If you only read one article this morning, make it Matt Yglesias’s post about Obama’s second-term agenda. For Obama to transform this country, he needs to do nothing. Without further congressional action, the Bush tax cuts expire and Obamacare kicks in. It would probably be a good idea to replace the Bush tax cuts with a smaller, fairer, greener package (some carbon tax in the mix), but not essential. If Obama does nothing, his second term ends with universal healthcare and a smaller deficit.
We need to help reset the conventional wisdom that we need some sort of Simpson-Bowles grand bargain, that the only path to prosperity is a bipartisan deal. Not true. Structurally, Democrats have the better hand. It should not be squandered.
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