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27 Oct 2011 15:24

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Politics: Wide gap between Democrats, Republicans on deficit cuts

  • $2.2 trillion in cuts offered by super committee GOP source
  • » Cut spending, or do a little of everything? The above figure is, in fact, about $800 billion less than the deficit reduction the Democratic plan would have achieved, which relied on a nearly even mixture of spending cuts and tax increases (including some politically tough cuts to Medicare). The GOP plan, conversely, offers no such tax increases, instead relying on heavier spending cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and low-income welfare programs such as food stamps, along with lowering tax rates which they’re claiming will stoke hundreds of billions of extra economic activity. So, basically, the same argument is playing out exactly like it does every time, though now there’s only twelve people instead of a full Congress.

25 Jul 2011 22:58

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Politics: Nate sets us straight

  • A very good point. We tend to forget that, as crazy as it sounds, some people’s idea of fun doesn’t involve reading about the debt limit, America’s credit rating, or parliamentary procedure in the United States Senate. source

10 Jul 2011 12:08

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Politics: Debt-reduction plan: The GOP wants the smaller deal. Wait, what?

  • biggish Republicans appear ready to agree to a $2.4 trillion debt-cutting agreement to allow the debt ceiling to go up, and to help prevent the country from defaulting on its loans. It’s something that Republicans have been fighting towards for a while. So what’s this drama we’re hearing about Boehner backing down last night?
  • bigger However, Obama’s eyeing a different deal — a much-larger $4 trillion one, which (over the next decade) would increase taxes for the top-fifth of incomes by cutting back tax credits and deductions — but in the process, trimming the debt significantly. Is it us, or does Obama seem more serious about fixing this issue? source

06 Jul 2011 14:26

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Politics: Bill Clinton puts recovery ahead of deficit reduction

  • Almost nobody’s talking about one of the central points that everyone who has analyzed this situation makes – including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission – which [is] you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.
  • Bill Clinton • Discussing the deficit-reduction fight going on in Washington, with dealing over the debt limit functioning as a negotiating tool for the GOP to push for spending cuts. This is an angle that’s been taken by many mainstream economists (though obviously, the world of economics can be as contentious as anywhere else), namely that the ability to put off paying down the deficit for a while, though it may not jive with the popular notion of fiscal responsibility, is a valuable tactic to avoid straining the economic recovery. To use an overly simplistic metaphor, if we were to gain thirty pounds over the course of a year, working out twelve hours every day wouldn’t be a healthful way to slim back down. It takes a while to gain the weight, so it’s only natural and measured that it’ll take a while to safely cast it off again. source

20 Apr 2011 09:53

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Politics: Obama’s new deficit-reduction group an ultra-partisan mess

  • I remain skeptical that the administration will take this effort seriously, especially after it all but ignored its previous debt commission and President Obama had to be dragged kicking and screaming to consider minimal spending cuts for the rest of this fiscal year.
  • House Minority Whip Eric Cantor • Offering a soft touch to the news of the president’s new deficit reduction group, which was supposed to include 16 members, eight from each party. Instead, it includes six — two Republicans and four Democrats. (The “gang of six,” by the way, was left out in the cold.) Cantor’s on the list, along with a bunch of other folks known for their partisanship. If you ask us, it sounds like he’s just pissed that he had to do something he didn’t really want to do. We know, Eric, we hate meetings too! source

19 Feb 2011 22:30

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Politics: Timothy Geithner on GOP’s spending diet plan: This will hurt jobs

  • In our judgment, the continuing opposition…in the House would undermine and damage our capacity to create jobs and expand the economy.
  • Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner • Claiming that the GOP’s spending-cut-heavy plan threatens to severely hurt job creation. Geithner’s advice? Strengthen the economic recovery, then focus on deficit-cutting. “I am very confident that the Democrats and the Republicans will come together on a program to not just reduce spending but reduce long-term deficits,” he continued. source