SUPER COMMITTEE'S RESPONSIBILITY.

The Super Committee, the panel of 12 that was appointed to find ways and means to cut the national deficit by $1.2 trillion dollars was still deadlocked, as the deadline of Nov. 23rd, 2011 was speedily approaching.

If it failed, the Committee would have been a sheer waste of time; and not counting its cost to the nation, it would mean that the United States Congress, which selected the committee members, has not done a good job.

As such, the automatic cuts would set in to reduce the costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and nobody knew what the outcome would be; however, many visualized that the cuts, if they were too severe, would devastate those entitlement programs.

The stalemate has stemmed from tax hikes that would make up for the targeted amount of $1.2 trillion, should committee members agreed on introducing a legislation that would ensure that the entitlement cuts went, at least, half way on the reduction, while taxes supplemented the remainder of that amount.

Now, nobody wanted to hold the Republican members as being responsible for the committee's disagreements, but they have defended the tax issue in such a way that, there should not be anything done about it or with it. It (tax issue) was completely out of bounds in their view. It should be "off the table", they have maintained.

If that should happen, then the proposed reductions would only fall on the entitlement programs, which the Democratic members were passionate about, and ensuring to minimize any cuts that affected them, to save senior citizens, particularly, from facing hardships, if they were forced to dig too deep into their Social Security benefits to support the cost of their health care.

The poor must also be amply covered, when it came to health services. However, if Medicaid was slashed severely, coverage for the poor would be so limited, there would be no room in the Emergency Rooms in the nation's hospitals to accommodate the number of people needing care, due to the time they would spend there for attention, and that would be unimaginable.

The only alternative was to bring in tax increases, which the Republicans have adamantly refused to do.

They have highlighted the schedule "A" itemized deductions portion of the tax code as being their contribution to the huge deficit deduction, and that would not help in the slightest.

Besides, the schedule A deductions were part of the tax loop holes that the Democrats were determined to close to complete the whole deal of the deficit deduction; and so making them to stand out separately as being "tax increases" would just be a ruse on the part of the Republicans.

Committee members should come to grips with themselves, and they should dramatically do something to avert the automatic reductions; as shirking their responsibility of cutting the deficit would be detrimental, not only to the entitlement programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but also the U.S. military budget, which would in turn put the National security at risk. There have been speculations of that happening.

They know exactly what to do to reach a settlement; but why are they not doing it?