February has been a defining month for the Republican Party. They have revealed that they are willing, in Washington as in Wisconsin, to place politics above people and exploit both real and manufactured fiscal crises to pursue ideological ends. The budgetary policies of the Republican majority represent the culmination of a 30 year conservative plan to "starve the beast" i.e. cripple our government as the main mechanism of empowerment for the middle class and those striving to reach it.
Large and unfunded Bush tax cuts took this country off the path of fiscal sustainability. U.S. tax revenue for 2010 will be at a historically low level of 15 percent of our GDP. A midpoint of 20 percent has historically generated the strongest periods of growth in the private sector since WWII. This will require thoughtful but substantial spending cuts accompanied by a return to the tax rates of the 1990s (a time of unparalleled prosperity).
Having starved the government of revenue, conservatives now aim to cripple it. As we saw last week during debate on the continuing resolution, Republicans are seeking to defund environmental and financial industry regulation and programs that educate our youth and improve the lives of the least fortunate. These are being sold as necessary and shared sacrifices due to a fiscal crisis. All the while, they refuse to ask for sacrifices from the wealthiest in our society who benefit the most from a strong military, a modern transportation and communications infrastructure and an educated workforce.
This country does face a long-term structural deficit driven primarily by the rise in healthcare costs and a decline in the manufacturing sector. But in the short term, Hoover-style austerity will only stifle economic development and increase unemployment, making it harder for us to invest, innovate, and grow our economy.
Those tax cuts produced economic growth and an unemployment rate of 4%.
Then the Democrats took control of congress in 2006. Enough said.
"This will require thoughtful but substantial spending cuts accompanied by a return to the tax rates of the 1990s (a time of unparalleled prosperity). "
Yes thanks to the Republican controlled congress.
"Republicans are seeking to defund environmental and financial industry regulation and programs that educate our youth and improve the lives of the least fortunate."
This after BO and the Democrats increased the government spending astronomically.BTW what are we the people getting for all the money spent on education? Are the test scores improving?
The "Least fortunate" who are they exactly? Are they the disabled? The mentally retarded? Yes let us all help the less fortunate, if those are who the author talks about.
It is important to NOT enable behavior that keeps people, able bodied adults, from achieving their best. It is best for those who make poor choices to be held responsible for those choices and not allow the government to enable the cycle of "poverty" and underachievement.
Creating class warfare will not help our country come together, it is divisive and wrong. Ultimately the American people will reject it. This is not Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_national_debt
During the GW terms (8 years) 1.1 million jobs were created. After accounting for population growth that becomes a -7,000,000 jobs despite the low percentage collecting benefits.
The other points you make are also distortions but you are entitled to your opinion!
why does every gov't program have to grow every year ? don't you see something inherently wrong with that ?
Do you grow every year? I know that my household budget has grown every year since I've been an adult. Sometimes because of major investments that would provide high returns, I've both cut revenue at the same time I incurred debt (to start a new business, to get a much needed cataract surgery, etc.).
I've also intentionally greatly increased revenue in order to buffet through hard times. I don't ask my 17 year olds and 21 year olds to contribute as much to the household as my husband . . . (that's an analogy not to infantilize the poor and working class but my kids don't have access to wealth and resources that my husband does because of their relative position in the world).
how about a 10 percent cut in the defense budget, an accounting and restitution of all wasted and pilfered funds expended in the two wars Bush and the Republicans brought at deficit.
There would be NO middle class without the government. The government is the ONLY thing that allows for social mobility.
But we'll see how this all works out for you in the bottom 95% . . .I'm sure glad I'm both a liberal and above the 5% threshold . . hopefully I'll have time and resources to get out before the hoards come over the fences and start engaging lessons learned from the french revolution when the peasants learned that government would be necessary to improve the lives and create a middle class. Somehow middle class Americans have been following the conservatives back to the era of Louis 14 and the despot kings . . .
They are the Tea Partiers who are waving and reciting the constitution.
BO is a pro multi national corporatist who is trying through community organizing to create a new serfdom. The serfdom of Americans who expect a Nanny State, which he is trying to create.
What seems missing is the lessons of history and that cuts during a recession will amplify it!
But demonstrably taxes have gone down, down, down, down . . they have not gone up at the national level for years! Especially on the wealthy. So how about we go back to the pre-holiday tax rates (which were already historically low) and then we see where we are?
Plenty of examples as to when dramatically reduced government spending, reducing taxes and balanced budgets have spurred our economy forward. Many presidents have made this work like Clinton, Coolidge, Reagan, Bush and even Truman have used these tactics to reverse or prevent huge financial problems.
I really don’t recall one president that significantly increased government spending and debt that has produced the same results. Have you?
BTW, nice try with the Hoover reference - he was a major progressive and one would think you would know this.
Clinton also caused the derrivitive bubble nightmare.
Love,
Soup
Starving the beast is exactly what needs to happen. The bloated life form known as government needs to learn to spend within the budget. Balance the budget and pay down the deficit.
Fight for us, for a change. Stop rolling over and betraying the American people. Why would Democrats and Independents keep voting Democratic if they have no tangible wins? Weak, spineless, hopeless.