TCTI: Too Crazy Too Ignore
 Dave Ross

Now we know why Superman worked alone

November 21, 2011 @ 8:23 am (Updated: 9:09 am - 11/21/11 )

Listen to Dave Ross' Commentary: Now we know why Superman worked alone

Yes, now we know why Superman worked alone. Because a Super Committee would've decided Lois Lane wasn't worth saving.

So now what?

cedargrove
In this Nov. 15, 2011 file photo, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., co-chair of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, runs out of answers for reporters after a closed-door meeting with Democratic members of the Supercommittee, in Washington. (AP Photo/File/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

"By law, the failure of the Super Committee will trigger automatic across the board spending cuts to nearly every government program, but those cuts do not go into effect for 13 months and some law advisors hope that they can figure out some more intelligent way to cut the debt between now and then."

Oh yeah -- more committee meetings! We're past meetings!

We're stuck. Because no one's really sure just how ruthless the other side is willing to be. And there's only one way to find out: since politics no longer works, all that's left is to see which interest group can block the most bridges during rush hour. Let the most annoying protest win!

Which leads me to this piece of investment advice, two words: pepper spray.

And as we sit in traffic waiting for the air to clear, the clock ticks toward the 2013 deadline, when by law, there must be automatic cuts of up to 10 percent in things like federal money for cops, possibly the Post Office, definitely the military.

But to look at the bright side, those cuts are bad news for lone-wolf terrorists like that guy arrested in New York...

"Who was plotting to bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities, as well as targeted members of our armed forces returning from abroad."

Too bad for you Mr. Anarchist. We'll be cutting that stuff anyway, so there's not much point in you blowing it up, is there?

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Comments (32)


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  • Lonestar wrote...
    Missing caption on the picture
    November 21, 2011 9:14 am
    "And myh bill would provide for enormous breast implants for the needy."
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ekingmom wrote...
    Time to clean house
    November 21, 2011 9:31 am
    If anything has become clear it's that our elected leaders can't work together and are more worried about reelection and pleasing special interests than about those who vote for them. The only thing that seems to make any sense is to send them all home. We need people who can acknowledge that compromise must happen and both sides have valuable points. The American people have said they want a combination of cuts and tax increases to balance the mess we're in -- it's time for our leaders to hear us or go home.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Fuego wrote...
    This is a surprise...really?
    November 21, 2011 10:01 am
    Anyone that has been paying attention the fine work Congress has been doing over the past 2 years realizes this was the end result and shouldn't be shocked to the stalemate. The finger pointing will escalate until we can elect leaders to run this country.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Wild Bill wrote...
    IT'S A GOOD THING
    November 21, 2011 10:25 am
    that this phoney Uber committee is failing. It's a gimmick, the cuts don't go into effect until after the next Presidential election, and they can be tossed out the window. This isn't about compromise between professional politicians and the special interests they serve, this is about a growing divide in our country that needs to be settled, lest a civil war ignite. As Professor Krugman oints out in his Nov 17 NY Times column: "But don’t we eventually have to match spending and revenue? Yes, we do. But the decision about how to do that isn’t about accounting. It’s about fundamental values — and it’s a decision that should be made by voters, not by some committee that allegedly transcends the partisan divide. Eventually, one side or the other of that divide will get the kind of popular mandate it needs to resolve our long-run budget issues. Until then, attempts to strike a Grand Bargain are fundamentally destructive. If the supercommittee fails, as expected, it will be time to celebrate." AMEN, We THE PEOPLE need to decide which direction this country is going to take, not some SuperDuperCommittee beholden to their usual suspect special interests. A lefty fat cat or a righty fat cat is still a fat cat.
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  • William Lawn wrote...
    Rick 4, 5 to 7% return for a safe investment?
    November 21, 2011 2:26 pm
    Obviously you don't. Invest, that is. 3 or 4% is moderate risk. Low risk is mid 2%.

    Two year treasuries are selling for .28% Notice that dot in front of the 28.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick (4) wrote...
    @William Lawn
    November 22, 2011 6:35 am
    I have invested since I was 18 years old, and the return on my investments have averaged 6.2% since I started investing with some years higher and some years lower. I have a portfolio that is made up of low to high risk investments. I manage my own portfolio and manage to sell high and buy low quite well. When I sell, I put the cash in low risk money market accounts until I buy back into stocks. I can retire today if I wanted too and live a moderate life style, but I am banking on 5 more years of working and retiring at 57 with a high standard of living (upper middle class level). Guess what when I do die, my nest egg will not have been touched and will go to my children towards their retirement accounts. They have learned well from me and are also investing into their retirement plans.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Total tax revenue collected by the FED GOV, YTD: $2.3 trillion
    November 21, 2011 4:40 pm
    To make this easier to grasp, think of $2.3 trillion as $2,300- billion.

    From $2300-billion, deduct $825-billion for Medicare and Medicaid, YTD. Leaves roughly $1,475-billion in the pot.

    From the $1,475-billion, deduct $723-billion for Social Security. Leaves roughly $752-billion in the pot.

    From the $752-billion, deduct $701-billion for defense. Leaves roughly $51-billion in the pot.

    From the $51-billion, deduct $218-billion for debt serv......TILT!

    Remember that on a cash basis the "Social Security Trust Fund" does not count. There is no cash in that fund to pay current and future claims, only a pile of IOU's from the FEDGOV- remnants of theft by previous Democrat and Republican governments. Hey, maybe we can get the retirees to accept IOU's instead of monthly checks! You think?

    Source: usdebtclock.org

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  • rational wrote...
    It's all political theater anyway
    November 21, 2011 5:35 pm
    The democrats never intended it to work anyway, and why should they compromise? By not compromising they get the cuts to the military they wanted and they get to blame the republicans...it's a double win for the democrats and they didn't have to do a thing.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Treat healthcare like a public utility, rather than a for-profit enterprise
    November 22, 2011 6:57 am
    Imagine if the price of electricity or water were set at "whatever the market will bear." The very wealthy would have Olympic sized heated swimming pools, the very poor would be taking cold showers- (maybe even sponge baths).

    We can't spend public money to buy health care at private practice rates. When over 1/3 of all taxes collected by the FEDGOV are used to pay for medical care of the elderly, the indigent, and the incapacitated the system is beyond broken.

    Publicly funded medical services should be dispensed through publicly funded clinics. The public can educate the doctors, in exchange for XX years of service in a clinic. The eliminates the $500,000 in student loans that a new doctor has to retire. A lot of services can actually be dispensed by an advanced Nurse Practitioner.

    People who insist on boutique level, premium services should be able to continue to patronize physicians who will provide them.

    Right now, Medicare is trying to pay premium private practice rates with public dollars. Worse yet, the health care providers are once again screaming that we're not paying enough. Really? We're paying out 1/3 of our entire national revenues to provide health care (for old folks, the rapidly increasing number of poor and uninsured workers, and the disabled) and it's "not enough"?

    Fix healthcare, and fix the budget.

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  • rational wrote...
    Treat healthcare like a public utility
    November 22, 2011 5:30 pm
    If it's run by the government it's going to end up looking like the post office...deep in the red and ready to crash.

    Anything the government touches turns to crap.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • e233 wrote...
    Patti Murray
    November 26, 2011 1:26 pm
    Just knowing she was part of the commitee could have pretty much guaranteed no results.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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