Taxes Are the Deficit

A reasonably good article in WSJ this morning about the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts and the play politicians are trying to make.  The article plainly states what's going on.  Politicians want to keep taxes low and cut the deficit.  Wishful thinking has never been so wishful.

Here's how this works. The collection of taxes is revenue. When you cut taxes you cut the revenue stream. Easy enough  I'm all for keeping taxes low, but if we do, then we keep adding to the deficit to the sum of $115 billion every year.  But this is a problem too.  Politicians claim, since Republicans are out of power, they care about the deficit.  Well, if we don't do away with the Bush Tax Cuts, then we have to cut spending elsewhere to make up for the loss of revenue.  So where do we cut?  The most logical would be defense cuts and ending the Bush wars.  Republicans, however, believe tax cuts don't have to be offset.  They believe when we cut the revenue stream we don't have to adjust spending to make up for the difference.  Insane.  Yet that's how they governed for 8 years.

You can't have this both ways.  You can't be for extending tax cuts that will cost trillions over the next decade and also claim you want to cut the deficit.  The quickest way to slash the deficit and alleviate budget shortfalls would be to allow taxes to return to Clinton-era rates.  If not, then get out your machete cause you better be able to outline what you want to cut to make up for the loss in revenue.  Those that claim (as the article makes note, both Democrats and Republicans are doing this) they want taxes to stay at Bush levels without any offset and also want to combat the evil deficit should be taken to task for their irresponsibility.  It's the very same irresponsible behavior that created the trillion dollar deficit in the first place.