Battle4Liberty

For once I agree with most of the liberal Democrats in Washington. The compromise on the Bush tax cuts is a bad idea. Here’s why: 

1. We lost the language battle. The two-year extension suggests that Washington is giving Americans some kind of temporary reprieve. Why not insist that the tax cuts be made permanent? Obama can run on raising them in 2012 if he likes. Of course, he would prefer to talk about “expiring tax cuts” when reelection time comes.
2. We lost the emotion battle. According to the deal, unemployment benefits will extend through Christmas 2011, a time of year when Republicans will hesitate to cut them off, lest they be portrayed as Scrooge at a time when the 2012 election cycle starts to heat up. Basic economics and common sense tell us that unemployed workers are less likely to pursue and accept new jobs—perhaps are less than desirable wages—when they are being paid not to work. A 6-month extension would have given the new Congress an opportunity to address the issue in mid-2011.
3. We lost the deficit battle. We are told that the compromise balloons the deficit because the tax cuts won’t be “paid for” by spending cuts. This is debatable because tax cuts spur economic growth (i.e., the Laffer Curve), thereby increasing revenues. Whether the increase is revenue would balance out the lower tax rate remains to be seen. Nonetheless, we should have accepted the liberal argument and cut spending accordingly. The deficit is a primarily a spending problem, not a tax problem. Whenever the left argues against deficits, we should accept their premise and immediately propose spending cuts.
4. We lost the political battle. Simply stated, we could have gotten more in the bargain. Obama does NOT want to enter 2011 with tax increases for the middle class, and letting the Bush tax cuts expire would have done just that. Had Republicans stood firm, he would have probably negotiated a better deal. If not, the new Congress could have a bill making the cuts permanent on his desk to sign by February, forcing Obama to stake a position on the issue. The current compromise deprives the new Congress of that opportunity.

If you believe the media reports, Obama might not have enough Democrat support to get the compromise through Congress. They could do us a huge favor by rejecting it. Doing so would position them as hard-line leftists and allow the Republicans to defer the issue to the new Congress.

I recognize that compromise is necessary in Washington, and you never get everything you want. Nonetheless, it is time for our politicians to stand on the strength of a strong conservative shift in the country. Don’t kid yourself—many of the Republican voters in November may not like the Democrats, but they will return to left in 2012 if Republicans don’t push for a noticeable reduction in the size of government. The Republicans are holding a lot of good cards now, but they better not blow it.