to Cut the Deficit Let the Bush Tax Cuts Expire - Fareed Zacharia - WaPo

[JohnWxy]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/01/AR2010080103287.html?hpid%3Dopinionsbox1&sub=AR

For the past few months, we have heard powerful, passionate arguments about the need to cut America's massive budget deficit. Republican senators have claimed that we are in danger of permanently crippling the economy. Conservative economists and pundits warn of a Greece-like crisis in which America will be able to borrow only at exorbitant interest rates. So when an opportunity presents itself to cut those deficits by about a quarter -- more than $300 billion! -- permanently and relatively easily, you would think that these people would be leading the way. Far from it.

The "Bush tax cuts," passed in 2001 and 2003, remain the single largest cause of America's structural deficit -- that is, the deficit not caused by the collapse in tax revenue when the economy goes into recession. The Bush administration inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton administration. What turned these into deficits, even before the recession? There were three fundamental new costs: the tax cuts, the Medicare prescription-drug bill and post-9/11 security spending (including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). Of these the tax cuts were by far the largest, adding up to $2.3 trillion over 10 years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly half the cost of all legislation enacted from 2001 to 2007 can be attributed to the tax cuts.

Those cuts are set to expire this year. Republicans say they want to keep them all, even for those making more than $250,000 a year (less than 3 percent of Americans), because higher taxes will hurt the recovery. But for months Republicans have also been arguing that the chief threat to the economy is our gargantuan debt and deficit. That's what's scaring consumers, creditors and businesses. Yet given a chance to address those fears by getting serious about deficit reduction, they run away. By contrast, British Prime Minister David Cameron, a genuine fiscal conservative, concluded that to deal with his country's deficit, which in structural terms is not so different from America's, he would have to raise taxes as well as cut spending.
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Bush tax cuts ..... a gift for the wealthy.

Prescription Drug plan.. a gift to Big Pharma ... Republicans used to like to say: "the Government should be run like a business"... What fucking business in the world which buys hundreds of millions of dollars of pharmaceuticals a year would not negotiate a deal for better prices than highest cost retail prices?

The Veterans Adminisration negotiates prices for pharmaceuticals. Why wouldn't Medicare do the same thing?

Who needs al Kaida when you've got the GOP?

[Skink]

1. can't the dems just cut off debate on this.

its not like we'll lose voters.

[sharp_stick]

3. I don't think they have to do anything at all

the tax cuts will expire unless there is a new extension. The dems would like to renew the tax cuts for the "middle class" while allowing the rich asshole tax cut to expire.

I think this issue will play really well to the dem base and the independent voter so it probably doesn't hurt to keep it on the front page.

[Skink]

4. So bush tied middle class tax cuts to it.

so it has to come up for a vote.

[doc03]

2. They aren't going to let them expire, if they did the

Repugs could hang the economy and unemployment on the Democrats in 2012, it would be political suicide..

[stray cat]

5. Let them lapse regardless of income!