As of today, April 9, the House Republicans and Senate Democrats respective leadership has reached a deal to cut $38.5B from the federal budget so as to avert a government shutdown. This deal came at the eleventh hour leading up to the shutdown on Friday, April 8. This deal doesn't amount to a formally passed continuing resolution just yet, but assuming no hang-ups in the process, this will become law within a few days. The numbers of cuts discussed include an initial $100B proposed by the GOP. Senate Democrats responded with $30B. Then, the Tea Party caucus insisted for no less than $60B in cuts, and now both sides have come to agree to the $38.5B figure.
Let's consider these numbers. The $30B cuts proposed by the Democrats amount to 4% of the budget and 0.4% of the total us debt, roughly $14T. This budget battle for fiscal year 2011 addresses only a timeline up until October 1 of this year, when the 2012 budget will begin, assuming the Congress actually passes one unlike they failed to do by October 2010.
So I pose the following question: why have the Republicans and the Tea Party caucus spent so much time and energy on FY 2011? The debt ceiling and budget for FY2010 stand as much larger and more critical battles. Rand Paul and Paul Ryan have both produced their own respective budget plans for how to address the countries arduous debt and running deficits. Getting either one of these plans in place, or even just portions thereof, enacted in any sustainable form is going to require a knock-down, drag-out fight between the Republicans in the House and the Democrats in the Senate and White House.
I understand why representatives like Michelle Bachmann express great frustration over not getting more cuts, but the gains of only removing 8% or less from current federal spending hardly warrant the down-to-the-wire negotiations we've observed. The American public already has a great deal of fatigue over this issue, and with plenty more to come, the House Republicans and Tea Party caucus will have to work overtime to win the media battles to keep the public on their side. The side who wins the PR battles in the media will ultimately get what they want with an election year on the horizon, and the House Republicans not showing the best strategy about which battles to fight has me a little worried. But overall, I think even the staunchest and most firmly grounded Tea Party supports and deficit hawks should look at the passing of this FY 2011 budget as a good thing. Now, time and energy can go to where it will be the most valuable: making the case to the public that America desperately needs a Paul Ryan or Rand Paul approach to the budget.
