Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

(How to Blink with Both Eyes Wide Open)

Republican leaders have reached an agreement with President Clinton so who blinked? They all did — with their eyes wide open. It was an exercise in Washington doublespeak at its best. It did accomplish something — solved a public relations snafu. The rhetoric had reached a point where both sides had painted themselves into their respective corners and there was no room to compromise or back down gracefully. Read the rest of this entry »

The polls show that the public is overwhelmingly in favor of a balanced budget, but thinks the Republican plan is too harsh. These sentiments appear to contradict themselves. The public seems confused, and little wonder. Read the rest of this entry »

President Clinton upstaged Republicans as they opened debate on their budget reconciliation bill by holding a press conference to announce that deficit spending for fiscal year 1995 has come in lower than his original projections. Since Mr. Clinton has been in office the deficit has gone from a high of $290 billion to $164 billion, so the President proudly claimed, “My policy is working!” Has Clintonomics been good for the country and good for the economy, at least for the short run? Read the rest of this entry »

Members of Congress are coming back to Washington next week to finish up their work on the 14 giant appropriations bills that make up the federal budget. President Clinton is coming back to Washington with his veto pen in hand and inside the beltway buffs are getting ready for the big train wreck on October 1st which marks the beginning of the 1996 fiscal year. Read the rest of this entry »

All the polls show that Americans consider balancing the budget more important than cutting taxes, and that is why the Republicans think they can get away with giving us a puny $245 billion tax cut over the next seven years. That’s only $35 billion a year in tax relief, pocket change to the federal government. Why it doesn’t get us back to where we were before the adoption of Clinton’s tax and spend plan, not to mention the tax hikes that occurred under Mr. Bush. Read the rest of this entry »