"Romney is wrong on tax cuts" by Fareed Zakaria at WP

[applegrove]

Romney is wrong on tax cuts

by Fareed Zakaria at WP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-romney-is-wrong-on-tax-cuts/2012/06/07/gJQAy1pHLV_story.html

"SNIP................................................

By contrast, Mitt Romney’s first major ad is substantive — and wrong. He tells us that on his first day in office — after approving the Keystone XL pipeline — he will “introduce tax cuts . . . that reward job creators not punish them.” The one idea that is almost certain not to jump-start this economy is a tax cut.

Why can we be sure of this? Because that is what we have done for the past three years. For those who think President Obama’s policies have done little to produce growth, keep in mind that the single largest piece of his policies — in dollar terms — has been tax cuts. They actually began before Obama, with the tax cut passed under the George W. Bush administration in response to the financial crisis in 2008. Then came the stimulus bill, of which tax cuts were the largest chunk by far — one-third of the total. The Department of Transportation, by contrast, got 6 percent of the total to fix infrastructure.

That wasn’t the end of it. There was the payroll tax cut, the small business tax cut, the extension of the payroll tax cut, and so on. The president’s Twitter feed boasted: “President Obama has signed 21 tax cuts to support middle class families.” And how has that worked out?

In the wake of a financial crisis caused by excessive debt, tax cuts are highly unlikely to lead to increased economic activity. People use the money to pay down their debts rather than shop for cars, houses and appliances. As for the idea that job creators are not creating jobs because their taxes are too high, think about it: Would Mitt Romney invest more of his money in American factories if only he had paid less than the 13.9 percent rate he paid last year? Please!

................................................SNIP"

[high density]

1. So yeah, I think at this point everybody but the GOP agrees that tax cuts are doing jack

to help the economy. If people want to see a different course, we need major changes in the makeup of congress. This seems unlikely to happen. So we will be left with Republicans putting forth broken ideas and enough Democrats rubber stamping them for their rich buddies. The fun has no end.

[freshwest]

2. I always enjoy it when Fareed takes a walk about. Good read, thanks, Applegrove.

[pansypoo53219]

3. the "JOB CREATORS" have had a DECADE of tax cuts.

so WHERE WERE THE JOBS WHEN OBAMA EXTENDED THEM???

i say the REVERSE is the answer to JOBS.

[davidpdx]

4. I love Freed Zakaria

If I even got an hour to sit down and pick his mind about economics and politics it would blow my mind.