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The Spectacle Blog
Now that Paul Ryan has been thoroughly dragged through the mud for trying to propose a solution to the nation’s fiscal problems (and Megan McArdle has written the coda for that episode), it’s time to examine the Democratic alternatives to the Roadmap.
Of course, there are none. The closest thing we have to a left-wing Roadmap (that is, a plan that exists and is scored by the Congressional Budget Office) is House minority leader Steny Hoyer’s June speech on deficit reduction. During his remarks, Hoyer, being less partisan and more intellectually honest than certain New York Times columnists, acknowledged Ryan’s efforts to provide a conservative, spending-only approach to cutting the debt: “…a spending-only plan has been on the table for more than two years. It’s Republican Congressman Paul Ryan’s Roadmap, and it was originally introduced in May of 2008. Even though I strongly oppose its severe Medicare cuts for seniors, I’ve praised Congressman Ryan for being the only one in his party to offer a solution equal to the problem.”
Hoyer then sketched out the roughest outlines of a more liberal plan, one that includes, on the revenue side, “a serious discussion” about letting all the Bush tax cuts expire. On the spending side, Hoyer recommended lowering the defense budget, and recognized the need to trim entitlements, proposing “a higher retirement age, or one pegged to lifespan; more progressive Social Security and Medicare benefits; and a stronger safety net for the Americans who need it most.” In other words, cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Now, admitting that the government needs to cut Medicare mere months after your party has rammed through “comprehensive health care reform” does take some boldness. Give Hoyer credit, even though the times call for something a bit more serious than “a serious discussion” on tax hikes.
Crucially, though, the Democrats have control of the presidency and both houses of Congress. You’re not seeing fully-scored legislation from any Democrats (though please let me know if I’m missing something). They’re going to need to do a little better.
Specifically, President Obama has slightly more of an obligation to address the fiscal problems than does Paul Ryan. And yet Obama’s stated plan is…to let the deficit commission come up with a plan.
In fact, the Obama administration’s last budget planned for a fiscal trajectory that is, by the administration’s own admission, unsustainable. Here’s Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orzsag:
Let’s be clear: even with the substantial-and historic-deficit reduction proposed in this year’s Budget, we will still face unsustainable medium- and long-term deficits. And the Administration knows that more will need to be done to restore the nation to a fiscally sustainable path.
That’s why the President has called for the creation of a bipartisan Fiscal Commission….
Of course Obama would say, as he does constantly, that he inherited the bulk of the deficits from George W. Bush. He would be right, but that has no bearing on what constitutes a responsible strategy. If the Democrats wanted to undo all of Bush’s irresponsible spending, they could use their majorities to get rid of the prescription drug program, pull the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and let the Bush tax cuts expire. Otherwise, it’s on them to find out another way to balance the long term budget. We have a spending-only plan, courtesy of Paul Ryan. Let’s hear the revenue-only plan, or at least a compromise.
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More Blog Posts by Joseph Lawler
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/08/11/meanwhile-obama-has-no-plan-fo
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Jeff| 8.11.10 @ 5:05PM
Tax Cuts are not and have never been spending ... irresponsible or otherwise ...
please don't lecture on responsible spending and miss pointing out Obamas 25% increase in non-defense spending ... if Bush's spending was irresponsible then what is Obama's spending ?
Howard| 8.11.10 @ 10:03PM
The Democrats will have a two pronged approach:
1. Higher taxes, income, corporate, and a VAT.
2. Significant defense cuts.
Otherwise, all entitlements will remain the same and go up with inflation. That's it!
Nate| 8.11.10 @ 11:54PM
Obama responded to Republican calls for a deficit commission. The Republicans backed out as soon as he agreed to it.
The point of such a commission is to give both sides political cover to do things they'd otherwise be afraid of doing.
Democrats will HAVE to accept major reform of entitlements; Republicans will HAVE to accept some kind of tax increase. There's no way to control the deficit without some mix of the two.
Obama has contributed to the deficit, to be sure, but he's done it during THE WORST RECESSION in decades.
Bush, on the other hand, added to the deficit in good times -- a foolish policy by anyone's measure.
The LARGEST single contributer to the deficit is the loss in revenues due to the recession -- not any spending Obama's done.
Returning to the top marginal tax rates of the late 90s -- a time of massive economic growth -- may pinch millionaires a little, but it'll help the deficit and help the government do what it needs to do.
All this frothing at the mouth you people do is terribly destructive to the national debate.
The way I see it, there's room for serious disputes between liberal and conservative Democrats about tax cuts and government spending. Republicans just aren't serious participants anymore.
Derek Leaberry| 8.12.10 @ 8:30AM
Sadly, Republicans have no viable plan for the debt. And most Americans would revolt if the debt was dealt with in a forthright manner- severe budget cuts, especially in elderly entitlements and the military.
Oldefarte| 8.12.10 @ 11:28AM
BS! First of all, Hoyer is noting more than a lifelong political hack from the extremist state of Maryland, so to hades with his stupidity. Ryan's ideas are mostly accurate, in that the source of the fiscal problem is not REVENUE but SPENDING [by governments]. The domestic terrorists always pull out their scare tactics of THE NECESSITY TO CUT SS, MEDICARE, MILITARY,ETC; which is BS. The true solution lies with dismantling the WELFARE STATE [housing allowances, UN-AFFORDABLE HOMES supports, food stamps, etc]. Additionally, eliminate/substantially reduce FOREIGN AID, FARM AID, THE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION AND AGRICULTURE, as simply a start. First and foremost, begin getting rid of politicians like Hoyer, Schumer, Reid, Pilosi, Rangel, Waters, etc in November and replace these morons with professionally experienced politicians that have the business knowledge to deal with this current deplorable economic/financial situation and then to have the guts to fix it!!!!!!!!!!!
JM| 8.12.10 @ 8:14PM
Right on!!!!We're at a point where people need to face facts about the unsustainability of our current welfare state. Every major gov't. entitlement program is financially broke; Fannie & Freddie are bankrupt(as are their policies of putting people in homes they cannot afford);the $13T War on Poverty hasn't lessened poverty one bit since it was introduced in the '60s; NOTHING the gov't has run has worked financially, due chiefly to the HIGH COST OF ITS BUREAUCRACTIC, inefficient (dis)organizations, as opposed to private businesses that can survive only if they EFFICIENTLY & with no corruption, offer products & services people continue to buy. Socialist Progressive gov'ts succeed only in lowering the standard of living for everyone, while maximizing the cost (in the form of ever increasing taxes) to the shrinking middle class in order to fund these entitlements. Eventually, the Socialists WILL RUN OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY!!!
want
SCM| 8.12.10 @ 2:47PM
So, we 'trim entitlements, proposing "a higher retirement age, or one pegged to lifespan" '. This seems to indicate that we won't be eligible for social security and medicare until the day we die. Well, yes, that would certainly cure the insolvency problem!
nohype| 8.12.10 @ 4:07PM
The Congressional Budget Office put out an amazing document on July 27, 2010 titled "Federal Debt and the Risk of a Fiscal Crisis " The document outlined how fiscal come about and said that the U.S. will eventually have a fiscal crisis unless the government greatly reduces the level of deficits. The most arresting passage in the piece: "According to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) projections, federal debt held by the public will stand at 62 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2010, having risen from 36 percent at the end of fiscal year 2007, just before the recession began. In only one other period in U.S. history—during and shortly after World War II—has that figure exceeded 50 percent."