Friday, November 12, 2010

Paul Krugman Asks A Good Question

I'm not panicking about the deficit commission, myself, for various reasons.But Paul Krugman has an interesting observation: "The goals of reform, as Mr. Bowles and Mr. Simpson see them, are presented in the form of seven bullet points. “Lower Rates” is the first point; “Reduce the Deficit” is the seventh.So how, exactly, did a deficit-cutting commission become a commission whose first priority is cutting tax rates, with deficit reduction literally at the bottom of the list?"

2 comments:

Pretty Lady said...

Have you read this yet, Joel?

I've already signed a couple of petitions demanding that we raise taxes on parasitic plutocrats before giving ground on Social Security or healthcare, but I'm open to optimistic viewpoints.

Joel said...

Funny thing is, I've pointed out a couple of shortcomings - or challenges - posed by the initial proposal, but I'm not ready to draw any hard-and-fast lines in the sand. The proposal might actually point us, generally, in the right direction. Also possibly not. I'd like to read and ponder more before making a full commitment.