Republicans Walk Away From the Table - Again

On Sunday, President Obama sat down with Congressional leaders from both parties to discuss the nation’s debt. As the August 2nd default deadline approaches, there is increasing need for a final agreement between Democrats and Republicans, but the meeting ended after an only an hour and a half of discussion. Why? Because the Republicans walked out in the middle of the meeting.

Throughout the debt negotiation process, Republicans have proved unwilling to compromise on tax increases even on the brink of financial disaster. Republicans portrayed themselves as crusaders for large-scale debt reduction, but over the weekend, they abandoned Obama’s large-scale, bipartisan debt plan in favor of a smaller plan that protects their interests.

Obama’s proposal reduces United States debt by $4 trillion over the next ten years through $3 trillion in spending cuts and $1 trillion in tax revenues. This plan clearly favors spending cuts over tax increases three to one, but Speaker Boehner refuses to support any plan that increases taxes.

Boehner now advocates for a smaller plan of only $2.4 trillion in debt reduction originally proposed by Vice President Biden. This move is unwise as well as financially dangerous. During Sunday’s meeting, Biden himself warned Republicans the $2.4 trillion alternative is too rough to be adopted such short notice. Nothing was finalized during the Biden plan negotiations, because once again, Republicans abandoned the bargaining process once tax increases were mentioned.

Boehner’s actions make it perfectly clear that Republicans prioritize party interests before a debt crisis that impacts the entire nation. He views the Biden plan as an opportunity to minimize tax increases for the wealthiest Americans and multi-billion dollar corporations – oil companies will receive more than $4 billion in tax breaks this year alone. The United States cannot afford to default due to Republican unwillingness to compromise. In words of Harry Reid, ““If they don’t work to cooperate to get something done, the harm for this country and the world will be very significant. And that’s on their conscience.” Democrats must stand firm and tell Republicans that tax increases are an essential element of any debt negotiations.