Republicans’ Idea Of Compromise

by Stuart Shapiro

So the anti-spending-on-anything portion of the House Republicans has decided that the political backlash from failing to pass a farm bill has been too much to take.  They have decided to cut out the food stamp portion of the bill and work only on the spending for farmers portion.  Steve Benen derides this “compromise.”

Imagine I go once again to my favorite deli and I prepare to engage in a transaction with the guy behind the counter — he’ll give me a sandwich and I’ll give him $5. But there’s a small problem after he makes the sandwich: I decide maybe I don’t really want to give him the money after all.

“Look,” I tell the guy, “both of us agree that I should get the sandwich. You’ve already made it; it’s right there on the counter; so this is clearly an area of consensus. Instead of bickering, let’s focus on our common ground — I’ll eat the sandwich, and we can argue about the $5 later. You can disagree, but you’re being needlessly divisive.”

In Congress, Democrats are the guy behind the counter.

He goes on to say that this is part of a pattern, seen in immigration, and taxes as well as the farm bill.  My six year old learned a while back that compromise does not mean he gets what he wants and does not have to give up anything in return.  That puts him ahead of the House GOP.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.