Congressman Joe Wilson
In the aftermath of the contentious debt ceiling debate, the poll numbers of both President Obama and Congress continue to plummet. When Congress reconvenes after Labor Day, the question remains: will there be more gridlock or a more concerted effort to find common ground?
President Obama and many congressional Democrats are calling for a balanced approach to debt reduction that would include new sources of revenue and that could take the form of closing tax loopholes and limiting tax breaks for the nation’s wealthiest citizens as well as corporations.
Second District Congressman Joe Wilson, who is recovering from a recent illness, says he would not be in favor of tax increases in any form. “We do need to be working together, but not to increase taxes,” he tol Columbia affiliate WVOC Friday, ”That’s taking money from the private sector, putting it in the public sector and destroying jobs and the small business environment.”
The new Joint Committee of Congress must recommend at least a net $1.2 trillion in debt reduction to Congress or risk triggering a mechanism to cut the federal budget to achieve an equivalent amount of savings. That would include a substantial cut in the defense budget that Republicans, including U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, are against.
The Committee is scheduled to present its work to Congress on November 23.
