Columnist.
Democrats in Washington haven't wanted to be terribly forthcoming as to how they intend to pay for the new health care entitlement program and other massive spending programs being passed. It seems our national debt ceiling is now raised every few months, and the federal deficit is higher than it’s ever been -- exponentially so. Well, we can now see why the liberal establishment hasn't wanted to address the issue head-on with the American people. At a private event the other evening, it has been reported that one of the Obama Administration’s lead economic counselors, Paul Volcker, indicated the support for a Value-Added Tax (VAT) may be more achievable than in the past.
Well, the not-so-surprising news of the week out of Washington is that President Obama is now calling on Congress to schedule a straight vote on the Democrats’ health care reform measure. The new twist is that Democrats now recognize that their flawed plan, which has been met with stiff resistance from congressional Republicans and the American people, can only be passed on a pure party-line vote. So after a one-day, photo-op summit, President Obama has decided the time for negotiation has passed.
