- We may finally have a debt deal.
- Bernie Sanders on 'Why Americans Are So Angry'.
- This just in, Sophie Monk looks good in a bikini!!
- I could support Alec Baldwin as a political candidate. He speaks sense.
- I'm getting really annoyed by ads being played before videos on YouTube.
- Is anyone really surprised that Brandon Marshall has BPD???
- Very interesting that several Tea Party debt talk hardliners have debt issues of their own.
- Isn't the GOP 'No Tax Pledge' kind of unconstitutional? Just saying.
- Cardinals sign TE Todd Heap & trade RB Tim Hightower.
- Ubaldo Jimenez traded to the Cleveland Indians.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
POTpourri
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Time to End Manufactured Debt Crisis
Great editorial by the Sacramento Bee on this manufactured debt crisis.
Some highlights:
"The gamesmanship that has taken Congress and the White House to the brink of defaulting on the nation's debt is a classic contest of chicken, compounded by miscalculation and reckless chutzpah."
"Moreover, any reasoned discussion about reducing federal deficits must confront how the federal government created them in the first place. On this point, House Republicans are suffering from amnesia.
As the record shows, President George W. Bush inherited a surplus when he took office, and could have maintained those surpluses had he acted prudently. Instead, he pushed through tax cuts that cost the government $1.8 trillion between 2002 and 2009. He also plunged the nation into two wars that cost nearly $1.5 trillion during that period. "
"Those two actions were the drivers of a ballooning federal debt over the last decade – far more than Bush-era discretionary spending, Wall Street bailouts, Medicare drug benefits and the 2008 stimulus. And guess who voted for the wars and tax cuts? John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other Republicans were among them. "
"When Obama took office, he added to the federal debt, but hardly on the same scale as Bush. Obama's new policies – stimulus spending, health care reform, stimulus tax cuts and non-defense discretionary spending will cost $1.44 trillion by 2017. But that is far less than the $5 trillion that Bush racked up, according to an analysis published Sunday by Teresa Tritch in the New York Times. "
"Although Obama has been at times condescending in dealing with the GOP, he's rightly demanded a balanced approach toward reducing deficits. Had House Republicans seized the "Grand Bargain" that Obama seemed ready to endorse, they could have claimed victory for the steepest federal spending cuts in a generation, all for the price of modest increase in revenues.
By walking away from that deal, House Republicans have heightened the chance of two ugly scenarios:
1) A stopgap measure that will put off for six months a more permanent decision on the debt ceiling, causing further damage to financial markets and the U.S. economy.
2) A default, which at one time seemed like crazy-talk but now, by Aug. 2, is within the realm of possibility."
Some highlights:
"The gamesmanship that has taken Congress and the White House to the brink of defaulting on the nation's debt is a classic contest of chicken, compounded by miscalculation and reckless chutzpah."
"Moreover, any reasoned discussion about reducing federal deficits must confront how the federal government created them in the first place. On this point, House Republicans are suffering from amnesia.
As the record shows, President George W. Bush inherited a surplus when he took office, and could have maintained those surpluses had he acted prudently. Instead, he pushed through tax cuts that cost the government $1.8 trillion between 2002 and 2009. He also plunged the nation into two wars that cost nearly $1.5 trillion during that period. "
"Those two actions were the drivers of a ballooning federal debt over the last decade – far more than Bush-era discretionary spending, Wall Street bailouts, Medicare drug benefits and the 2008 stimulus. And guess who voted for the wars and tax cuts? John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other Republicans were among them. "
"When Obama took office, he added to the federal debt, but hardly on the same scale as Bush. Obama's new policies – stimulus spending, health care reform, stimulus tax cuts and non-defense discretionary spending will cost $1.44 trillion by 2017. But that is far less than the $5 trillion that Bush racked up, according to an analysis published Sunday by Teresa Tritch in the New York Times. "
"Although Obama has been at times condescending in dealing with the GOP, he's rightly demanded a balanced approach toward reducing deficits. Had House Republicans seized the "Grand Bargain" that Obama seemed ready to endorse, they could have claimed victory for the steepest federal spending cuts in a generation, all for the price of modest increase in revenues.
By walking away from that deal, House Republicans have heightened the chance of two ugly scenarios:
1) A stopgap measure that will put off for six months a more permanent decision on the debt ceiling, causing further damage to financial markets and the U.S. economy.
2) A default, which at one time seemed like crazy-talk but now, by Aug. 2, is within the realm of possibility."
The Tea Fragger Party
Nice article by Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post yesterday.
Some highlights:
"Fragging: “To intentionally kill or wound (one’s superior officer, etc.), esp. with a hand grenade.”
"Take names. Remember them. The behavior of certain Republicans who call themselves Tea Party conservatives makes them the most destructive posse of misguided “patriots” we’ve seen in recent memory. "
"If the nation defaults on its financial obligations, the blame belongs to the Tea Party Republicans who fragged their own leader, John Boehner. They had victory in their hands and couldn’t bring themselves to support his debt-ceiling plan, which, if not perfect, was more than anyone could have imagined just a few months ago. No new taxes, significant spending cuts, a temporary debt-ceiling solution with the possibility of more spending cuts down the line as well as action on their beloved balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution."
"The tick-tock of the debt-ceiling debate is too long for this space, but the bottom line is that the Tea Party got too full of itself with help from certain characters whose names you’ll want to remember when things go south. They include, among others, media personalities who need no further recognition; a handful of media-created “leaders,” including Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips and Tea Party Patriots co-founders Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler (both Phillips and Martin declared bankruptcy, yet they’re advising Tea Party Republicans on debt?); a handful of outside groups that love to hurl ad hominems such as “elite” and “inside the Beltway” when talking about people like Boehner when they are, in fact, the elite (FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, Club for Growth, National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Prosperity); and elected leaders such as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who grandstand and make political assertions and promises that are sheer fantasy. "
"Unfortunately for the country, which is poised to lose its place as the world’s most-trusted treasury and suffer economic repercussions we can ill afford, the stakes in this political game are too high to be in the hands of Tea Partyers who mistakenly think they have a mandate. Their sweep in the 2010 election was the exclusive result of anti-Obama sentiment and the sense that the president, in creating a health-care plan instead of focusing on jobs, had overplayed his hand. Invariably, as political pendulums swing, the victors become the very thing they sought to defeat."
"The Tea Partyers who wanted to oust Barack Obama have greatly enhanced his chances for reelection by undermining their own leader and damaging the country in the process. The debt ceiling may have been raised and the crisis averted by the time this column appears, but that event should not erase the memory of what transpired. The Tea Party was a movement that changed the conversation in Washington, but it has steeped too long and has become toxic.
It’s time to toss it out."
You can find the complete article here.
Some highlights:
"Fragging: “To intentionally kill or wound (one’s superior officer, etc.), esp. with a hand grenade.”
"Take names. Remember them. The behavior of certain Republicans who call themselves Tea Party conservatives makes them the most destructive posse of misguided “patriots” we’ve seen in recent memory. "
"If the nation defaults on its financial obligations, the blame belongs to the Tea Party Republicans who fragged their own leader, John Boehner. They had victory in their hands and couldn’t bring themselves to support his debt-ceiling plan, which, if not perfect, was more than anyone could have imagined just a few months ago. No new taxes, significant spending cuts, a temporary debt-ceiling solution with the possibility of more spending cuts down the line as well as action on their beloved balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution."
"The tick-tock of the debt-ceiling debate is too long for this space, but the bottom line is that the Tea Party got too full of itself with help from certain characters whose names you’ll want to remember when things go south. They include, among others, media personalities who need no further recognition; a handful of media-created “leaders,” including Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips and Tea Party Patriots co-founders Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler (both Phillips and Martin declared bankruptcy, yet they’re advising Tea Party Republicans on debt?); a handful of outside groups that love to hurl ad hominems such as “elite” and “inside the Beltway” when talking about people like Boehner when they are, in fact, the elite (FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, Club for Growth, National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Prosperity); and elected leaders such as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who grandstand and make political assertions and promises that are sheer fantasy. "
"Unfortunately for the country, which is poised to lose its place as the world’s most-trusted treasury and suffer economic repercussions we can ill afford, the stakes in this political game are too high to be in the hands of Tea Partyers who mistakenly think they have a mandate. Their sweep in the 2010 election was the exclusive result of anti-Obama sentiment and the sense that the president, in creating a health-care plan instead of focusing on jobs, had overplayed his hand. Invariably, as political pendulums swing, the victors become the very thing they sought to defeat."
"The Tea Partyers who wanted to oust Barack Obama have greatly enhanced his chances for reelection by undermining their own leader and damaging the country in the process. The debt ceiling may have been raised and the crisis averted by the time this column appears, but that event should not erase the memory of what transpired. The Tea Party was a movement that changed the conversation in Washington, but it has steeped too long and has become toxic.
It’s time to toss it out."
You can find the complete article here.
German view of the Debt Debate
This quote comes from the largest German daily newspaper Bild Zeitung:
More German reactions to the U.S. debt debate can be found here, some world reaction can be found here.
"Playing poker is part of politics, as is theatrical posturing. That's fair enough. But what America is currently exhibiting is the worst kind of absurd theatrics. And the whole world is being held hostage.
"Irrespective of what the correct fiscal and economic policy should be for the most powerful country on earth, it's simply not possible to stop taking on new debt overnight. Most importantly, the Republicans have turned a dispute over a technicality into a religious war, which no longer has any relation to a reasonable dispute between the elected government and the opposition."
"If it continues like this, the US will be bankrupt within a few days. It would cause a global shockwave like the one which followed the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008, which triggered the worst economic crisis since the war. Except it would be much worse than the Lehman bankruptcy. The political climate in the US has been poisoned to a degree that is hard for us (Germans) to imagine. But we should all fear the consequences."
More German reactions to the U.S. debt debate can be found here, some world reaction can be found here.
POTpourri
- Is it time for the IRS to crack down on Crossroads GPS and the like? Probably.
- Big profits for big oil in Q2. Why are we subsidizing them again?
- Unemployment claims down, the GOP must be pissed.
- Bob Bradley fired as US Men's National Soccer coach. About time.
- U.S. Soccer hires Juergen Klinsmann as head coach of men's national team. Good choice.
- 'Shark Week' starts July 31!
- The main reason I must start watching "Game of Thrones".
- RIP Hideki Irabu.
- Another filibuster? Really McConnell? With the world's economy at stake?
- Jon Kyl (R-AZ) speaks common sense in regards to the debt deal.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Biapartisanship on Debt Talks
I'm getting tired of listening to all of the right wing pundits and politicians who are complaining about the lack of a debt plan coming from the Democrats/White House. Fact is, per the constitution, all plans for revenues MUST start in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives at this time is controlled by the Republicans. Thus a debt deal MUST start with Republicans in the House of Representatives. If a democratic plan is introduced to deal with the debt it will not see the light of day for the simple reason that it is a democratic plan (see the Harry Reid plan as an example). The best they can do appears to be to have the President work with Congressional leaders on a bipartisan agreement, that does not work though when Congressional leaders cannot sway the votes of their own caucus (see John Boehner and the House GOP). Here's a better idea for the GOP, how about a legitimate bipartisan agreement that both sides can agree upon, where both sides get some of what they want, where both sides give up something that they want? The Democrats have done so, they are now willing to accept a deal with no new revenues (which they had previously insisted be included in any deal). The GOP though has refused to that to this point, the GOP seems to be negotiating under the impression that they control both sides of congress, that won't cut it, they also need to compromise with the democrats if they truly want a debt deal. John McCain & George Voinovich are absolutely correct, you just don't play chicken with the world economy on the line.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Cardinals acquire Kolb
The Arizona Cardinals acquired QB Kevin Kolb today from the Philadelphia Eagles. They gave up CB Domonique Rogers-Cromartie and a 2nd round draft pick in 2012 for him. My initial reactions to the trade? I think the Cards gave up way too much. I know that QB is the most important position on any team and the Cardinals QB play last year was just dreadful (thank you Derek Anderson) but a former Pro Bowl CB who is only 25 years old and a 2nd round draft pick seems a bit too steep a price to pay. Kolb just doesn't have the track record to warrant that type of exchange IMO, he's essentially a career back up with rather mediocre numbers (11 career TD's in 4 years vs 14 INT's). Kyle Orton was still out there, or they could have been more aggressive in pursuit of Matt Hasselback or Donovan McNabb, all of whom have better track records and would have come at a much cheaper price. Now they also have a hole at CB they need to fill (I was really looking forward to a CB tandem of DRC and Patrick Robinson). Hopefully, I'm wrong and Kolb will be a solid QB for years to come for the Cardinals, just don't get your hopes too high.
POTpourri
- Vikings acquire Donovan McNabb from the Redskins.
- Is it time for President Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment?
- More Brandi Glanville bikini pics here.
- UNC fires Butch Davis.
- Angels Ervin Santana throws no-hitter.
- Jasmine Waltz looks good washing her car.
- Check here for the Yahoo!Sports NFL Free Agent tracker.
- More Bar Rafaeli bikini pictures here.
- John McCain appears to be the lone voice of reason in the GOP.
- It's never too early for Candice Swanepoel Halloween costumes.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
AZ Tidbits
- Uproar over hardball politics in Russell Pearce recall.
- Why do some hate the word "Haboob"?
- Over a 5 year period Arizona has lost 250K+ jobs.
- Diamondbacks sign first draft pick Trevor Bauer.
- Dave Pratt returns to FM radio in the Phoenix metro area.
- "The Daily Meal" ranks Phoenix #4 nationally for best pizza.
- Check out Fitz on the cover of the new "Sports Illustrated".
- Changes at KTAR Sports620. I'm not a fan, I prefer local sports talk.
- ASU football picked for 2nd place finish in new PAC 12-South, UA picked to finish 4th.
- The Cardinals still need to find a QB.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Where did the Deficit come from?
Insightful story by Teresa Tritch in the New York Times over the weekend that spells out where the current deficit come from. Give it a read.
Some highlights:
"With President Obama and Republican leaders calling for cutting the budget by trillions over the next 10 years, it is worth asking how we got here — from healthy surpluses at the end of the Clinton era, and the promise of future surpluses, to nine straight years of deficits, including the $1.3 trillion shortfall in 2010. The answer is largely the Bush-era tax cuts, war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recessions."
"Despite what anti-government conservatives say, non-defense discretionary spending on areas like foreign aid, education and food safety was not a driving factor in creating the deficits. In fact, such spending, accounting for only 15 percent of the budget, has been basically flat as a share of the economy for decades. Cutting it simply will not fill the deficit hole."
"A few lessons can be drawn from the numbers. First, the Bush tax cuts have had a huge damaging effect. If all of them expired as scheduled at the end of 2012, future deficits would be cut by about half, to sustainable levels. Second, a healthy budget requires a healthy economy; recessions wreak havoc by reducing tax revenue. Government has to spur demand and create jobs in a deep downturn, even though doing so worsens the deficit in the short run. Third, spending cuts alone will not close the gap. The chronic revenue shortfalls from serial tax cuts are simply too deep to fill with spending cuts alone. Taxes have to go up."
Here's a good clip from Chris Matthews too:
Some highlights:
"With President Obama and Republican leaders calling for cutting the budget by trillions over the next 10 years, it is worth asking how we got here — from healthy surpluses at the end of the Clinton era, and the promise of future surpluses, to nine straight years of deficits, including the $1.3 trillion shortfall in 2010. The answer is largely the Bush-era tax cuts, war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recessions."
"Despite what anti-government conservatives say, non-defense discretionary spending on areas like foreign aid, education and food safety was not a driving factor in creating the deficits. In fact, such spending, accounting for only 15 percent of the budget, has been basically flat as a share of the economy for decades. Cutting it simply will not fill the deficit hole."
"A few lessons can be drawn from the numbers. First, the Bush tax cuts have had a huge damaging effect. If all of them expired as scheduled at the end of 2012, future deficits would be cut by about half, to sustainable levels. Second, a healthy budget requires a healthy economy; recessions wreak havoc by reducing tax revenue. Government has to spur demand and create jobs in a deep downturn, even though doing so worsens the deficit in the short run. Third, spending cuts alone will not close the gap. The chronic revenue shortfalls from serial tax cuts are simply too deep to fill with spending cuts alone. Taxes have to go up."
Here's a good clip from Chris Matthews too:
POTpourri
- Is Donald Trump now eying a run for President as an Independent?
- Keep an eye out for Katy Louise Saunders.
- 130 current Congressional Republicans have previously voted to increase the debt ceiling.
- NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg feels he gets good value for his tax dollars.
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks nice in swimwear!
- RIP Butch Lewis.
- The 27 Club is an odd phenomenon.
- Are the Eagles interested in Brett Favre? Didn't he retire?
- I love Bar Rafaeli bikini pictures.
- Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven & Pat Gillick enter the MLB Hall of Fame.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
NFL Strike/Lockout Over?
Reports coming out today are indicating that the NFL owners and players have reached agreement on a new CBA, effectively ending the NFL strike/lockout. About time, I was growing increasingly tired of the squabbling between billionaire owners and millionaire players. Among the key components:
- Salary Cap remains (at 47% of revenue I believe).
- 16 game schedule remains (with a Thursday night game added all 16 weeks).
- Reduction in offseason workouts and limits on padded practice.
- Game day rosters increase to 46.
- Increased benefits for retired players.
- Rookie pay scale.
Buddy Roemer for President
Finally, a reasonable Republican throws his hat into the ring. Unfortunately, reasonable republicans have no chance at making it through the Republican 'purity test' called a primary season. He does have a platform that could resonate with a lot of people though (the battling of the undue influence of corporate power and wealthy special interests), especially given the current lack of confidence that most seem to have with our current government. He really should give some consideration to running as an Independent.
Thomas Jefferson
I recently had the chance to visit Washington D.C., while there I took the opportunity to visit the Jefferson Memorial. I absolutely loved the quotes they had on the walls of the memorial. I liked this one specifically:
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
It seems to me that perhaps the Tea Party crowd (those who want to go back in times to the true interpretation of the constitution) should take note of this one.
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
It seems to me that perhaps the Tea Party crowd (those who want to go back in times to the true interpretation of the constitution) should take note of this one.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
POTpourri
- RIP Amy Winehouse.
- The WSOP Main Event November 9 is set.
- 10 Men's Grooming Habits that turn women off.
- Polling moving strongly against GOP in debt talks.
- Do we need a new third political party that is not beholden to special interests?
- Would Ronald Reagan be welcomed by today's Republican party???
- NFL owners agree to end lockout. Will players follow suit?
- What were you thinking Eddie Cibrian?
- Winnipeg Jets unveil their new logo.
- 91 killed in Norwegian carnage.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Best White NBA Players Ever
In honor of the NBA lockout, I think it's time I make an NBA post. For the record, this is not meant to be a racist post, I hope nobody takes it that way. Since the NBA is dominated by black players nowdays I was just trying to think of who some of the great white NBA players were and how their play would translate into today's game. While I will be the first to admit that the athleticism of today's players is off the charts, it also is severely lacking in fundamentals (from both black and white players), I'd love to see how these guys in their prime would match up with today's players.
So anyways, here's my list of the 20 best American white NBA players ever:
So anyways, here's my list of the 20 best American white NBA players ever:
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tax Cuts = Jobs?
Chris Matthews & Robert Reich discuss whether tax cuts = jobs.
Ronald Brownstein of the National Review wrote a good article on the subject too:
Some highlights:
"House Speaker John Boehner this week insisted, “The American people understand that tax hikes destroy jobs.” In fact, there is simply no evidence that every tax cut creates jobs or that every tax increase destroys them."
"That’s a big lesson of the past three decades. In 1981, President Reagan massively cut taxes with his supply-side reductions in income-tax rates. Still sluggish at first, the economy eventually soared for the remainder of his presidency. By the fourth year after Reagan signed the tax cut, the economy had created 6.3 million new jobs (an increase of 6.8 percent); eight years on, the economy had created 16.5 million new jobs, up 18 percent.
Sounds like a pretty good case for tax cuts. But the economy produced even more jobs after President Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy in 1993. Four years after Clinton’s tax increase—which Republican opponents at the time denounced as a certain job-killer—the economy had produced 11.8 million new jobs, an increase of nearly 11 percent. Eight years after the tax increase, the economy had added 20.6 million jobs, up 18.6 percent. Measured in both absolute and percentage terms, the economy produced more jobs after Clinton raised taxes than after Reagan cut them."
"Then, after President George W. Bush’s massive 2001 tax cut, the economy recorded its most dismal decade for job creation since the Great Depression. Eight years after Bush signed his cut (and added another round of reductions in 2003), nearly 1.6 million fewer Americans were at work. And although the median income for average families rose by about 12 percent in the eight years after both the Reagan tax cuts and the Clinton tax increase, income for average families declined almost $1,400 (or 2.7 percent) in the equivalent period after Bush signed his reductions."
"If that experience doesn’t demolish the idea that tax cuts always produce prosperity, consider more recent history. The big deal that Obama and congressional Republicans reached in late 2010 was to extend the Bush tax cuts through 2012—and to turbocharge them with a new payroll-tax reduction. Despite those incentives, job growth has collapsed this year."
"In the past three decades, job growth has thrived after tax cuts and after tax increases, and it has stagnated after tax cuts. If there’s a pattern, it’s that tax policy typically isn’t the decisive factor in driving a machine as complex as the U.S. economy. "
The complete article can be found here.
Ronald Brownstein of the National Review wrote a good article on the subject too:
Some highlights:
"House Speaker John Boehner this week insisted, “The American people understand that tax hikes destroy jobs.” In fact, there is simply no evidence that every tax cut creates jobs or that every tax increase destroys them."
"That’s a big lesson of the past three decades. In 1981, President Reagan massively cut taxes with his supply-side reductions in income-tax rates. Still sluggish at first, the economy eventually soared for the remainder of his presidency. By the fourth year after Reagan signed the tax cut, the economy had created 6.3 million new jobs (an increase of 6.8 percent); eight years on, the economy had created 16.5 million new jobs, up 18 percent.
Sounds like a pretty good case for tax cuts. But the economy produced even more jobs after President Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy in 1993. Four years after Clinton’s tax increase—which Republican opponents at the time denounced as a certain job-killer—the economy had produced 11.8 million new jobs, an increase of nearly 11 percent. Eight years after the tax increase, the economy had added 20.6 million jobs, up 18.6 percent. Measured in both absolute and percentage terms, the economy produced more jobs after Clinton raised taxes than after Reagan cut them."
"Then, after President George W. Bush’s massive 2001 tax cut, the economy recorded its most dismal decade for job creation since the Great Depression. Eight years after Bush signed his cut (and added another round of reductions in 2003), nearly 1.6 million fewer Americans were at work. And although the median income for average families rose by about 12 percent in the eight years after both the Reagan tax cuts and the Clinton tax increase, income for average families declined almost $1,400 (or 2.7 percent) in the equivalent period after Bush signed his reductions."
"If that experience doesn’t demolish the idea that tax cuts always produce prosperity, consider more recent history. The big deal that Obama and congressional Republicans reached in late 2010 was to extend the Bush tax cuts through 2012—and to turbocharge them with a new payroll-tax reduction. Despite those incentives, job growth has collapsed this year."
"In the past three decades, job growth has thrived after tax cuts and after tax increases, and it has stagnated after tax cuts. If there’s a pattern, it’s that tax policy typically isn’t the decisive factor in driving a machine as complex as the U.S. economy. "
The complete article can be found here.
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