WASHINGTON: The chances of a deal between Democratic and Republican lawmakers that would overhaul the US tax system, trim government spending and reform safety net spending programs appear to be fading.
A sudden improvement in the outlook for the US government deficit over the next decade has alleviated some of the pressure on lawmakers to act.
And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the US mission in Benghazi and the seizure of phone records from the Associated Press news agency, has distracted Congress and the White House.
For those who believe there needs to be radical reform to put the US budget on a more balanced long-term course, or who want a simpler tax system, congressional inaction might be disheartening.
"Both sides have hardened in their positions and fiscal fatigue seems to have taken over," said Steve Bell, a Republican who is a senior director at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The numbers "put out the fire among the hair-on-fire crowd," said Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former economic adviser to Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.
But, he said, "the chances that this Congress does anything useful, which were already low, are even lower."
"Probably, if you're in the White House, you're more worried about the IRS," Bernstein said. Last week, media reported that the agency scrutinized conservative groups seeking tax exemptions.
The news about the shrinking deficit came Tuesday, when the Congressional Budget Office slashed its deficit forecast for 2013, projecting it will be equivalent to 4 per cent of America's economic output, less than half its 2009 level, and will drop to 2.1 per cent, based on current projections, by 2015.
But the report said the deficit would start widening again in 2016 and continue on an upward path with "serious negative consequences" on the economy, increasing "the risk of a fiscal crisis."
The differing reactions to the figures were telling.
"I'm gonna smile for this," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing on Wednesday by pointing to the projections for the next 10 years.
The Republican-controlled House Budget Committee, chaired by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, put out a statement calling the figures "a fresh reminder of Washington's out-of-control spending," calling attention to the fact that long-term projections by the CBO remained dismal. Lawmakers had taken notice of the shift in the fiscal dynamic before that report.
indiatimes.com
A sudden improvement in the outlook for the US government deficit over the next decade has alleviated some of the pressure on lawmakers to act.
And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the US mission in Benghazi and the seizure of phone records from the Associated Press news agency, has distracted Congress and the White House.
For those who believe there needs to be radical reform to put the US budget on a more balanced long-term course, or who want a simpler tax system, congressional inaction might be disheartening.
"Both sides have hardened in their positions and fiscal fatigue seems to have taken over," said Steve Bell, a Republican who is a senior director at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The numbers "put out the fire among the hair-on-fire crowd," said Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former economic adviser to Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.
But, he said, "the chances that this Congress does anything useful, which were already low, are even lower."
"Probably, if you're in the White House, you're more worried about the IRS," Bernstein said. Last week, media reported that the agency scrutinized conservative groups seeking tax exemptions.
The news about the shrinking deficit came Tuesday, when the Congressional Budget Office slashed its deficit forecast for 2013, projecting it will be equivalent to 4 per cent of America's economic output, less than half its 2009 level, and will drop to 2.1 per cent, based on current projections, by 2015.
But the report said the deficit would start widening again in 2016 and continue on an upward path with "serious negative consequences" on the economy, increasing "the risk of a fiscal crisis."
The differing reactions to the figures were telling.
"I'm gonna smile for this," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing on Wednesday by pointing to the projections for the next 10 years.
The Republican-controlled House Budget Committee, chaired by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, put out a statement calling the figures "a fresh reminder of Washington's out-of-control spending," calling attention to the fact that long-term projections by the CBO remained dismal. Lawmakers had taken notice of the shift in the fiscal dynamic before that report.
indiatimes.com
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