Let's Give Obama Everything He Wants But Get Something Real In Return

As we inch closer to the inevitable "tax hikes now, savings later (and by later we mean never) deal, it would be nice if the GOP thought outside the box and tried to get something of real value from the deal.

If you're going to get rolled, you might as well try and get something crazy, right? Something like this.

Aided by a structure that facilitates spending increases and discourages spending cuts, the inertia in Washington is currently to spend--and spend--and spend. Most spending bills come to the floor prepackaged in a manner that makes it as easy as possible to advance government spending and programs, and as difficult as possible to make cuts.

Again, this is not a new problem. But if we're serious about confronting the challenges that lie ahead for our nation, it's totally inadequate.

I propose today a different approach. Let's do away with the concept of "comprehensive" spending bills. Let's break them up, to encourage scrutiny, and make spending cuts easier. Rather than pairing agencies and departments together, let them come to the House floor individually, to be judged on their own merit. Members shouldn't have to vote for big spending increases at the Labor Department in order to fund Health and Human Services. Members shouldn't have to vote for big increases at the Commerce Department just because they support NASA. Each Department and agency should justify itself each year to the full House and Senate, and be judged on its own.

Who's is the crazy, tea party nut job that came up with that idea? Uh, John Boehner about a month before the 2010 mid-terms made him Speaker.

And...that's the last we heard of that idea.

As Boehner himself said, there's a structural bias against spending cuts so why not do something about it? Without that kind of structural change, any savings from discretionary accounts in the out years are going to be phantoms.

Actually, re-reading that, this is something Boehner could do himself but hasn't. So yeah, I'm sure we'll get a great deal out of him negotiating with Obama.

While I'm in the Let It Burn camp, I do think the GOP should try for a Hail Mary of a deal....

1-Hike taxes on people making more than a million dollars a year MORE than Obama wants.

2. Cut taxes on everyone making between $45,000 and $100,000 per year. Leave the rates alone between $100,000 and $1,000,000.

3. Lower the floor of the lowest current tax rate to force more people onto the tax rolls.

4. Eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit and all other refundable tax credits (if you don't pay enough in taxes, you don't get a check back to cover your credit. It only works to lower a taxes owed liability).

Pass something like that (I don't care what the CBO score is, it's all BS anyway) and leave town.

If Obama wants to play class warfare games, fine. Let's play bitches.

posted by DrewM. at 09:58 AM

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