Over the years the absurd notion advocated by conservatives that all our fiscal ship of state required was more cuts to domestic spending has proved to pure bunk. Somehow conservatives think we could cut our way to brighter days.
Economist after economist has offered their views as to why this idea is pure rubbish, and dangerous for an economy that is trying to again assert itself.
This morning on Meet The Press one of the best lines from the interview with President Obama dealt with this issue.
“David, I want to be very clear. You are not only going to cut your way to prosperity. One of the fallacies I think that has been promoted is this notion that deficit reduction is only a matter of cutting programs that are really important to seniors, students and so forth. That has to be part of the mix, but what I ran on and what the American people elected me to do was to put forward a balanced approach. To make sure that there’s shared sacrifice. … And it is very difficult for me to say to a senior citizen or a student or a mom with a disabled kid, ‘You are going to have to do with less but we’re not going to ask millionaires and billionaires to do more.'” …
There is no way our nation, the global leader, can pretend that tax rates should only always go down. There is a need for higher taxes and more revenue to meet the needs and expectations of the citizenry, and also to create the foundation for the higher growth that comes with better schools, more skilled workers, sustainable energy….which then all will lead to still more revenue.
That is the path forward for this nation, and President Obama understands that fact.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 