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Politics : View from the Center and Left

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To: epicure who wrote (115549)	7/16/2009 9:07:39 AM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (2) of 541836

If we could ever actually get numbers on the table about what people would have preferred, we might actually be able to talk. How much of the stimulus would you not have spent or approved? Maybe you would not have approved it at all? Would you have let the banks fail? What taxes would you raise, on whom, and when? I was strongly in favor of saving the banks. The cost of doing nothing far outstripped the cost of acting. I was in favor of the stimulus, but would have done it far differently. We are going to waste billions upon billions because we rushed into it. Here was a post I wrote back in February to you. Message 25404695 I think restoring the Clinton tax rates makes sense but I would have used that money to reduce the deficit in the out years. Obama's long-term spending plans are completely unsustainable without a strong economic recovery. If that doesnt happen, we are going to see a rapid rise in interest rates as 4-5% structural GDP deficits simply wont be financed by the rest of the world (at least not at historical interest rates). I think the fact that he is pushing for these kind of spending plans puts our current recovery at risk. If he wants all of these social services and infrastructure, he needs to balance those with spending cuts or broader tax increases. As for health care, my first focus is cost. The current plan is all about coverage and the cost controls seem to be a leap of faith. Assuming that the current plan was a fait accompli, it makes far more sense to fund it using a tax on high-end insurance plans (which would help control total health care costs) than to use another soak the rich scheme. I dont think that funding all of these proposed plans on a tiny sliver of the population is healthy for society or the long-term prospects of the programs themselves. One last comment...I am not a maniac about the deficit. It is only the possibility of 4-5% deficits caused by structural spending that has made them my focus. The amazing part is how much Obama is looking to increase taxes and yet his spending plans still far outstrip the revenue increases. Slacker

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