Taxmageddon is the result of the extreme shortsightedness of President Obama and the Democrats, who extended current tax policies for only two years back in 2010. The latest research suggests that the economy will suffer severely this year for that shortsightedness.

The Dodd-Frank legislation has many problems and omissions, and much is still uncertain about implementation. But the new liquidation authority provides for the possibility of making it so that future crises do not involve the bailouts of creditors that truly embodied the problem of having banks that are too big to fail.

Government housing policies and the toxic mortgages they spawned were the sine qua non of the financial crisis.

Reform of Medicare is inevitable given the current debt limit debate. Democrats introduced a plan to reduce spending on Medicare Part D based on the presumption that manufacturers make extraordinary profits from the government. This means premiums for seniors and government spending on Medicare will likely increase, offsetting any savings.

According to Sen. McConnell, Republicans would not have to vote to raise the debt limit, which could be interpreted by some of their constituents as a vote to increase the size of government. Instead, they would vote to NOT raise the debt limit and the President would veto the resolution.

Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) unveils a plan avert a debt crisis and reign in federal spending

Republicans should stay firm in coming negotiations and say that an agreement to increase the national debt should also come with an agreement to reduce the national spending.

For all the drama surrounding the narrowly averted government shutdown, this was just the warm-up round. The real budget fight begins in a few weeks, when Congress must take up legislation to raise the federal debt limit.