imreallyperplexed
Council Member
One thing that I noticed in the Republican debates over the last couple of days is that all the candidates - but especially Huntsman, Romney, and Gingrich - spend less time talking about the "poor economy" (primarily because recent economic news has something that elicits guarded optimism) and more time talking about taxes, tax-reform, and long-term economic growth. In particular, all three of them focused on alternately Simpson-Bowles (which was most concerned with long-term debt reduction) and with the Paul Ryan plan (which was most concerned with promulgating a supply-side policy for future economic growth.)
What is rarely mentioned is that Paul Ryan was on the Simpson-Bowles committee and voted AGAINST the Simpson-Bowles plan because of "taxes on the wealthy" and that the Ryan plan provides even greater tax cuts for the wealthy and on VERY optimistic (and arguably unrealistic) projections for economic growth in which the U.S. runs deficits out to 2040. (And if the rosy economic projections in the plan are not realized, we run deficits until even further into the future - or raise taxes or cut spending even more.) It is easy to argue that the Ryan plan is the "Return of Voodoo Economics" or "Voodoo Economics II" and will lead to endless deficits rather than to sustainable economic growth.
In any case, the Republicans criticize President Obama for not embracing "Simpson-Bowles" and tax reform. In fact, though he has not "embraced" tax reform, he has indicated that serious tax reform is necessary. What I expect to see from the President starting with the state of the union speech and moving on through the election is a push for Simpson-Bowles style reforms for deficit reduction coupled with an argument against Voodoo Economics II ala Ryan and Romney and Gingrich. Tax reform to 1. spur economic growth and 2. reduce the deficit will be the center of his campaign. His first term will be characterized as a gigantic and difficult struggle to pull the U.S. economy out of the ditch that the policies of the Bush Administration a Republican Congress pushed the economy into that is gaining momentum. His second term will involve getting the deficit under control and restarting the economy - in the manner of Bill Clinton. Part of deficit reduction will involve entitlement reform. All Democrats recognize that entitlement programs need reform. (And Republicans have some proposals that are worth considering.)
Personally, I wish that Obama had more forcefully pushed Simpson-Bowles in the 2011 state of the union and the 2011 budget. But given the Congress that he was faced with, I can understand the political timing would have been bad. I think that everything that I would have liked to see from the President on the tax reform front last year will be something that the Obama Administration will push this year (to the great discomfort of Republicans I suspect.)
What is rarely mentioned is that Paul Ryan was on the Simpson-Bowles committee and voted AGAINST the Simpson-Bowles plan because of "taxes on the wealthy" and that the Ryan plan provides even greater tax cuts for the wealthy and on VERY optimistic (and arguably unrealistic) projections for economic growth in which the U.S. runs deficits out to 2040. (And if the rosy economic projections in the plan are not realized, we run deficits until even further into the future - or raise taxes or cut spending even more.) It is easy to argue that the Ryan plan is the "Return of Voodoo Economics" or "Voodoo Economics II" and will lead to endless deficits rather than to sustainable economic growth.
In any case, the Republicans criticize President Obama for not embracing "Simpson-Bowles" and tax reform. In fact, though he has not "embraced" tax reform, he has indicated that serious tax reform is necessary. What I expect to see from the President starting with the state of the union speech and moving on through the election is a push for Simpson-Bowles style reforms for deficit reduction coupled with an argument against Voodoo Economics II ala Ryan and Romney and Gingrich. Tax reform to 1. spur economic growth and 2. reduce the deficit will be the center of his campaign. His first term will be characterized as a gigantic and difficult struggle to pull the U.S. economy out of the ditch that the policies of the Bush Administration a Republican Congress pushed the economy into that is gaining momentum. His second term will involve getting the deficit under control and restarting the economy - in the manner of Bill Clinton. Part of deficit reduction will involve entitlement reform. All Democrats recognize that entitlement programs need reform. (And Republicans have some proposals that are worth considering.)
Personally, I wish that Obama had more forcefully pushed Simpson-Bowles in the 2011 state of the union and the 2011 budget. But given the Congress that he was faced with, I can understand the political timing would have been bad. I think that everything that I would have liked to see from the President on the tax reform front last year will be something that the Obama Administration will push this year (to the great discomfort of Republicans I suspect.)