On Saturday evening, Speaker of the House John Boehner accepted less than he previously asked for in a deficit reduction plan. He slashed the GOP demand for total cuts from $4 trillion to, roughly, the $2 trillion suggested by the White House, and he tentatively agreed to some form of tax increase.

The concession is not necessarily a victory for the Democrats, and it’s certainly no win for the American public. Boehner’s initial request for a $4 trillion reduction may have been nothing more than a clever barterer’s tactic: ask for more than you want and you’ll probably get what you need. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead to see who is going to suffer most. You can bet it won’t be the banks. –ARK

The New York Times:

Citing differences over tax revenues, House Speaker John A. Boehner on Saturday night said he would drop his push with President Obama for a far-reaching, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan tied to a proposal to increase the federal debt limit.

… “Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes,” Mr. Boehner said. “I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase.”

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#barack obama#budget#debt ceiling#deficit#john boehner#social security#white house