(And I doubt if anyone else here is either).
If I have my numbers right, the various positions on the budget compared to 2010 spending were:
Tea Party -100
House bill -60
<<-- compromise at -33
Boehner -30
Senate Dems -10
Obama +40
I guess if you add these all up and divide by 5, you get the final compromise of -33, so maybe it's a "fair compromise". (And it looks like Boehner wins the betting pool with the closest number!)
And honestly, I know we need a budget compromise and I know we need to cut the deficit. So I'm kind of OK with taking out $30B of spending. I wish it weren't coming all from discretionary non-security spending - it's going to kill jobs and hurt people. The pain will be real.
I'm also anxious to see the final detail of where the cuts will come, and how much the Democrats are giving away on "add on" provisions that implement the Republican social agenda but have nothing to to with the budget. As they say, "the devil is in the details" and it could still get worse.
Even more troubling are the things still left undone:
No progress on the 2012 budget.
No significant change to the deficit or the debt.
No tax increases.
No fix to corporate subsidies or tax loopholes.
No defense cuts.
No Medicare cost controls.
No increase to the debt ceiling.
From the AP report on the compromise:
Far bigger fights are ahead on a longer-term GOP budget plan that takes a more comprehensive approach to the budget woes. Also looming is a must-pass bill to allow the government to borrow more money to meet its commitments. Republicans hope to use that measure to force further spending cuts on the president.
I'm disappointed with the 2011 budget. I'm disappointed that Republicans think they can walk away from this agreement when the debt ceiling has to be increased. I still hope to see real progress on tax increases and defense spending reductions in the 2012 budget. I expect to be disappointed again, but I still hope that we'll do better.