Got four Pinoccios from WaPo last fall for telling a "wopper". Worth remembering. A key snippet:
(July 12, 2011):
They turned to [White House national economic council director Gene] Sperling for details about a compulsory trigger if they didn't cut spending or raise taxes in an amount at least equivalent to the debt ceiling increase.
"A trigger would lock in our commitment," Sperling explained. "Even though we disagree on the composition of how to get to the cuts, it would lock us in. The form of the automatic sequester would punish both sides. We'd have to September to avert any sequester" -- a legal obligation to make spending cuts.
"Then we could use a medium or big deal to force tax reform," Obama said optimistically.
"If this is a trigger for tax reform," Boehner said, "this could be worth discussing. But as a budget tool, it's too complicated. I'm very nervous about this."
"This would be an enforcement mechanism," Obama said. |