union busting tactics but we're willing accomplices because we need the jobs. There's no easy answer but I still can't see why government should be able to stick its nose in the private sector's labor negotiations.