The political block

What was the "super committee"? and does it really matter that its members failed to reach a compromise?

The committee itself was one of the most over the top and ridiculous attempts at bi-partisanship ever attempted. Last summer, as the U.S. faced a debt default the 11th hour agreement reached called for a bicameral, bipartisan committee of eight (two House Republicans, two House Democrats, two Senate Republicans and two Senate Democrats) to agree on a plan to reduce the national debt. If they did not agree on a plan by Thanksgiving automatic spending reductions of $1.2 Billion would go into effect (split about evenly between defense and social programs).

As one might expect failure is exactly what happened.

But does it really matter? I say no. The mere fact that this committee existed shows the national dialogue has shifted from "what can the government do for me?" to "we need to get spending under control!". The reason for failure was not for a lack of effort. The Republicans on the committee actually presented two distinct proposals, one of which would have closed numerous loop holes in the tax code, essentially raising taxes on the rich. I believe this failure presents a great opportunity for the electorate to decide (rightly or not) how to reduce our national debt. With the current debt near $15 Trillion (yes with a "T") I think America will once again prove Winston Churchill prophetic when he said "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities."

It is now up to the American people to determine what the right course of action will be.