Keller @ Large: Want To Help Economy? Do Nothing
BOSTON (CBS) - It's the day after Labor Day, a hint of fall is in the air, and everywhere you look, the pace is picking up.
Unfortunately, this also includes Washington D.C.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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Congress is back from more than a month off, forcing Mother Nature to fill the void left by their absence with several costly disasters.
Waiting for them, a refreshed President Obama, who warmed up for the fall season by having to re-schedule a major policy speech because it conflicted with a GOP candidate gong show on cable TV.
When such profiles in leadership reconvene in our nation's capital, who can doubt that unifying solutions to our economic problems are at hand?
Sorry, but as we survey the fall agenda in DC, sarcasm seems an appropriate response.
For instance, this Thursday will be the first meeting of the bi-partisan "super committee" charged with cutting $1.2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade.
This committee was hastily created because of a failure to budget responsibly fueled by grossly excessive partisan posturing and bad policy making.
It draws its membership from some of the architects of those failures.
Whatever they do, deep cuts or major tax hikes or both, will probably take at least a short-term toll on the economy.
But not to worry, the chances of them getting anything done are slim.
Which brings me to a constructive suggestion I have for the Congress and the White House that could help the situation – do nothing.
The president, flanked by the top Democratic and Republican leadership, should use Thursday night's speech to announce that they've agreed on a policy freeze – of spending and cuts, of tax hikes and tax cuts, of regulatory changes, anything major that impacts the economy – for at least the next two years, barring unforeseen events.
Business says it wants predictability – it gets it.
Public-sector wants to halt cuts?
Done.
And let's see what happens.
We can reasonably assume one thing – everyone will feel a whole lot better knowing Washington politicians and bureaucrats are being prevented from making things worse.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
