Since everyone wants to sound like an expert, here’s the specifics on the illustrious Simpson-Bowels Commission.
1. Simpson-Bowles punted on entitlement reform, it refused to acknowledge the problem. Instead it pronounced in typical bi-partisan terms the ABSOLUTE NEED for NEW revenue (taxes) or dismiss the possibility for a grand bargain.
Translation: GOP DROP DEAD.
This means that the GOP must commit political suicide by giving Democrats their tax increases if you want to cut spending (taxation). Not because this is sound economics, but because this is both the political requirement for
Democrats to shield themselves from vigilant criticism in the guise of fairness while slaughtering the reform wing of the GOP.
This gives new meaning to partisan intransigence.
2. Absolutely no where is their any mention of growing the economy. The word “growth” is absent from the prose of Simpson-Bowles. Why? Because this is chiefly a document used to settle political score, not fix the imminent fiscal cliff.
3. Washington’s fundamental problem is the need for direction. Sounds like we need an election.
Here’s how we fix this mess: excessive spending (taxation) can only be tamed through fiscal, not monetary policies that procure growth. This means simultaneous budget cuts, currency reform, lower marginal rates and a Fed committed to price stability alone.
How do you achieve this?
If the postulate from Simpson-Bowles is spending/tax ratio of 3:1, then: follow the Vockler-Reagan precedent of first initiating fiscal cuts then with a surging economy in light of both stable prices, low inflation and currency stability move on entitlement reform.
William Holland
William Holland 