Fiscal Cliff Observations.  You know, when I was a kid, we got a big thrill about standing at the top of a cliff and peering over the side; looking at the bottom, flirting with vertigo, and seeing who might get the closest to the edge.  As I got older, I became more wary of the edge.  Not sure why this happened.  It might be because I have come to realize that older bones take longer to heal.  It might be because the bravado of getting closest to edge has lost it value.  But I think the real reason is because I realized that I have a lot more to lose now if I were to slip over the edge.  We would all like to think that our Government would have grasped that same concept, but it appears they are still motivated mainly by those initial adolescent incentives.

I truly believe that among the many bipartisan failures of our Government over the last couple of decades, the most damning is the failure to do their jobs and let…government…work.  Whether we agree with them ideologically or not, credit must be given to the House for their record on passing legislation over the last four years.  The Senate on the hand has failed abysmally to function as a legislative body.  Even though I feel the President shares a good deal of the blame for this breakdown in primary function by failing to provide effective and practical leadership, I will confine my indictments to the legislative bodies.  It can be argued that the President’s proper role is post-passage and is therefore dependent on the performance of Congress. 

I have to think that the majority of Americans who care about such things would strongly embrace a return to a legislative process that was envisioned by our nation’s founders.  A very simple process where the House writes and passes legislation, the Senate then considers that document and either agrees or passes its own version.  In the case of two different bills, we go to conference and then back to each body for confirmation of the grand compromise.  The President then has his opportunity to veto and see just how broad and deep the support is or he can play his role of chief administrator and simply implement the new legislation.  My, what a wonderful system…House members elected every two years to insure they remain in touch with the people and pass legislation that is timely and relevant; a Senate where seasoned legislators can thoroughly vet the bill from the House and attempt to perfect the document; and an opportunity for the President to rarely use that veto power to test the validity of principle.  Why aren’t we doing this?