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SALT LAKE CITY — Both political parties took pains Wednesday to convince the American public that they can tackle the budget crisis over the long term. Both sound like progress, but ideologically they're miles apart.
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Last week, President Barack Obama and members of Congress narrowly steered clear of a government shutdown, but the long-term budget crisis still dominates the Washington debate.
"We have to live within our means, we have to reduce our deficit, and we have to get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt," Obama said.
Obama says his plan would cut the deficit $4 trillion over 12 years. He proposes savings in Medicaid and Medicare through efficiency and cuts to prescription drugs. He also plans cuts to defense spending, and to eliminate tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans — to which Republican say "no way."
"The president's first two budgets were a tragedy, but when the United States was staring down the barrel of a third straight trillion dollar-plus deficit, his fiscal year 2012 budget morphed into parody," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
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House Republicans vehemently opposing tax hikes
Leading congressional Republicans renewed their vehement opposition to tax increases Wednesday, as Pres. Obama announces his deficit-reduction plan."Part of what's happening is political posturing on both sides," said Dr. Matthew Burbank, a political science professor at the University of Utah.
Burbank says politicians disagree on what led to the deficit and the way out, which is setting the nation up for more showdowns.
"We could talk about the individual details of how much we fund each of those programs, but both political parties want to talk about their principles," Burbank said.
Republicans and Democrats offer great detail on how their budgets will deliver. Burbank says the difference comes down to fundamental policy questions like "more government or less government?"
"That's really why the political parties want to have this debate," Burbank said, "because they both think that they have winning arguments here."
When compromise is finally made, Burbank says voters will assess whether they like the outcome and cast their votes accordingly — so there's a lot at stake for us and our lawmakers.
"Some people are going to win, and some people are going to lose in that process — and of course all those people are all voters" Burbank said. "The winners may see this as a good thing, and the losers and may be unhappy and vote those people out of office. So, it has real political consequences for what happens in the future."
Email: jboal@ksl.com
