The Lies and Lunacy in Tim Pawlenty's Economic Plan
by Michael Tomasky
The Daily Beast
A candidate’s economic plan usually inspires discussion and selective disagreement. But as Michael Tomasky argues, Tim Pawlenty’s plan is pure nonsense.
Picking the biggest and most pernicious conservative lie of our times is about as enviable a job as naming the most undeserved bonus at AIG. The same goes for picking the biggest conservative liar—though Tim Pawlenty has now arguably made himself the frontrunner (for that title at least). In the economic plan he announced this week, Pawlenty took my choice for No. 1 lie as his starting point. And it got worse from there.
The lie, which one hears from Republicans on cable television on a daily basis, is that “we spent our way into this crisis.” Yes, federal spending has gone up significantly in the last decade. But increased spending wasn’t as decisive as decreased revenue. The truth can’t be said often enough: We did not spend our way into this crisis; we de-taxed our way into it. Very few people want to believe this. Even many liberals get nervous when this is brought up, because the mere word “taxes” makes some people jumpy. But it’s the truth: The Bush tax cuts have had more to do with our parlous fiscal situation than any Obama spending you can name.
We de-regulated our way into it, too—for the obvious reason that the repeal of Glass-Steagall and associated moves by Congress, the Bush Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulators told the derivatives traders that no one was watching. That caused the economic meltdown in the first place.
(More here.)
The Daily Beast
A candidate’s economic plan usually inspires discussion and selective disagreement. But as Michael Tomasky argues, Tim Pawlenty’s plan is pure nonsense.
Picking the biggest and most pernicious conservative lie of our times is about as enviable a job as naming the most undeserved bonus at AIG. The same goes for picking the biggest conservative liar—though Tim Pawlenty has now arguably made himself the frontrunner (for that title at least). In the economic plan he announced this week, Pawlenty took my choice for No. 1 lie as his starting point. And it got worse from there.
The lie, which one hears from Republicans on cable television on a daily basis, is that “we spent our way into this crisis.” Yes, federal spending has gone up significantly in the last decade. But increased spending wasn’t as decisive as decreased revenue. The truth can’t be said often enough: We did not spend our way into this crisis; we de-taxed our way into it. Very few people want to believe this. Even many liberals get nervous when this is brought up, because the mere word “taxes” makes some people jumpy. But it’s the truth: The Bush tax cuts have had more to do with our parlous fiscal situation than any Obama spending you can name.
We de-regulated our way into it, too—for the obvious reason that the repeal of Glass-Steagall and associated moves by Congress, the Bush Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulators told the derivatives traders that no one was watching. That caused the economic meltdown in the first place.
(More here.)
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