According to the Congressional Budget Office information (see below), it appears that if the “do-nothing” Congress actually does nothing the nation’s long term debt outlook would significantly improve.  As it stands, temporary tax cuts are set to expire and automatic budget cuts already passed by Congress with bi-partisan support are set to take effect.  As a result of laws already on the books our long-term debt problem is about to be fixed.  But Congress will have none of this!  Nor should they!

Letting the temporary tax cuts expire will anger the Republican political activist, Grover Norquist, and cause him to hold congressional Republicans in violation of his “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.”

Driconian automatic budget cuts are set to go into effect in January, 2013.  Those cuts aimed at the military will slow, but  still not reverse, the ever rising rate of our military spending.  Never mind that our military spending is already twice the combined military budgets of the industrial world, this slowing of military growth is completely unacceptable to conservative Republicans and many Democrats as well.  Cuts in the military are popular with the electorate  however.  But it is the rest of the automatic budget cuts that will bring extraordinary pain to many citizens.  It will be like preforming surgery with a chainsaw and would devastate much of what we have come to expect from our government.

Congress voted for these automatic budget cuts but never really meant it.  It was a game of fiscal chicken that parties agreed to play.  So here we are on the fiscal cliff about to balance the federal budget with a tax hike and a chainsaw.

The 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook: Infographic