Monday’s announcement about the super committee’s failure left uncertainty about what the fallout would be. The Dow fell 248 points following the announcement. Meanwhile, the president and congressional leaders traded blame and called for a solution to be reached before automatic budget cuts begin in 2013. President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Ried, D-Nevada, blamed the failure on Republicans’ unwillingness to compromise on a balanced plan that would have made budget cuts while increasing taxes on the wealthy.
Republicans argued that the Democratic solutions offered gave too much power to the scope of the government and punished job creators. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman offered a potential solution, a vote on the Senate floor on one of three proposed deficit reduction plans. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell suggested the possibility of softening the automatic cuts, which Obama has promised to veto.
