I do enjoy reading Mr. Samuelson's work, including this ditty from the morning WaPost in which he eviscerates both sides of the same coin--the increasingly marginal Grover Norquist who would take the country down in pursuit of the perfect and liberal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities which has never seen an entitlement it doesn't like.
As long as we live in a Democracy folks, in order to get things done we have to make compromises. Yes, I realize it is untidy and it makes things harder, but let's face it; ultimately, it is what separates us from the Chinese. As far as I'm concerned, the grander the bargain, the better. A slight course change only delays the trip into shoal water; we need to get back in the center of the channel, where the water is deep and wide. This is going to hurt--and the more people it hurts (as in, more KINDS of people), the better.
Samuelson is the absolute picture of reason, but that doesn't mean he's right. He's making more of a political argument than an economic one. You know the Laffer curve is real (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve) so at what point do you get diminishing returns. And why should we reward Democratic overspending with tax increases which is what they want anyway.
ReplyDeleteI say CUT BABY CUT! And let's make sure the Democrat's pals get hurt.