"Why the Republicans won't help cut the deficit"

[applegrove]

Why the Republicans won't help cut the deficit

by Jay Bookman at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2013/apr/05/why-republicans-wont-help-cut-deficit/

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"Officials propose an increase in tobacco taxes to pay for the early childhood education initiative and would also seek to generate revenue by limiting how much wealthy individuals can accrue in their tax-retirement accounts. Such accounts would be capped at $3 million in 2013 dollars — which officials say is enough to finance a $205,000 a year income. He would also seek to scrap a loophole in the law that lets people collect both unemployment insurance and disability payments - so called “double dipping.” ...

The budget proposal slices $200 billion from already tight defense and domestic budgets. It would cut $400 billion from Medicare and other health programs by negotiating better prescription drug prices and asking wealthy seniors to pay more, among other policies. It would also generate $200 billion in savings by scaling back farm subsidies and federal retiree programs, among other proposals. The proposal to change the formula to calculate Social Security payments, also originally part of the offer to Boehner, would generate $130 billion in savings and $100 billion in revenue, a result of the impact of the formula change on other government programs."

I'm dubious that Republicans will be willing to accept the deal or to even negotiate seriously. These proposals constitute rational reform that would bring the budget back into line without gutting social programs. And that is precisely why the GOP is likely to reject them. All along, they have treated the deficit not as a problem to be solved but as a weapon to wield in their larger war to eradicate government programs that offend their sensibilities.

Obama's proposal would not only deny them that overall goal, it would strip them of the political leverage that a burgeoning deficit provides. With the culture war going against them, and defense issues going against them, and demography going against them, the deficit is about all they have left.

Take that off the table, and what does their party stand for?

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