something even better. but now it seems like it s going to become a problem. in a sane political world, here s what we would be doing right now. we have high unemployment and we can borrow for nothing, less than nothing once you account for inflation. we d be putting people back to work, rebuilding infrastructure, cutting taxes for businesses that hire people. cutting taxes for middle class people generally, and investing in the future of the country. the future of our infrastructure and jobs. meanwhile, we d agree to a deficit reduction package that would trigger the moment unemployment fell below 6.5%. instead we re not going to do enough deficit reduction from later and we ll hang for recovery along the way. by that, i mean terrible job. it s impossible to overstate how dumb this whole thing is. which leads us to number five, the fifth and final thing to remember this week as we approach the edge.
in a sane political world, here s what we would be doing right now. we have high unemployment and we can borrow for nothing, less than nothing once you account for inflation. we d be putting people back to work, rebuilding infrastructure, cutting taxes for businesses that hire people. cutting taxes for middle class people generally, and investing in the future of the country. the future of our infrastructure and jobs. meanwhile, we d agree to a deficit reduction package that would trigger the moment unemployment fell below 6.5%. instead we re not going to do enough deficit reduction from later and we ll hang for recovery along the way. by that, i mean terrible job. it s impossible to overstate how dumb this whole thing is. which leads us to number five, the fifth and final thing to remember this week as we approach the edge. the thing you really need to fear, the thing that keeps me awake at night, the fear of the debt ceiling.
cantor talking about this plan b that speaker boehner has put forward today or yesterday. house republicans are gearing up to push that vote through and, as we approach the fiscal cliff we re getting word from the senate and the white house that this plan is really a nonstarter. all sides are digging in their heels and we re now less than two weeks away from this automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. but let s pause from the back and forth, the play-by-play. is anyone, anywhere, really addressing anything significant when it comes to what is best for the economy? let s break it down. take the deal. you know, they will be able to claim that they have worked with me over the last two years, to reduce the deficit more than any other deficit reduction package. that we will have stablized it for 10 years. that is a significant achievement for them. they should be proud of it. but clearly, they re not. we re going to begin to solve our debt problem and
people and then the president will have a decision to make . he can call on the senate democrats to pass the bill or he can be for the largest tax increase in american history. president obama said he will veto plan b. he is holding out a bigger deal that has a lower thres hold for tax hikes. at some point, there has to be a recognition on the part of my republican friends that take the deal. they will be able to claim that they have worked with me over the last two years to reduce the deficit more than any other deficit reduction package and we will stabilize it for 10 years . that is a significant achievement for them. today will be a test for
about this for a year, and not only does the majority of the american people agree with me, about half of republican voters agree with me on this. so, at some point there s got to be i think a recognition on the part of my republican friends that, take the deal. they will be able to claim that they have worked with me over the last two years to reduce the deficit more than any other deficit reduction package. that we will have staeu have stabilize -d it fod it. that is a significant achievement. they keep finding ways to say no instead of saying yes. i don t know how much of that has to do with it is very hard for them to say yes to me.