Heather Parton, aka Digby, who writes theHullabaloo blog and spends hours actually reading the stuff pumped out by the "corporate village," found this little scenario in the Washington Post. She quotes Alice Rivlin, who wrote this debt ceiling script last March:
First, a bipartisan group of senators crafts a long-run budget plan that slows the future growth of Medicare and Medicaid, puts Social Security on sound fiscal basis, simplifies the tax code to raise more revenue from broader base with lower rates, and caps discretionary spending (defense and domestic). This step doesn't take long, because the bipartisan group is already working and has the Simpson-Bowles and Domenici-Rivlin plans to build on. Next, the president and the House leadership join the negotiations. Political perceptions begin to shift. After the sharp world-market reaction to the brief battle over the debt-ceiling increase, all participants are scared of not acting. Fear of taking the first step to slow entitlement growth or raise additional revenue is replaced by fear of being blamed for blowing up the deal and throwing the economy into a new tailspin. The deal no one thought possible is signed in the Rose Garden in the October sunshine, markets react positively, business steps up hiring and economic growth accelerates.
Digby comments:
Voila, Le Grand Bargain.
I'm just guessing, but that certainly sounds like the recipe we're currently seeing being cooked up.
She goes on to discuss the new village tax code that is being sought.
simplifies the tax code to raise more revenue from broader base
I recommend reading the whole post which discusses the current "crisis" script we are now living out. This reminds me of the buildup leading to the Iraq invasion "in search of weapons of mass destruction."
Sorry this is short but I just wanted to focus on the Rivlin quote as there are so many diaries up discussing the "negotiations."
