Why?
Because neither side, Democrats nor Republicans, were willing to face the tough consequences of not making a decision, not when an election was right around the corner that might bail everyone out.
Now we see the writing on the wall plain as day as the deadline for the “League of Extraordinary Congressmen” to agree to 1.2 trillion dollars in cuts over the next 10 years looms, everyone is trying to wiggle out of the automatic spending cuts that will occur without an answer. Democrats have always wanted to have a mixture of tax increases and closing of loopholes on the wealthiest Americans, while Republicans have all pledged that no tax increases will ever cross their rubicon of fiscal discipline. Now, there is a real possibility that huge across-the-board defense cuts could be looming and GOP committee members are whining jobs will be lost. Really? Funny they weren’t saying that when cutting public education and research budgets earlier this year. Is there any wonder why the 2011 Congress has lower approval ratings than Hitler?
This article originally appeared at Politic365.com.