The Debt Limit: What's Obama Doing?

Like you, I have no idea. Here's a guess:

What we need right now, of course, is big tax increases (or re-creases, as we might call them, since we'd really be just rescinding tax breaks) on the rich, the super rich, and the super-duper rich...and big spending increases, e.g. on infrastructure. A payroll tax holiday for working folks would also be good...or so it seems to me. I've been paralyzed with fear about the debt since I was a kid...but even I realize that it's spending that's needed right now.

Alright, so the GOP won't do the right thing. They cranked up the debt when we could have lowered it, and they did it without blinking. (Cheney: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter.") Now, suddenly, they've decided that we've got to get all austere. At the worst possible time. (And, y'know, it has nothing to do with ruining the economy before the 2012 elections...nope...nothing at all...  To even consider that hypothesis would be nutty.)

So:

What we need, and what Dems want:

More taxes and more spending

What the GOP wants:

Fewer taxes and less spending

Exactly the opposite of what's needed.

And they won't budge.

What does Obama do? Hops over them, and offers:

More taxes and less spending

for greater deficit reduction.

This seems smart to me. They won't agree to modest spending cuts and modest tax increases, but insist on big spending cuts and no tax increases. Obama hops over them and "goes big" by offering big spending cuts and big(ger) tax increases. Now the Dems can say: we offered two proportionate plans, but the GOP is insisting on its disproportionate plan in the middle--we've given them both reasonable options possible, and they're still insisting on the one crazy way that combines both bad things.

Incidentally: props to Boehner for suddenly/finally admitting what is obvious to every even minimally rational observer. He's going to pay for this politically, I'll bet...