Cliff Notes

This is how it’s going to work. We will NOT go off the cliff. The Congress and the White House will reach a miraculous agreement at the last minute, at least to kick the can down the road into 2013. The finger-pointing may not turn into handshaking and back-slapping, but everyone will feel pretty good about themselves. The stock market will go up hundreds of points, and the New Year will begin on a high note.

There’s still a lot that’s wrong with this picture. Once the problem is solved, it will be back to business as usual. We will be so relieved that we won’t remember what the folks in Washington put us through. It has happened before, and will likely happen in the future when similar issues arise. We are so used to this dysfunction that it feels normal. That’s the dangerous part.

Just so you know where I stand on the chief sticking point, which seems to be a number, I do not consider those with annual incomes of $250,000 “wealthy.” Comfortable, yes – a lot of folks would rejoice to have that much coming in – but wealthy, no. At least the Republicans tried to put a number on the table. And once a number is on the table, you’d think there’s room for negotiation.

I have another problem with word usage: “entitlement” programs. The E word is pejorative, because it brings to mind people who don’t deserve something feeling as if they’re owed. But in the case of Social Security, for example, they ARE owed – they paid into this system while they were working. That said, I personally wouldn’t be opposed to some sort of means testing. If someone really is wealthy, they probably wouldn’t miss the relative pittance they get back from SS. Since in general, we’re living longer, it probably is time to gradually raise the retirement age as well.

I must confess I haven’t read Simpson-Bowles through, but Republicans and Democrats shouldn’t feel the need to re-invent a wheel that people with real brains spent time coming up with. At the very least, it should serve as a framework for discussion.

But to return to this moment, let’s try hard to remember the pain we’re in right now, and figure out how we can make Washington feel this pain when the next cliff looms.

And BTW, I don’t know what I’ll do the next time I hear someone say “déjà vu all over again.” I bet even Yogi would tell you he’s heard that once too often. All I can do is issue a warning: you don’t want to be in the same county with me if that happens.