US defence and welfare cuts loom as 'super committee' deadlocked

[alp227]

Source: The guardian

The bipartisan committee tasked with reducing America's $15tn (£9.5tn) budget deficit looks close to admitting defeat as its deadline looms.

The committee, created in August, has until Wednesday to report a plan to cut $1.2tn from the nation's deficit. Failure to do so will trigger automatic cuts to defence and social welfare programmes starting in 2013.

A war of words erupted on Sunday as both sides admitted that barring last minute surprise there would be no deal. A formal announcement of failure is expected Monday.

Economists warned on Friday that failure by the "super committee" could have dire consequences for the US and lead to another downgrade of its credit rating. But in the final hours of negotiations, committee members from both sides said they were still at loggerheads on issues that have troubled the two sides since the committee was set up.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/20/us-deficit-super-committee-deadlocked

[FreeBillClinton]

1. Automatic.... in 2013. I'll believe the defense cuts when I see them.

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. It's all theater...

..with bad actors.

[DeSwiss]

3. Exactly.

- Only we're forced to buy tickets no matter how bad the reviews, the acting or the script.....

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. Really? What's the deception?

Are they pumping up the threat of the 1.5 trillion cuts so the 1.2 billion cuts look good when they pass or something?

[Sherman A1]

5. Agreed

:thumbsup:

[woo me with science]

7. Of course it is.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

6. So we have to wait till 2013

- after Obama has been sworn in for a second term - to say "I told you so" when these Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cuts kick in? How convenient. And of course any defense cuts will be easily offset by Congress finding other ways to give massive amounts of our money to them. It's a shell game and we always lose.

[truthisfreedom]

8. No, the market will dictate sooner than that.

But I do have to say this is very interesting. "May you be cursed by living in interesting times."

[rucognizant]

9. Oh of course.................

ANd if ROmney or Paul, or Cain, or jeb bush?, gets in it will be a cakewalk right? Defense Spending cut, BIG pharma regulated, The bush tax cuts for the 1% will be ended, SS, Medicare, etc will be increased & we will all be in the gravy.......................
WHO, WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

[DCBob]

10. The automatic cuts will be changed before they ever take effect.

They are too extreme and will cause more problems than they solve.