JUST POSTED ON TAP ONLINE: BEYOND PAYGO. Bob Kuttner tells Democrats to get serious about repealing Bush‘s tax cuts and pushing for a progressive tax system:
It is virtuous of the Democrats to resurrect pay-as-you-go, but it’s a little like closing the barn door after the horse escaped. In this case, the horse got away with about $3 trillion of deficits — for tax breaks, military escalations, and special-interest spending for Republican clients like the drug companies…
Did Democrats win a hard-fought campaign to take back Congress only to govern like fiscally prudent Republicans — delivering balanced budgets but with shamefully low levels of social investment? If that turns out to be the case, there will be a chasm between the Democrats’ rhetoric and their program — a huge gap between what voters chose and what Democrats delivered. The risk is that, by embracing pay-as-you-go rules but flinching at the task of restoring tax equity, Democrats set themselves a trap.
The solution, of course, is to embrace a progressive tax code. A repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the rich, coupled with more relief for working families, would allow both fiscal balance and some increased social spending.
The whole thing’s here.
–The Editors
