Washington’s dog days of summer

On Friday, Aug. 5, just days after Congress passed and the president signed a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, Standard & Poor’s announced that it was downgrading our debt from top-tier AAA credit rating to a AA-plus.

The following Monday, world markets tumbled and analysts feared a global economic slowdown. The U.S. markets suffered one of their wildest weeks in history, as the Dow Jones had some of its biggest ups and downs. Overall, it closed down 1.5 percent and caused much agita.

In Washington, Congress formed a 12-member special committee to further reduce the deficit. The bill that was signed into law will reduce the deficit by only $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years, falling well short of the $4 billion S&P analysts recommended as a “good down payment on fixing America’s finances.”

The joint Congressional committee will comprise six Republicans and six Democrats, and will be responsible for making a proposal to cut spending another $1.5 trillion to match the $2.4 trillion debt ceiling increase.

The proposal is due by Thanksgiving recess, and cannot be amended. In the event that the proposal does not pass, a “trigger” mechanism would take effect. This would require $1.2 trillion in immediate cuts that would affect almost every government program. To avoid this situation, the 12 members of the committee must target certain programs that need the most cuts.

Meanwhile, across the country, while we should be enjoying the last lazy and carefree days of August, voters are disgusted with Congress after its partisan debate over the debt ceiling, and are more worried than ever about their retirement funds.

The biggest loser in the debt ceiling deal has to be President Obama. His leadership skills have been weak. He could not orchestrate a deficit deal, and allowed Senate Republicans to take the reins and push their bill, which cut spending without tax increases (for now).

In an attempt to rebound, the president embarked on a three-day Midwest bus trip to talk about job creation.