· August 6, 2011

The Boehner Downgrade

While the President and leaders in the Senate have come to the table time and time again, House Leader John Boehner and his caucus have failed to consider any of the alternatives presented in the debt ceiling debate. Instead, they have fought time and time again to advance their extreme agenda and ensure that their wishes were met. As a result of their insistence on a ‘cuts only’ approach Standard and Poor’s has downgrade the national bond rating. The S&P press release notes “the statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy.” This is truly a problem and will have a negative impact on the country’s fragile economic recovery. The lack of a balanced approach, advocated for by both President Obama and Senator Brown, was also noted in the Standard and Poor’s press release: “Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.” A balanced approach is necessary. Boehner and his tea party caucus should consider the greater good of our country and begin working with the President and leaders in the Senate instead of against them.