Political Calendar is Moving Along: Many Issues, no Results

 

The calendar is moving right along these days. Christmas decorations have sprung up from greedy merchants everywhere. It is not even Thanksgiving yet but the stampede is on. Buy some useless piece of stuff, re-gift some piece of crud received last year, receive something you never wanted or would have in the house or wear. It spite of the meaning of Christmas, I find it more and more tedious.

However, the purpose here is not to humbug but to see what we know. Where are we in relation to the political landscape?

These are a few things we do know: 

The health care fiasco continues and will keep on going. Immensely unpopular and flawed, the Administration promise to have the insurance exchanges up and running by the end of the month is just another fib to mollify. The political announcement last week to allow- almost certainly not going to work- some individuals to keep their old medical insurance was a political move but not going to quell the cancellations.

The vote in the House approving the Upton proposal was also purely politics.

 The clock is also ticking on the employer mandate. Once companies start to drop their insurance or change it to comply with the law, the opposition against Obamacare will increase. Of course, the insincere and rare apology by the President will not change anything because the  liberals do not care. The goal was to nationalize the insurance market, make people rely on  government and take away choice. The goal is the same and the resolve has not gone away.

More of what we know and is coming up:

It is about 3 weeks or so until the Conference Committee on agreeing to a FY 2014 budget is  due to report. I am not holding my breath on this one.

The government will run out of Chinese money to spend on January 15, 2014. There will be no shutdown this time. Look for some agreement around the prior spending levels and go quietly into the night. Republicans have no need to fight over funding health care; they are winning that issue hands down.

 Debt limit will be hit sometime in the second week of February. Again, a big deal but probably not going to be as confrontational. The sequester will continue to squeeze in an un-artful way but for those wanting to reduce federal spending, it is a squeeze nevertheless.

The Chairman of the House and Senate tax writing committees have been promising real proposals for months to start consideration of serious tax reform changes. Not going to happen this year. The legislative session does not have that many days left. Although there has been lots of speculation, discussions and lobbying, there is no starting point yet. There is no agreement on structure and budget impact.

Maybe, next year but I am very skeptical politicians will want to take on some many sacred provisions. 

 So, lots going on, lots on the horizon but not really. Not yet.