Dec. 30, 2010 (The Capital Times, Wisconsin) -- President Barack Obama is receiving congratulations for moving to the center on the tax agreement with Republicans last week.
Both sides think they got something: Democrats feel this will nudge unemployment below 8.5 percent in 2012, helping the president get re-elected; Republicans achieved long-standing goals on measures such as the estate tax and think they will get most of the credit for an economic recovery that’s already under way.
The truth is, the deal moved us closer to a fiscal crisis, just as the euro zone now is experiencing.
Who will emerge on top in the U.S. version is harder to predict; at the moment, Republicans have the edge. But it’s not clear even they will be happy with what they wished for -- an opportunity to enact massive federal government spending cuts.