Are there any members of the current administration capable of thinking outside the lines. They do however; lend additional credence to Einstein’s observation on Insanity.
One thing is certain; the progressives currently in charge are enamored with the
completely repudiated failed socialist policies of John Maynard Keynes.
Sorry folks but deficit spending in times of recession have never been successful.
FDR proved that he couldn't tax and spend his way to prosperity during the "Great Depression."
Ironically, these elitist ideologues seem to think they know more about economics when their underpinnings are firmly rooted in the teachings of Karl Marx's failure.
Was the leak of the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform a trial balloon, another team Obama distraction to get the public to look away from more behind closed doors "transparent" meetings?
The only way any of this nonsense could possibly happen is if Obama resorts to circumventing the legislative process and using the executive order. The Huffington Post thinks this as a way to accomplish his objectives.
If President Obama wants to pursue a progressive agenda in the next two years, there are plenty of ways he can do that even without any help from Capitol Hill.
Will this happen? Only time will tell. Could Obama be on thinner ice? Should he stop tap dancing? Just thwart the will of the overwhelming number of voters that rejected his policies and see if that will be the straw to set things in motion.
Few things are not orchestrated by team Obama’s inept handlers. So why was this report leaked when it wasn’t due until December, clearly marked “Do Not Quote, Cite, or Release,” it appears the pundits have already disregarded the advisory.
Some of the highlights: (as pointed out in today's Pajamas Media)
- The claim made is that it balances the budget by 2037, in part by making $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.
- Fixes to Social Security for the next 75 years by making needed reforms and slowly advancing the retirement age to 69 before the end of the century.
- They also aim to offset the cost of the “doc fix” for Medicare by making a series of cuts through savings and lowering reimbursement rates.
- They show “illustrative” spending cuts-which can be made over the next five years to both defense and domestic spending.
- The report creates a sketch of what could be done to address the deficit if Congress had the spine to follow through on the recommendations, with the hardest sell likely to be the changes to Medicare, especially in the wake of the fight over ObamaCare.
- There are the proposed changes to the tax code, best described as making a series of tradeoffs. The architects of the plan have three different options, including a simple option of a “haircut” on deductions if suitable reforms aren’t enacted by 2012.
- The other two options follow fairly similar lines. One plan reduces the number of tax brackets to three, with differing percentages, they could run as low as 8% for the poorest Americans to as high as 28% for our wealthiest taxpayers and for corporate earnings, depending on which items remain as deductions. The more deductions eliminated, the lower the rate goes. It’s probably as close as we can get to a flat tax.
- Another option is similar, but somewhat more complex. In return for simplifying the brackets to three (15%, 25%, and 35%) and lowering the corporate tax rate to around 26 percent, a number of cherished deductions such as cafeteria plans and deductions for state and local taxes go away.
We would no longer face the alternative minimum tax but would lose the interest deduction on home equity loans, second homes, and large mortgages. The idea for all of the options is to limit the collections to a point where they no longer exceed 21% of GDP.
Perhaps the worst revenue option presented is a call to increase the gasoline tax in stages totaling 15 cents a gallon, presumably to fund transportation projects.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it, I'm J.C.
Jim Campbell runs Charging Elephants.
