President Obama's 2013 Budget Proposal
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-02-14/president-obamas-2013-budget-proposal
Yesterday House Republicans shifted course and agreed to extend the payroll tax cut without insisting on spending cuts elsewhere to offset the cost. They also largely dismissed the $3.8 trillion budget President Obama submitted for fiscal 2013. His 220 page document which spells out his spending proposal includes higher tax rates for the wealthiest Americans and puts off action on the national debt. The plan is not likely to gain traction in Congress, but it does offer insights into the administration’s election year priorities. Please join us to talk about reaction to President Obama's fiscal 2013 fiscal budget proposal and the ongoing debate over tax reform, stimulus spending, and deficit reduction.
Guests
Jared Bernstein
senior fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; former chief economist and economic policy adviser for Vice President Biden.
Stephen Moore
member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board.
Norman Ornstein
resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and coauthor of "The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track."
Comments
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Someone said "debt" on arrival. I think that sums it up. Why would anyone in their right mind not be supporting Ron Paul.
NEOCON rick santorums voting record.
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/09/what-a-big-government-conservat...
It's been noted that during the revolution 1/3 wanted to overthrow British rule, 1/3 wanted the British to stay and 1/3 didn't care.
Even the Democrats don't believe in this budget, Minority Whip Mitch McConnell is planning on puting this to a vote as is so that it can get voted down by Obama's own party. Just more politics and no real progress. Politics the art and science of destroying hope, for a real future.
I am astounded by the characteristic deficits put forth in budgets year after year. Do the guests believe a balanced budget is within reach in the next four years no matter who is President? Is this even plausible given the weak economic climate? Do deficits really matter?
If the tax rates and revenue were anything like what is needed, even what was the Clinton rates or even the Reagan rates, let alone the rates during the fifties when the economy had a huge sustained boom, there would be surpluses. But the Tories, and now the public, want what they won't pay for....
Stephen Moore's previous forecasts on the US economy included his pre-2004 election GOP boosting book, 'Bullish on Bush, How George W. Bush's Ownership Society will Make America Stronger'. The book's title is mysteriously misspelled at Amazon as 'Owenership Society', which at this point seems a more accurate depiction of the type of economy Bush created than anything in the book. He gives all the appearances of being an obsequious lackey of the Republican Party, and his biased opinions are not worth airtime on NPR, or anywhere for that matter.
There has not been a budget since 2009, so why start now? The old adage that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail is clearly in play. The government is handicapped because they have no idea what they can spend, so it is treading water rather then add efficiency (not in the budget), re-engineering (not in the budget), modernizing (not in the budget) or leading (not in the budget).
Although it is correct that a budget presented is not likely an approvalable item due to its political nature, it is shameful that a presented budget is not and cannot be seen to be about the citizenry and well being of the nation.
I think the last 30 minutes on NPR sums everything up. Morning edition just had a story about cuts in the military cities, towns and state and the resistance theses cuts are getting. Now we are talking about budget cuts and everybody will want the government cut until it affects them then it will bring the end of the world.
We need to remember that if we eliminate all discretionary spending we will still be running a defict. Raising taxes on the rich will not eliminate the deficit. What to do? Medicaid & Social Security? Sounds good lets get the fraud and waste out of the system (right Marco Rubio?) that should save billions. However nobody talks about why we are spending more than every other country combined on our military. This should be a HUGE target but see the above paragraph.
I wish just one of our legislators would spend a few hours at a Social Security Administration office in a poor neighborhood, as I did last week. When they carry on about entitlement reform, drug testing, job training, etc., do they have any idea of the people they are talking about? These folks are poor, barely literate, disabled, elderly, or young mothers overwhelmed by poverty and dependence. They need all the help we can give them, not judgement and censure. Spending some time with these folks will change your view of entitlements.
I hope President Obama pushes this new budget all the way.
The 12 years of Reagan/Bush was total economic disaster.The Bush 8 years left us the worst economy since the Great Depression. With such a proven record of failure,WHY DOES ANYBODY LISTEN TO FAILURES ?
I am spending a great deal of time with a pack of older gents who are all WWII vets as well as former GM workers, teamsters, steal workers etc in a nursing home that my dad is in in Dayton Ohio. They were all union members They repeat over and over again that American workers and fair wages were sold down the pike starting 40 years ago. They look at corporate heads who made decisions to move first to the southern US and then to Mexico, China etc as "traitors" AS TRAITORS to the US.
These gents say things like "money became these corporate heads and stake holders religion...their god"
So what if US corporate taxes are higher. When will those making millions, billions off of extremely cheap labor start looking at paying US taxes as a patriotic duty the way these old WWII Vets and former members of unions looked at paying their taxes?
I totally agree. Moore is also linked to a group called "Club for Growth." When he was on Bill Maher he cheerfully repeated the most ridiculous propaganda since Goebbels as if it repetition would make it true. Its the same old lie, repeated since the 1980s. Reagan himself had to raise taxes when it proved wrong.
It's as asinine an argument as the right-wing's denials of science and women's rights.
I find when the commenter talk about tax rates, they are not clear about business tax versus personal tax rates. It seems to me the tax increases suggested are in personal rates. Even sole proprietors fill out a schedule C and this can be used to keep the impact of taxing businesses.
Can they explain?
American companies are not so simpleminded as to choose locations for new factories solely based on taxes; and your guest who is suggesting so is simply not being honest.
In China, factory owners are given cheap lines of credit. They in turn are then able to built factories JUST IN CASE they are awarded the contract. That is totally unheard of here in America.
Other factors that influence where factories are opened, are labor costs, the skills of the local population, and the flexibility of the supply chain for that particular location.
Eduardo Garces from Miami, Florida.
You are so right. Of course none of our legislators want to see what you have. If they did they would have to address the need to help.
Steve Moore would rather enrich corporate middlemen in healthcare than take care of the vast majority of Americans. Nobody seems to have done the math about European "entitlements." Tax-supported single payer healthcare is far cheaper than private healthcare with its real "death panels" euphemistically called "utilization review." And the arguments for privatizing Medicare are a form of genocide, because it will place corporations above seniors.
Whichever guest said that the top 1 - 2 % included the majority of small business owners is engaging in willful misrepresentation. There is no way that the guy who owns the corner store a block from my house is in the same league with Gates, Trump, B.T. Moynihan, etc.
This guest lost all credibility with that statement.
Can your guests comment...I heard through CNN I believe that we spent more, in one week, on air conditioning the tents in Iraq, than we spent on an entire year of NASA funding. I am confused why I keep hearing that we spend so little on defense.
I agree totally with what kathleen has written. However, please keep in mind that Americans love to get a lot of stuff for not a lot of money. Hence one reason jobs moved to Mexico and China. Again another paradox. We need to decide do we want better stuff at a higher price and less of it or more crap at a lower price. Right now we are going with the latter.
I recall Ronald Reagan saying that taxes on capital gains and dividends were essentially double taxation because they were derived from the after-tax income of companies. So how about recognizing that we are competing with the world for jobs and reduce our corporate income tax rate to 10% or less? Then we could justify rasing the capital gains and dividend tax rates, perhaps actually bring some jobs back to the US and actually see our revenues rise.
Adding to Catamaran's comment: it's amazing how the proponents and architects of discredited policies keep getting invited back by the media (including the DR show) for their supposedly expert opinions. Another case in point - yesterday's guest Robert Kagan, whose Project for the New American Century was a cheer leader for the Iraq war from the 1990s; 9/11 just provided the excuse.
These people are part of an effective ideological network of writers, broadcasters, think tanks and other propagandists, largely financed by gazillionaires to further their own interests. Misinformation doesn't gain accuracy by constant repetition, but it ends up being accepted by voters who don't have more reliable information, thanks to the mainstream mass media falling down on their job.
Adding to Catamaran's comment: it's amazing how the proponents and architects of discredited policies keep getting invited back by the media (including the DR show) for their supposedly expert opinions. Another case in point - yesterday's guest Robert Kagan, whose Project for the New American Century was a cheer leader for the Iraq war from the 1990s; 9/11 just provided the excuse.
These people are part of an effective ideological network of writers, broadcasters, think tanks and other propagandists, largely financed by gazillionaires to further their own interests. Misinformation doesn't gain accuracy by constant repetition, but it ends up being accepted by voters who don't have more reliable information, thanks to the mainstream mass media falling down on their job.
To Kathleen:
When will those making millions, billions off of extremely cheap labor start looking at paying US taxes as a patriotic duty the way these old WWII Vets and former members of unions looked at paying their taxes?
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When they have been able to improve gross margins sufficient to placate shareholder requirements, thereby justifying their ability to remain a US corporation.
Why, when Jared Bernstein confronts Stephen Moore with the overwhelming evidence, Diane Rehm lets Moore off the hook (or gives him a pass). High taxes under Clinton = high employment, low taxes under Bush 43 = low employment. The evidence is completely against Moore's soap-box talking points, yet he spouts them with impunity. Reminds me of a broken record - best to discard it.
Michael S. Cullen, Berlin, Germany
Some glaring omissions today:
The excessive profits in the health insurance cartels that is driving up the cost of health insurance.
Coroprate welfare to profitable industries.
The redistribution of wealth - the rich taking from the poor.
The legalized bribery called lobbying.
Eduardo -
State sponsored manufacturing capacity is an economic driver in China allowing their cheap labor to flourish. This is possible because of the type of Government that China has and its strategic implementation of Communism to build their nation.
The Chinese worker is nothing like the American worker. Super long hours (60-80-100 hours a week), minimal benefits (living in a dorm with nets so when the worked decides to jump out a window, they remain somewhat useful), and cost of living allowing bottom dollar wages (the Average annual salary is estimated at $14,000USD in China, but that includes ALL working people, not just factory workers). It is not reasonable to build manufacturing 'just in case', but that said, there is plenty of capacity available in the USA due to the down turn coupled with the move from manufacturing as an economic base.
How about we all just agree to bite the bullet, pay down the debt using a tax increase if need along with cuts in spending and not leave this debt for our children. When we finally pay off the debt we can then lower our taxes. Just like if you had a large credit card debt, after you pay if off you have more discretionary spending.
Thanks
The panelist said nothing will get done before the election. Why will anything get done after the election? We'll still have a divided government, most likely, and the conservatives are unwilling to budge.
Diane, Thank You for the enlightening show -- this is why the 2012 election is so important. When i hear your conservative authority use the term "ObamaCare" i realize (tweet-tweet, dog-whistle) how out of touch the Republican party & Catholic Bishops is with the average American voter's health care plight.
Listening while at work this morning and had a few thoughts to share:
A payroll tax reduction is not the same thing as an unemployment benefit.
The nature of work in America in the21st century; of how a person can be employed full-time and still be considered living at or near the federal poverty level. For instance, I work half time, at approximately $13K per year. Even if I was full-time, I would not be able to support myself and my daughter, much less save for a retirement and college.
Luckily, I am married to a spouse who has a full-time job (college professor) but we both feel we are one lay-off away from disaster, as are many, many other American families.
I encourage your guests to think about discussion of "cutting benefits" as not an esoteric topic. Cuts impact real people, families, children.
As always, Ms. Rehm, I always enjoy listening to your show! Your show and about 3 others are why I continue to support public radio.