EDITORIAL: Budget woes

In case you need another sign of how screwed up Washington is, here you go:

Despite the fact that Congress hasn't passed a budget in more than three years, President Barack Obama's 2013 budget plan was already dead when he released it.

Critics say Obama's plan is more of a campaign statement than a serious budget proposal and that it does nothing to address the growing costs of Social Security and Medicare. And they're right.

But, at the same time, there have been no efforts by the Republican-controlled House or the Democratic-controlled Senate to come together on a budget plan, either.

Everyone - the president, the House and the Senate - looks like losers who are paralyzed by their own dysfunction, not just on the budget but on, well, everything.

With Congress' approval rating in the single digits and a seemingly simple item like passing an extension of the payroll tax deduction being touted as some major accomplishment, you'd think that might dawn on our legislators, but it hasn't.

The House GOP passes bill after bill, just to say it did, knowing they'll go nowhere in the Senate.

But the Senate Democrats are no better, refusing to take up anything the House passes and, in general, being utterly inactive. ...

The smart thing to do is change your approach. Try something else.

Congress can start by just looking at the Obama budget bill. Take it apart and put it back together. Work together to find areas of agreement, however rare they might be

But don't just call it "dead on arrival."

- The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis.