Democrats Threaten To Go Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ If GOP Fails To Raise Taxes -- Washington PostDemocrats are making increasingly explicit threats about their willingness to let nearly $600 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts take effect in January unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher taxes for the nation’s wealthiest households.
Emboldened by signs that GOP resistance to new taxes may be weakening, senior Democrats say they are prepared to weather a fiscal event that could plunge the nation back into recession if the new year arrives without an acceptable compromise.
In a speech Monday, Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the Senate’s No. 4 Democrat and the leader of the caucus’s campaign arm, plans to make the clearest case yet for going over what some have called the “fiscal cliff.”
“If we can’t get a good deal, a balanced deal that calls on the wealthy to pay their fair share, then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013,” Murray plans to say, according to excerpts of the speech provided to The Washington Post.
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My Comment: The Democrat controlled US Senate has not passed a budget in over 3 years .... so their threats have to be taken seriously. While these threats may have worked in the past .... resulting in tax increases but no cuts in programs .... my gut is telling me that the sentiment in the U.S. on fiscal issues is now changing. My prediction .... if the US goes over the "fiscal cliff" they (i.e. the Democrats) are going to be blamed AND they will be paying a heavy political price for it at the polls in the next few election cycles. Why do I believe this ....I saw the same thing in in Canada in 1993 when the Conservatives government found themselves in such a similar bind .... high budget deficits .... and decided to remedy it by introducing a value added tax (higher taxes) with token cuts in the budget to make up for the shortfall. The result was their annihilation in the polls by the Canadian electorate.
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