It’s all the rage right now to argue about how to “offset” an extension of the payroll tax cuts. Democrats want to cover it with a surtax on income Americans make above $1 million (less than 350,000 Americans would pay). Republicans want to cover it by, um, complaining on Fox News shows until the problem … Continue reading
The GOP’s junior varsity is still lurking. The candidate who will save them is shrouded in shadow, just beyond the line of sight. He or—more now than ever—she, is waiting to burst forth from the sidelines to make a meal of the deeply-flawed slate of declared candidates. Witness the incessant attention to Sarah Palin’s hypothetical … Continue reading
As I’ve been watching the debt ceiling “negotiations” and “compromise” at arm’s length (baby is here!), it’s felt a bit like one of those dramatic movie denouements: They sit, mostly stone-faced, in a shadowy room. His briefcase, the handle yet warm, rests upon the adjacent seat. The decor is resolutely bureaucratic in a predictable, mind-dulling … Continue reading
I know that I’ve hit on similar tacks before, but the ludicrousness of debt ceiling fight has me wondering about a pretty straightforward question: Why, for God’s sake, are the Democrats the ones who have to fight to get the debt ceiling raised? I mean, sure, 90% (or so) of the GOP agrees that we … Continue reading
In case you missed this astonishingly good article from the Washington Post‘s Lori Montgomery on Sunday, let me hit you with a few of the highlights (underlining occasionally added for emphasis). The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis. Wait…just a decade ago? I thought it was LBJ’s Great … Continue reading
I was talking with one of my favorite U.S. politics interlocutors the other day, and he asked the following question: “Why don’t the Democrats force a vote on a bill to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone making less than $1 billion?” He went on [I'm quoting loosely here]: “Think about it! They’re damned … Continue reading
This week’s column is up in the Washington Post, and it’s downright socialist. Hide ya kids. I argue that the GOP’s insistence on cutting discretionary spending—but cutting taxes MUCH MORE—is fiscally meaningless. Here’s an excerpt: Put all of these cuts together . . . and you still can’t cover the more than half a trillion … Continue reading
I was going to write on the GOP’s proposed cuts to education and national service this week, but Richard Cohen beat me to it. Good news is, he did a bang-up job. Go read the article. Get angry. Get in touch with your member of Congress. Call them one extra time for me (DC doesn’t … Continue reading
Thanks to John Lennon (RIP) and Paul McCartney… Woke up (to clean air, thanks to the EPA/Clean Air Act), fell out of bed (whose mattress and pillows didn’t catch fire, thanks to the USCPSC), Dragged a (lead-free, thanks to the USCPSC) comb across my head (not a hair on it harmed, thanks to the Department … Continue reading
According to Felix Salmon and Stephen Culp, Tax rates in the USA are at their lowest (across the board) in 60 years. The most outrageous part: “If the taxes reverted to somewhere near their historical mean, the problem would be solved at a stroke.” In other words, if we put our tax rates approximately back at … Continue reading
