The Tale of the American Chicken

 

 

 

"I knew this deal would be bad, but this outcome is no better than kissing you sister..."

 

A couple of weeks ago, the hometown team played the villains from across the border to a tie in a football game. Nobody on either side was happy - a tie meant nothing - nothing was settled. One of the sportscasters said, "Playing to a tie is like kissing your sister." Well the deal that was reached yesterday on the debt, debt limit and CR is worst than playing for a tie. It is once again, kicking the can down the street.

Not only will this deal not reduce the debt, it is going to add another $60B back into it by relieving some of the sequester cuts. Really? As much as many crabbed about the sequester cuts, they were the only real cuts that have been made for a long, long time. So the chattering class is patting themselves on the backs, and the band will play on. The fact the President likes it should be the number one warning flag to all fiscal conservatives.

The only humor in this entire issue was when Paul Ryan was on Fox yesterday describing the deal. His words - "This will now give us the time to work on the tough issues of entitlement reform and a new tax code." To that I say "Crap!" That will never happen. Unless there is a cliff ahead or a gun to the head, these overpaid, under worked civil serants will do nothing. Let me say that again - NOTHING.

The President is still focused on taking back the House and putting Ms. Nancy back as Speaker. ALL the pundits of honesty are now saying the House will remain in Republican hands and the Senate might flip. So until the 2014 election, there will be no cooperation between the House, Senate or the Administration. The debt will continue to climb, the ACA will continue to crumble, and the phony numbers on Wall Street will continue to set records. In other words, the band will play on, and on, and on.

Am I surprised by this outcome? Actually, I am. Although I knew it would be a "nothing burger", I did not think it would be this bad. I truly expected more of Paul Ryan. The fear of another government shutdown has caused leaders of conviction to act like the American Chicken. After Thanksgiving, we don't need anymore poultry for a while.