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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...The whole thing's here.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 Editors
