Punishments for late taxes but not for a late budget?

Submitted by Jack McCullough on April 13, 2012
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Daily Dose
Federal Budget
No Budget No Pay

TAX DAY APPROACHES: If you don't pay your taxes by April 17, you could go to jail. Congress has a mid-April deadline for budgeting too -- and nothing happens if they miss it. No Budget, No Pay would change this: Blair Forlaw for PolicyMic: April 15: Citizens Must Pay Taxes, Congress Must Pass a Budget

GETTING IT WRONG ON THE BUDGET: Jonathan Bernstein misses the point in his latest blog post for The Washington Post. He says Congress has been operating with a budget -- and last summer's Budget Control Act serves as that budget. The Budget Control Act doesn't address the amount that federal revenues are to be increased or decreased, surplus or deficit in the budget, or the public debt -- all requirements under the Budget Act of 1974. We need to increase accountability in Washington. If lawmakers can't pass a budget and all appropriations bills on time, they should not be paid: Jonathan Bernstein for The Washington Post: Please kill off this budget myth
 
2012 IS NO 2008: This campaign season will be unlike the last go-around for President Obama's campaign team, No Labels Co-Founder Bill Galston writes. One key difference: Obama will have to abandon his promise to heal a polarized political system after the results of the past few years:William Galston for The New Republic: Seven Ways 2012 Won't Be Anything Like 2008 For Team Obama
 
MORE CONSEQUENCES: Remember when Congress couldn't make a decision in November to secure a long-term debt and deficit plan? Well ... that had consequences. Under current law, most domestic spending for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will face mandatory spending cuts of at least 7.8 percent: Gordon F. Tomaselli for Science Progress: Protect the National Institutes of Health from the Sequester
 
HOW TO: Sometimes, it's hard to talk to people from the opposite political party. Former Sen. Judd Gregg and Sen. Ron Wyden have tips on how to do just that though. Gregg says that for Republicans to talk to Democrats, the first step is to get to know their dog. Wyden says that you have to talk "to" the other side, not "at" it. Listening is the first step toward progress: Judd Gregg & Ron Wyden for Businessweek: How to Talk to a Democrat, or a Republican
 
POLARIZED BEARS: Sometimes politicians in Washington act a lot like polarized bears. Click here to check out a fun comic.
 
STAT OF THE DAY: The number of people who think this country is on the right track has been stagnant at 29 percent for the past three weeks, according to Rasmussen Reports. Rasmussen Reports: 29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
 
TIPS FOR CALLING CONGRESS: Daily Dose reader Carrie Sheridan has some tips for contacting Congress. When calling, it's a good idea to reveal your age and party affiliation -- Independent, Republican or Democrat -- whether you are fed up or energized and if you vote, she says. That way, you aren't just another caller. Thanks for the tips Carrie!
 

Tips, questions or ideas? Email Collin Berglund at dailydose@nolabels.org or tweet at me (@nolabelsorg).

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