Hetrodox conservative Bruce Bartlett has yet another column on the GOP fixation with tax cuts and our party’s abandonment of fiscal responsibility. If you haven’t read it, I would highly suggest it. Here are some key points via Economist Mom:
Republicans decided that fighting deficits just wasn’t working for them. People might support a balanced budget in public opinion polls, but they opposed every single thing that would actually reduce deficits, especially higher taxes.
It is now Republican dogma that taxes must never be increased no matter how big the deficit. The last Republican to do that, Bush 41, got thrown out of the White House on his ear for doing so, Republicans believe.
Such a fate is not going to befall any congressional Republican today. Their mantra is that all tax increases must be opposed with every fiber of their being, and there is no problem that can’t be cured by tax cuts…
[B]ack in February when Congress was debating the stimulus package and the Treasury was facing a deficit of $1.2 trillion this year, the Republican position was that tax cuts–and only tax cuts–would stave off a deep recession. How that would have helped when incomes were falling to such an extent that tax revenues were virtually collapsing on their own was never explained. Tax cuts were a mantra to be repeated endlessly whether they had any rational connection to the economy’s problems or not.
Everyone knows that fiscal discipline must be restored eventually, or we will face truly horrifying consequences–defaulting on the debt, nonpayment of Social Security benefits, a collapsing dollar, and double-digit inflation and interest rates. Everyone also knows that this will involve a combination of higher revenues and lower spending. The idea that we can restore fiscal health only with spending cuts is childish…
What we face is a game of chicken. Republicans think if they wait until the last possible second to support the smallest possible tax increase necessary to make a budget deal work, they can get the largest possible spending cuts. The problem is that there is not one iota of historical evidence that this strategy will work…
At some point, taxes have to be back on the table as the price that must be paid for profligate spending. Only then will the American people realize that they can’t have their cake and eat it too…
I’ve argued in the past that at some point, the GOP is going have to have to see that part of being fiscally responsible is to sometimes raise taxes. Other conservatives thought I had just said I was going to torch an American flag. Raising taxes has become so verboten in the Republican party, that no GOP lawmaker, no matter their political stripe, dare raise it. To add insult to injury, we have not only dropped our concern about the deficit (remember Dick Cheney’s remark that deficits don’t matter), we have started spending like crazy on such things as tax cuts and entitlements, without providing a way to pay for it. We have become enablers of the American public’s notion that they can get all the goodies from the Feds, and have someone else (ie: our grandchildren) pay for it.
Currently, there is a lot of talk about the spending habits of the Democrats. While I agree that President Obama and the Congressional Democrats are not serious about controlling the deficits, it’s not like the GOP has suddenly found religion when it comes to spending: this is merely a campaign tactic. If the GOP gets back into power, you can bet that in its current state they will go back to their spending, tax cutting ways, like a teenage girl with Daddy’s credit card.
I don’t expect the Democrats to act like fiscal grown-ups like they did in the 90s under Clinton. But it would be nice if we had at least one political party that was willing to act like a grown-up and be willing to be a little more thrifty in how they handle the public coffers.
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Great piece Dennis!
BRAVO! I’d take it one step further though – without tax increases at some point (and sooner rather then later), Republicans will have to face cuts in two federal government areas they have long vowed to protect – Defense and Social Security. I know that many conservatives bristle at the later, but Michael Steele (RNC Chair) said on NPR not long ago that Republicans were going to protect SS and Medicare in their current form as part of the healthcare “debate”. Well if you do that, all of the discretionary side of the federal budget will get gobbled up by 2050 or so – meanin gno more DOD or DHS. There’s a choice I bet Republicanpoliticians haven’t thought about.
Dennis,
Well said. You have laid out the blatantly predominant Republican position. Without more Republican voices raised in protest then this strategy will remain the Republican approach. Pure madness.
Republican leadership is failing miserably in not taking the long view. There are many Reagancrats such as myself that are beginning to look more to the Democratic Blue Dogs for leadership, and to support them. The Blue Dogs are full participants at least in governing our country and they have a strong voice in Congress. If their conservative voices can be heard then why not Republican conservatives?
We are now, as Americans, democratic Capitalists. Which means we have accepted progressive income taxes. How high do we go? 40%. It seems only fair that those who have benefited the most from the country’s infrastructure should be the most responsible to maintain it. The Bush tax cuts have to go. Is that enough revenues to cover our expenses each year. Maybe if we start spending it better and on the right things. We have to protect the middle class, and we need to remember that an increase in taxes, both with Reagan and FDR slowed recovery. But those were middle class tax increases.
Look at the deep blue states. They raised taxes and they have very high taxes. Yet, they still have budget deficits and long term structural problems. As long as one believes that the government can solve all problems, taxes will never be high enough to fill the demand for tax dollars.
Before talking about raising taxes, moderates and progressives need to list every program that they believe can be cut and how much should be cut. Tax increases without spending cuts means that the next deficit will just be bigger and that there will be more special interest groups demanding even more government spending.
Republicans should talk about nothing but spending cuts. There is no way of knowing that taxes would be until every cut is made.