Government observers surely noticed that this year, even as the pages of the calendar turned, the political debates always stay the same. Every few months, the federal government nearly shut down (it never actually did). Every few months, the threat of widespread municipal bankruptcy reared its heard (that never happened either). Meanwhile, state and local governments spent the year dealing -- almost universally -- with the same set of challenges: decreased revenue, exploding pension obligations, and crumbling infrastructure, to name a few. It's a year most will be happy to forget.
As they slogged through 2011, some elected officials (and the reporters who cover them) got a bit lazy and began repeating the same old platitudes to describe the mess facing government. Here's Governing's list of political cliches that need to retire in 2012.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Five Political Cliches To Retire in 2012
