The conventional wisdom is that nothing will get done in Congress this year because since it is an election year, the Republicans will do everything they can to obstruct any of President Obama's Programs.
Normally I would consider this a travesty. That means that we will get no job programs and that nothing will be done to get the economy going again. It means that nothing will be done about comprehensive immigration reform. It means that nothing will be done to enhance our education system or to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.
The Republicans are delighted, because they thing because they think that government is evil and that the less government the better. Be careful of what you wish for!
The Republicans may not have thought this one through, but despite that, or maybe because of that, the governments inaction will result in something good happening.
Because of the inaction of Congress, the National Debt and Deficit will be reduced by $17.1 trillion in the next ten years.
That probably surprises everyone, because most people think that if current government policies continue, that the debt will spiral through the roof. Where does the $17.1 Trillion come from?
The majority of the savings will come because at the end of the year, if Congress does absolutely nothing, the tax policy will revert to what it was under President Clinton, who had $200 billion surpluses projected indefinitely.
The expiration of the "temporary " Bush Tax Cuts will save $3.3 trillion. Another $1.8 trillion in savings will come from allowing other "temporary" tax cuts expire, and another $1.2 trillion will come from the "sequestration" cuts mandated by the failure of the "Super Committee" ($600 billion from the Military and $600 billion from domestic programs). A final $.9 trillion will be achieved in interest savings because this money will not be added to the National Debt.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post...So this year a Do Nothing Congress may not be so bad. Especially when you consider that many of the essential domestic spending programs are shielded from cuts. Medicare and Social Security would be protected as would nearly three-fourths of federal funding that states receive and federal funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program, and highway programs.
Of course if Congress did its job and actually did pass some legislation that was good for the country, they could get the economy going again with investments in jobs, education, rebuilding our infrastructure and the other things that President Obama advocated in the State of the Union Address. If Congress did this, manufacturing would get a boost, consumer confidence would increase, businesses would start hiring again and millions of people would be paying taxes instead of being dependent on government services. This would save additional trillions of dollars.