Letter: Cliffhanger

E.R. Russell, Naples


All this hand wringing about a so-called fiscal cliff: relax a bit.

It might be fun to go over the cliff.

But first let us get our definitions clear. A tax increase will actually be a tax increase. As to what is a spending cut is very unclear.

In most cases when Washington politicians talk about spending cuts, what they really mean is a decrease in the amount of the planned increase. They also almost never cancel a program. The "cuts" in spending are $1 trillion over 10 years. That means $100 billion a year of spending "cuts."

Spending is currently at $3.5 trillion.

Now let us assume there is some sort of deal to avoid the cliff. Unless there are actual structural changes to Social Security and Medicare, my guess is all the "spending cuts" that come out of any negotiations will be nothing more than Washington smoke and mirrors. The spending crisis has not gotten bad enough to force the politicians to actually do something.

Our recent elections said the majority of the people like President Barack Obama's big spending programs, higher energy cost and his idea to tax the rich. I believe it was a mistake for Republicans to not allow the president to tax the rich. He will self-destruct if all his ideas are implemented. Unfortunately he will take a lot of people down with him, many who are his supporters.

At a minimum, this drama should be fun to watch.