Obama's Economy: Recovery for the Few by Jack Rasmus
Author:Jack Rasmus [Rasmus, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Economic Conditions, Political Economy, Political Ideologies, Political Science, Business & Economics, General
ISBN: 9780745332192
Google: OzJHXwAACAAJ
Goodreads: 12633681
Publisher: Pluto Press
Published: 2012-04-04T00:00:00+00:00
7
Deficit Cutting on the Road to Double Dip
âEconomic Recovery Policy in Reverseâ
Prior to his official swearing-in as president, in early January 2009 Obama had made it perfectly clear he was intent on cutting the federal deficit, and that this would include reductions in entitlement (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security) spending. As the Wall Street Journal noted on January 8, 2009, âPresident elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling social security and Medicare would be a central part of his administrationâs efforts to contain federal spending.â1
OBAMAâS DEFICIT COMMISSION
On February 18, 2010 Obama issued Executive Order 13531 establishing a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (hereafter called the Deficit Commission).2 The Commission was composed of 18 members: six appointed by the president, six by the House and six by the Senate. Eight were Republicans and the majority of the eight from the extreme-right Tea Party-leaning wing of the House and like-minded Senators. On the Democratic side, at least five were conservative-leaning Democratsâlike Baucus and Conrad in the Senate, Spratt in the House, as well as Erskine Bowles, a former chief of staff for Bill Clinton and now a board director for the investment bank, Morgan Stanley. Completing the Obama appointees was former corporate CEO Ann Fudge.
The administration also appointed ultra-conservative, ex-Senator Alan Simpson as co-chair with co-chair Erskine Bowles. In short, the Deficit Commission from the beginning had a strong conservative-leaning composition, especially with regard to its two co-chairs, Simpson and Bowles. New York Times columnist, and Nobel Prize-winner in Economics, Paul Krugman, questioned the appointment of Bowles and Simpson as co-chairs, noting that âErskine Bowles, the Democratic co-chairman, had a very Republican sounding small-government agenda. Meanwhile, Alan Simpson, the Republican co-chairman...described social security as being âlike a milk cow with 310 million titsâ.â3 Why the president would appoint such a pair to chair the Commission has often been queried. But it was no accident or oversight.
The Commission created three internal committees: tax policy, mandatory (entitlements) spending, and discretionary spending. The core battleground within the Commission was clearly going to be entitlement spending. While 9 of the 18 Commission members sat on the tax and discretionary spending subcommittees, 15 of the 18 members ensured they were all on the mandatory-entitlements spending subcommittee. The Commission in general was tasked with recommending tax hikes and spending cuts that would result in a balanced budget by 2015. Both within the Commission and outside it, the battle over the next two years would be over how much deficits might be reduced via raising taxesâespecially the Bush tax cuts of 2001â04âand how much reduced as a result of spending cutsâespecially entitlements. The composition of spending cuts would become another major contentious issueâwhether deficit reduction via cuts in entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security or in defense and other discretionary programsâ spending.
An early indication of the main focus of the Simpson-Bowles Deficit Commission was revealed in June 2010, six months before the Commission was to complete its work. While the Republican appointees refused to consider any
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
What's Done in Darkness by Kayla Perrin(25501)
Shot Through the Heart: DI Grace Fisher 2 by Isabelle Grey(18220)
Shot Through the Heart by Mercy Celeste(18160)
The Fifty Shades Trilogy & Grey by E L James(17777)
The 3rd Cycle of the Betrayed Series Collection: Extremely Controversial Historical Thrillers (Betrayed Series Boxed set) by McCray Carolyn(13190)
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson(12916)
Scorched Earth by Nick Kyme(11834)
Stepbrother Stories 2 - 21 Taboo Story Collection (Brother Sister Stepbrother Stepsister Taboo Pseudo Incest Family Virgin Creampie Pregnant Forced Pregnancy Breeding) by Roxi Harding(11041)
Drei Generationen auf dem Jakobsweg by Stein Pia(10218)
Suna by Ziefle Pia(10186)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman(9265)
International Relations from the Global South; Worlds of Difference; First Edition by Arlene B. Tickner & Karen Smith(8614)
Successful Proposal Strategies for Small Businesses: Using Knowledge Management ot Win Govenment, Private Sector, and International Contracts 3rd Edition by Robert Frey(8419)
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay(7699)
Dirty Filthy Fix: A Fixed Trilogy Novella by Laurelin Paige(6455)
He Loves Me...KNOT by RC Boldt(5805)
How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired by Dany LaFerrière(5378)
Interdimensional Brothel by F4U(5305)
Thankful For Her by Alexa Riley(5164)