By Catherine Dodge and Laura Litvan - Jul 18, 2011 12:01 AM ET
Obama Says Republicans Should Compromise on Taxes
July 16 (Bloomberg) --
Congressional Republicans are clear in their demand for a constitutional amendment forcing the government to balance its budget. What they’re not offering is clarity on how to get there.
It’s politically popular to line up behind such an amendment; laying out specific cuts is less appealing.
Almost all Republicans and some Democrats will vote to alter the Constitution when the issue comes up as early as this week. Almost none, including a leading co-sponsor of the Senate measure, Orrin Hatch, and Bill Flores of Texas, a co-sponsor of the House measure, say how they’d slash Medicare, eliminate federal programs or shrink education, law enforcement or national defense. Republicans agree that tax increases shouldn’t be part of the equation.
“It’s a misleading political cheap shot,” Bill Hoagland, a budget adviser to Republican congressional leaders from 1982 to 2007, said of the proposed amendment. “We all agree we should have a balanced budget, but that’s the process of budgeting and governing. They are paid to come to town and make decisions.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-18/republicans-pressing-for-a-balanced-budget-fail-to-deliver-details-on-how.htmlPhoto caption -
President Barack Obama speaks about negotiations between lawmakers over raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Obama, speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, says Republican lawmakers should agree to raising revenue in any deficit-cutting deal, noting he has agreed to consider cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare. (Source: Bloomberg)