In an article this morning, Michael Barone discusses a point that I made on this blog last Spring, namely that by failing to pass a budget resolution this year, congressional Democrats gave up the use of reconciliation. That procedure, which allows the Senate to sidestep the fillibuster, can only be used to reconcile a spending or tax bill to the budget. Hence, if there is no budget, there can be no reconciliation.
Barone makes the point that had there been a budget, then Senate Democrats could have used reconciliation to pass a tax increase on those earning over $250,000, a long cherished policy goal of the Democrats. Barone is correct.
Last Spring, Democrats decided to forego passing a budget in order to avoid the spectacle of approving enormous spending and enormous deficits that would provide further proof of congress' big spending ways to the voters in the 2010 campaign. The move does not seem to have been successful, although maybe even more Democrats would have lost had the proper budget process been followed. Democrats also held off passing spending bills prior to the election for the same reason. As a result, the 111th Congress will now adjourn without ever setting spending rates for the current fiscal year. As a result, the new Republican House will be able to cut spending for the remainder of the year, something that would have been impossible had the Democrats acted responsibly.
I think it is safe to paraphrase Winston Churchill and say that "Never in the course of American government did so many owe so much to so few."
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