Even before they started negotiations the Super Committee was a sad failure in U.S. politics. It was composed of 12 members from both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives during the Budget Control Act of 2011. Its purpose was to find areas to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Fiscal responsibility and policy is ordinarily among Congress’ duties.

However, Congress didn’t make the necessary cuts nor agree upon any areas of new revenue. Instead they shirked their responsibilities to a new committee that they created out of six members from the House and six from the Senate, evenly divided between the two parties. It was organized because the Democrats and Republicans couldn’t negotiate over the debt ceiling.

Democrats argued that new revenue is needed and Republicans demanded cuts in spending while refusing any tax increases. What’s fundamental is Congress’ failure to negotiate and settle one of the most colossal issues in U.S. history, the national debt.

Debt, taxation and finances are the responsibility of Congress. The formal system of budgeting we have in the Unites States was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. The object was to consolidate spending agencies, but even before its existence the power to tax and spend was always rooted in Congress.

The Act required that the president submit a budget to Congress, and then budget committees regulate spending limits and adapt the budget through the House and Senate. Once Congress has approved the budget it can be signed into law or vetoed by the president. So although it’s the president’s budget, Congress has the power to alter it until it suits the demands for the next fiscal year.

Where Congress went wrong was their failure to do what they were created to do, deal with the problems that faced the public and create a fiscal budget. Instead they created a “Super Committee” to take their responsibilities, make the cuts they’re too cowardly to make and increase taxes when revenue is needed. In doing so no elected official can be accountable for the results of the Super Committee; no congress person has to do their job.

Our situation wasn’t always this way. Economist Mike Kimel has said the last five Democrat Presidents, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman all reduced the public debt; contrast that against the last four Republican Presidents, George W. Bush, George H.W Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, who all increased the U.S. debt. Under Clinton the U.S. even had a 236.2 billion dollar surplus.

This gives you an idea of where the problem lies. Don’t consider me a Democrat, but in terms of party politics I see them doing much more politics than the current Republican Party. At least they’ve agreed to negotiations, a political activity, where Republicans have taken an absolute stance against compromise.

Speaker of the House John Boehner remarks that “when you look at this final agreement that we came to [over the debt deal] I got 98 percent of what I wanted.” You might expect the same behavior from your little sibling, but not Congress. Democrats settled on giving Republicans 98 percent and yet Republicans won’t even consider closing legal loop holes in tax codes to increase revenue.

A super committee was created to generate and cut $1.2 trillion, except that Republicans refuse to vote for anything that contains revenue increases. This includes cutting loop holes in taxation laws, which I find puzzling. When a law is established a tax why would you avoid payment through loop holes; if it’s a bad law overturn it, but this looks more like legal tax evasion.

The are other issues as well, such as the Bush tax cuts, one of the single greatest reasons for the current U.S. debt. The other is the war in Iraq, but Republican leaders publicly state the continued need for the war and the tax cuts. However, I don’t see why you wouldn’t remove two of the largest sources of the current national debt, especially on these issues. Removing the Bush tax cuts alone would be a strong step toward economic recovery.

What point is there in the super committee when you refuse to vote for anything they propose and why establish it when Republican members refuse to consider increases of revenue? The purpose of Congress is to resolve these issues, and yet they shirk their responsibilities. Congress was created to resolve issues rather than create them. In order to do that they need to negotiate and be willing to accept alternatives, that is the fundamental design of Congress.

Now that they’ve failed $1.2 trillion cuts go into effect in 2013. This includes defense spending, the payroll tax cuts and fundamental social programs. Instead of negotiation and resolving the issue Congress is forced to default to what may or may not benefit America. For things to continue Republicans in particular need to play along. Politics involves us all and to reach any agreement we’re all going to need to negotiate and compromise.