[StBernard] Politico: Cliff Diving by Gov. Jindal

[Westley Annis]

Cliff Diving

Politico
By Gov. Bobby Jindal 
12/6/2012 

"As the nation eagerly awaits Washington's solution to the so-called fiscal
cliff, and as the negotiations continue back and forth in both the media and
in reality, here are a few thoughts for consideration.

Today it's the fiscal cliff, but that surely will not be the end of it; next
year it will be the fiscal mountain, after that the fiscal black hole, and
after that fiscal Armageddon. But the truth is Washington already drove us
off the fiscal cliff while no one was looking. A nation that has a $16.3
trillion debt, a debt that is larger than our entire economy, has already
driven through the guard rail and is in free fall with the cliff somewhere
in the rear view mirror.

I had the honor of serving in Congress. Here's what I learned - there will
be no significant change without structural reforms. That's the polite way
of saying it. The less gentle version is that Congress and this
administration are psychologically incapable of getting our fiscal house in
order without laws that give them no other alternative.

It appears clear to me that with President Obama having created a brand new
entitlement program and having won re-election, and with our hand of cards
in the Senate being weaker not stronger, and with Secretary Geithner's
laughable public offering last week, whatever deal is reached is going to
contain elements that are detrimental to our economy. Elections have
consequences, and the country is going to feel those consequences soon.

But in the negotiations, Republicans certainly should fight to at least get
something done that will matter. At present, any reading of the headlines
over the past week indicates that Republicans are fighting to protect the
rich and cut benefits for seniors. It may be possible to have worse
political positioning than that, but I'm not sure how.

Here are a few structural reforms, any one of which would be worth fighting
for in this fiscal cliff diving exercise."

Click here to read Governor Jindal's list of reforms.
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