The Blog112th CongressPoliticscongress-fiscal-cliff

The Washington Secret (or Is It Washington Lie?): Don't Believe the 10-year Plans They Are Peddling to You

What is going on now is simply Washington political drama to see who wins. This is not working on a problem and looking for a real solution.
Malika Saada Saar
By 

Google's Senior Counsel on Civil and Human RIghts

Google's Senior Counsel on Civil and Human RIghts
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: (L-R) Journalist Greta Van Susteren, political strategist Donna Brazile and Bristol Palin attend the People/TIME White House Correspondents' dinner cocktail party at the St. Regis Hotel on April 29, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for TIME)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: (L-R) Journalist Greta Van Susteren, political strategist Donna Brazile and Bristol Palin attend the People/TIME White House Correspondents' dinner cocktail party at the St. Regis Hotel on April 29, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for TIME)

If we go over the fiscal cliff, there will -- SUPPOSEDLY -- be 1.2 trillion dollars in spending cuts over 10 years. Is that what would happen? 1.2 trillion dollars in cuts? I don't think so... think about it....

If we go over the fiscal cliff, it is 110 billion in year one (multiplied 10 years equals about 1.2 trillion dollars). $110 billion is not a huge amount if you think about how much waste could be stripped away from the government that no one would feel.

You and I both know that after the first year, Congress will change it. They have the authority to do so and they will. Congress will get back to doing what they do best: spending! They will rewrite the fiscal cliff -- nothing sticks in Washington beyond one year.

What is going on now is simply Washington political drama to see who wins. This is not working on a problem and looking for a real solution.

Am I wrong?

P.S. - This is not to say they should not do anything now and prevent us going over but merely to give you a taste of Washington reality.

Cross-posted from GretaWire

|
Submit a tip

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot