A Bad Way to Cut the Debt
That Michael Kinsley sure can turn a phrase. Explaining the current fiscal quagmire into which President Bush has plunged us, and the possible solutions his recklessness leave open to Alan Greenspan, Kinsley says, "There's a drunk at the wheel and all Greenspan's got is the brake. But he doesn't want to slam it. Can you blame him?"
Oh, and if Kinsley's opening paragraph doesn't make you want to turn back the clock to 2000 and move to Florida to vote for Gore, or volunteer to help Broward County voters properly punch their butterfly ballots, I don't quite know how to help you.
Meanwhile, Paul Krugman argues that despite a few flaws, Fahrenheit 9/11 is a good and important film. His column smacks of cheerleading rather than reporting facts, but I'm still inclined to agree with him. As David Edelstein said last week in Slate, "It is, all in all, a legitimate abuse of power."
The same cannot be said of Senator Bill Frist's decision to push a Senate debate of the Federal Marriage Amendment this month. Despite the fact that many principled members of his own party oppose the effort to amend the Constitution, Frist has decided the potential to use gays as a wedge issue is more important than dealing with other issues that actually stand a chance of being solved. (He's got his advance team on it already, with screeds like this one from Kathleen Parker running in newspapers across the country lamenting Americans' apparent lack of interest in enshrining discrimination in our founding document. Parker's arguments, by the way, are so cockamamie as to preclude bothering to rebut them.)
I hope senior citizens who'd like to see Congress revisit Medicare's prescription drug plan, doctors who want a fix to their reimbursement formula and tort reform, and myriad other groups whose issues deserve Congressional attention are watching and realizing that the leadership of the Republican Party doesn't care about any of that or any of them. To borrow from Aaron Sorkin's script for The American President: "We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you [insert Republican here] is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle age, middle class, middle income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family, and American values and character..."
With that, I'm off to Minnesota for the weekend, where I hope to bump into another politician, real this time, who told it like it was: Walter Mondale, who will be at the Minneapolis riverfront before the fireworks. Have a wonderful Independence Day, and get some rest: When we return from holiday, the election kicks into high gear. Edwards for VP!
P.S.: Check out today's totals on the Electoral Vote Predictor. Kerry's got the lead!
1 comment:
The scariest part of the article.
But George W. Bush has put Greenspan in a terrible bind. By heedlessly running up the deficit, he has goosed the economy in the short term. And by chipping away at the tax base, he has made it harder to restore fiscal responsibility. There's a drunk at the wheel and all Greenspan's got is the brake. But he doesn't want to slam it. Can you blame him?The interest rate has already gone up 25%. It's only matter of time before it goes up a whole point. I think Greenspan is trying to hold down interest until after the election.
I agree with what Brad Delong said. This isn't a tax cut. It's a tax shift. The next generation will be paying off the deficet. The problem is it will cost more to pay it later.
Another problem with any economic miracle creating more tax revenue is that the middle class is shrinking. I guess they won't be able to buy ribs like Bush wants them to.
Regards,
Sullivan
Post a Comment