So it's looking like what might be called the Great Debt-Ceiling Debate of 2011 is over. For those of us who followed this sort of charade for a living - and most sentient beings - this is a good thing.
Because now we can focus on the actual issue at hand: The actual national debt, or the amount the federal government owes to all its creditors. The LA Times sketches the sketchy details:
Read Full Article »The proposed deal would raise the debt ceiling to carry the government into 2013, while providing for at least a dollar-per-dollar exchange of spending cuts. The spending cuts would come in two stages. An initial round would impose more than $900 billion in domestic cuts across the federal government over the next 10 years. But the vast majority of those cuts would fall in future years.
A new congressional committee will also be formed with equal membership from both parties, which would recommend by late November $1.5 trillion in further cuts. Unless those recommendations are adopted, $1.2 trillion in additional cuts would automatically be triggered, starting at the beginning of 2013.
