Obama formally orders deeply destructive cuts, blames Congress

So, Obama reduces the deficits, cuts defense, makes some unpopular decisions – and lets all the blame fall on the Repubs. Both now and for a slowing recovery.

…

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama formally ordered broad cuts in government spending on Friday night after he and congressional Republicans failed to reach a deal to avert automatic reductions that could dampen economic growth and curb military readiness.

As the United States staggered into another fiscal crisis, the White House predicted that the spending cuts triggered by the inability of Obama and lawmakers to forge a broader deficit-reduction agreement would be “deeply destructive” to the nation’s economic and national security.

“Not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away. The pain though will be real. Beginning this week, many middle-class families will have their lives disrupted in significant ways,” Obama told journalists after his meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

NY State: Cut taxes for Middle class, Raise on Millionaires.

With the people.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented a balanced approach to fixing the budget in the State of New York this week, in his 12th month in office. Promising.

From Reuters:

(Reuters) – New York’s millionaires will pay higher taxes while 4.4 million middle-class and upper-income New Yorkers will get tax cuts, under a reform plan the governor and legislature unveiled on Tuesday.

The new top income tax rate for those who earn more than $2 million will rise to 8.82 percent. Without the agreement, this rate would have fallen to 6.85 percent from the current top rate of 8.97 percent because a surcharge expires this year.

Full story.

Kissinger on the President’s Decision-Making Process.

Dr. Kissinger wraps up his book with some pragmatic advice for the WH policy-making processes. Among the general guidelines are a clear purpose, a thought-through analysis of consequences, and the fine art of striking the right balance between gathering information and acting before it’s too late.

President Ford discusses Vietnam with Kissinger, Martin, General Wayland and Scowcroft.

From his memoirs in Years of Renewal:

..

Because our Constitution confers extraordinary powers on the President, there can be no absolute rules as to how policy should be formulated or conducted; some scope must be left for the chief executive’s personality and psychological makeup. Nevertheless, I would distill certain general principles from what I have observed or studied.