Alan Simpson ‘Not Smoking the Same Pipe’ as Anti-Tax Republicans
The two central theories behind the deficit commission created yesterday by President Obama are (1) Congress is too dysfunctional to make these tough choices on
Jul 31, 2020990.5K Shares13.5M Views
The two central theories behind the deficit commission createdyesterday by President Obama are (1) Congress is too dysfunctional to make these tough choices on its own, and (2) everything must be left on the table as a possible solution to runaway deficit spending. That means that liberals might have to swallow some cuts to popular government programs and conservatives might be forced to accept a tax hike or two.
Don’t hold your breath. Proving that their calls for bipartisanship are bunk, GOP leaders are already lashing out at the possibility that the commission would recommend that someone, somewhere pay higher taxes. “Americans know our problem is not that we tax too little, but that Washington spends too much,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saidyesterday in a statement. (That’s the same Mitch McConnellwho once called a deficit commission “the best way to address the [budget] crisis,” then voted against the proposal anyway.)
That’s also the message coming from the headliners at CPAC this week. Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio yesterday toldthe conservative faithful assembled in Washington that his plan for balancing the budget features an across-the-board tax cut, including an abolition of taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest.
“While we’re at it, let’s eliminate the one on death, too,” he said.
The implication from McConnell, Rubio and a host of others is that they can slash federal revenues andbalance the budget by simply taking a hatchet to government programs. They must have forgotten what happenedwhen the White House recently proposed to cut some spending in GOP Sen. Richard Shelby’s Alabama. Or the Republican outcrythat accompanied the Democrats’ proposal to cut some payments to the private insurance plansoperating under Medicare. Or the inconvenient fact that conservative states have historically receiveda good deal more federal funding than their residents have paid in federal taxes.
Into this picture, enter Alan Simpson, former GOP senator from Wyoming. Simpson — who, along with University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles, will head Obama’s deficit commission — toldPBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff yesterday that those who think deficits can be controlled solely with spending cuts are, well, dazed and confused. From the transcript:
“„Woodruff: Some people, mainly Republicans right now, are arguing, what’s really needed are tax cuts, that, even if it raises the deficit in the short term, that this would get government out of the way of business, business could grow, and the deficit will take care of itself.
“„Simpson: Well, I’m not smoking that same pipe. …
“„Everything is on the table. But, if we’re just going to use flash words like cutting children’s benefits or cutting veterans or raising taxes, it will be a tougher struggle.
“„Everything is out there. We [know] how people use emotion, fear, guilt, and racism. I have been through that old stuff with immigration. … I don’t use those. I use facts. And we’re going to do a lot of facts.
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
In his free time, he loves to travel, watch films, read books, and socialize with friends.
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