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Chait column on Obama

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From Jonathan Chait’s blog

President Obama favors a fiscal adjustment based on a mix of spending cuts and higher revenue, ideally through a tax reform that produces lower rates.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/93453/the-two-crises-and-the-triumph-magical-thinking

I never heard Obama say this. Does he really believe it? If so, this would be a much better road to go down than another losing fight on stimulus.

ht hubblog.com

 

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  1. This has been my understanding of what he wants for awhile and I didn’t just pull it out of my sleeve. If he does want to stimulus (and God knows we need lots more of it) he probably shouldn’t use the word and hammer that it’s a jobs bill. We need to frame the debate and control the messaging.

    • Obama’s position in the debt debate was “we need to raise taxes”. Or maybe “if we offer to cut Medicare, the Republicans should offer to raise taxes”.

      My guess is Chait is just dressing up Obama’s position. He never said anything like that. But if he believes it, he should get together with Pat Toomey of the Super Committee who has said essentially the same thing:

      KUDLOW: Is it possible, Senator, to put side by side spending reduction, entitlement reform and tax reform? Is that possible or are the expectations for this super committee too high?

      TOOMEY: Well, it’s possible but it’s very tough. That’s a big combination. Our legislation does authorize that level of activity. And frankly, there’s some low-hanging fruit. This tax code is so incredibly inefficient, it’s so costly, it’s such a dead weight burden on the economy, we could simply it, get rid of so much of the junk, lower marginal rates, and I’m convinced that would have a very powerfully pro-growth impact. That would be good for the deficit, the revenue would increase in that fashion. So I hope we can tackle all of those things, but, you know, time will tell.

      http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlows-money-politics/274337/interview-super-committee-member-sen-pat-toomey

      • …with someone who makes stuff up. The President has said repeatedly that he wants a balanced approach of tax increases and spending cuts. I don’t think he agrees with Toomey who sounds like a typical discredited supply-sider.

          • Toomey was arguing that lower rates equals greater growth, which is what I was pushing back on.

  2. that he wanted a mix of increased revenue and spending cuts. Depending on your source (i.e. NRO), you could end up with an extremely skewed presentation of the facts.

    Here’s a excerpt from a CNN timeline:

    APRIL: “13: Obama unveils his long-awaited deficit reduction plan, calling for a mix of spending reductions and tax hikes that the White House asserts would cut federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next 12 years without gutting popular programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Obama’s plan includes a repeal of the Bush-era tax cuts on families making more than $250,000 annually — something sought by Democrats but strongly opposed by Republicans.”

    In June, he specifically mentioned closing tax loopholes using the egregious, but not very costly, a tax break for corporate jets.

    WaPo reported on July 25:

    With financial markets warily watching the Capitol Hill drama, Obama used his 15-minute address from the White House to urge “shared sacrifice” in tackling the debt, calling for deep cuts in federal spending to be coupled with higher taxes on the wealthy and on large corporations.

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