Obama is right to stand up to the GOP

President Obama won't budge on fiscal cliff

President Obama won't back down

President Barack Obama is set to stand firm against the Republican Party when it comes to the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich.

Good.

The president ought not budge when it comes to the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Firstly, it’d be irresponsible and reprehensible to allow the Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent to continue. Those tax cuts, along with two lengthy wars from the previous administration, have cost trillions of dollars.

Democrats and Republicans alike recognize that a significant budget crisis is looming. The difference between the two parties, however, is stark.

Democrats see that government cuts and adjustments to some programs need to be made, perhaps in some unwanted areas; but they also accept that cuts alone cannot fix this mess. A change in revenue, one that will increase what the U.S. government takes in overall, must take place if we’re going to seriously take on the budget deficit. 
Republicans, on the other hand, refuse to even discuss the issue of tax increases on the extremely wealthy. Cuts and cuts alone, to popular social programs and aid to the nation’s poor, are the only plans they have; and we shouldn’t sugarcoat their plan by describing it as anything different.

A reasonable person would see this fiscal mess and consider every angle possible to help stave off disaster. Indeed, as Republicans themselves oftentimes compare the fiscal priorities of the nation to a family budget, one has to wonder whether the GOP would discourage Americans from seeking ways to gain income themselves as a means to fix their own personal situations.

And that’s probably why more Americans are set to blame the Republicans in Congress than Obama if we fly off the so-called fiscal cliff. If a deal cannot be reached, the president isn’t going to be blamed -- the Republicans are, mainly due to their stubborn refusal to negotiate or unwillingness to read into what the electorate voted for.

The president is right to stand firm against Republicans. The GOP is only considering one half of the equation necessary to fix America’s problems. And their pseudo-math won’t help our real problems.