We are not talking about cutting environmental corners. We are talking about establishing a process that makes sense.
The one thing this institution does really well is avoidance.
We are fighting over a smaller and smaller share of the budget.
Targeting our budget-balancing efforts on discretionary spending... is really missing the big picture.
The X factor in all of this, it seems to me, is growth.
Clearly, if the middle class has more money to spend, that is economic.
Changing the process is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I would begin by acknowledging that debt is a problem and it is a serious problem, and it is only going to get worse.
We are doing that to ourselves.
The difficult decisions today will be impossible 10 years from now.
It seems to me you have to look at both sides of the ledger if you are talking about stimulating economic growth.