U.S. Fiscal Cliff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

U.S. Fiscal Cliff - Essay Example The primary obstacle towards a greater understanding between the two political parties with regards to austerity, spending, and the national debt is with regards to how the situation should be handled. On the one side the Democratic Party oftentimes if much more fiscally liberal than the Republican Party and as such oftentimes has few qualms in running up high deficits. However, the Republican Party itself under the Bush years added to the national debt by a figure of over 4 trillion dollars. Such a sum for the time was an unimaginable one. Aided by nearly a decade of conflict and two wars, the Republican Party lost any and all credence that they had formerly retained with reference to being the party of fiscal responsibility. However, with regards to the individual positions that the political spectrum retains, there can be said to be two. The Democratic Party believes that the best way to find a reasonable solution for such economic difficulties revolves around raising taxes (speci fically on the upper middle class and wealthiest citizens). Such an approach has merits; however, speaking economically, it also serves to penalize those job-creators that most directly influence the level of growth and recovery that the nation would experience if such a deadweight loss were not experienced. Similarly, those that support the alternate view to the one listed above claim that any and all budget shortfalls must be remedied by relying on austerity and/or budget cuts to achieve the desired result.