No one disputes the federal deficit has to be cut. The argument is when. And most economists say not now.
Raising taxes, cutting spending, or both would threaten an already anemic recovery, pushing unemployment higher, or worse, economists said. The debate underway in Washington on how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff echoes arguments made throughout the presidential campaign over what to do about the mounting deficit as the nation emerges from the worst recession since the Great Depression. And now President Obama and Congress will try once again to negotiate a plan that will moderate spending cuts and extend some or all of the Bush-era tax cuts expiring at the end of the year.
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The politics is what is going to push us over the cliff. It appears that suddenly everyone agrees we can't cut spending now and we need middle class tax cuts. However, the American people have heard arguments about the need for the cuts and have had teh middle class tax cuts held hostage.
I think we need a louder argument about the need to restore higher tax rates on some people while lowering rates on others to stimulate consumer spending which seems to be the foundation of the economy.
Too bad we've spent the last couple of years arguing about the inevitable. It did nothing but make the situation worse and there are many in Congress who ought to be made to pay. Now, after 2 years of darkness, suddenly, they and their economists see the light. Irresponsible!
Ummm ... raising taxes on "some people" doesn't stimulate consumer spending.
"No one disputes the federal deficit has to be cut." Unfortunately, not nearly enough people acknowledge that spending cuts in a weak economy will likely make the deficit problem worse not better.
Globe says "No one disputes the federal deficit has to be cut" ...Actually there IS one person who not only disputes this, he has NO INTENTION of cutting anything, except for military spending. That would be our Tax and Spend President and Commander in Chief, Barack Obama.
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Notice that the Globe doesn't print anything about what goes on in California. The state is billions in debt, basically BANKRUPT. At the urging of Dem gov. Jerry Brown and public sector unions, the residents voted to make CA's sales and income taxes the highest in the nation. This is officially supposed to fund education, but the money goes into the general fund. So it will go to shore up the teachers's pension fund and pay interest on the $2 billion high speed rail project from San Fran to LA. ..The US economy is now going the way of CA. And the Mass. economy is also going there. As the song goes, "California, Here We Come"!
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Are these are the same economists that advise Spain. No to worry some county like who knows will bail us out. Spend spend and spend why save?