Weekend question: Did the Democrats get a good deal?
So the cuts in the continuing resolution are probably more on the order of $20 billion to $25 billion than $38.5 billion, and they mostly fall over the next five years, not all in 2011. So here’s the question: Did the Democrats, contrary to initial impressions, negotiate a good deal?
It seems to me that they did, particularly if you’re worried about economic performance during a weak recovery. They agreed to a big number and a few days of bad headlines, but the cuts won’t much matter for the economy this year and aren’t as large as everyone initially thought. And they avoided the potential economic disruption of a shutdown. I initially scored this one almost totally for the GOP, but now I think the substance of it tilted towards the Democrats’ priorities, at least if you’re judging against a realistic range of outcomes. What do you think?
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