A (Very Big) Problem With Robert J. Samuelson’s Political Advice to Romney – [Corrected]
Earlier this week, before the, um, video-recording news broke, it was reported that Romney planned to bring one of those debt clocks to his campaign rallies. Hmmm, I thought; Obama should return the favor; he should bring a debt clock to his own rallies. A clock that shows what the debt will be under Romney’s “I’ll cut taxes by 20%, and then I’ll cut them more, and then I’ll …”, as he told the Detroit Economic Club last February.
Or maybe Obama should take two debt clocks to his rallies: one showing the likely debt under Romney’s plan, the other showing the projected debt under the Ryan serious-about-debt-reduction plan.
Sounds like a (campaign) plan, to me!
But, of course, now that the video-recording news has broken, Republicans are scrambling to figure out how Romney can salvage his campaign. The solution? Turn it into a plus by illustrating how unmanageable the debt will become—and how awful it will be for later generations to have to handle—if we don’t get entitlements under control! Y’know, by reversing the savings in Medicare under Obamacare! And by reducing by 205, rather than raising to Clinton-G.H.W. Bush levels, income tax rates on people with incomes above $250,000!
Yup. Conservative Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson* uses his column today to join that chorus. He urges Romney to turn that video-recording lemon into lemonade by claiming that what he (Romney) really meant when he said he knows “some believe that government should take from some to give to the others,” and that he thinks “that’s an entirely foreign concept,” was that the 47% of people who make too little money to pay income taxes as the current tax code is structured should be required to pay income taxes in order to negate some of the revenue loss from the 20% reduction in the tax rate for people with incomes above $250,000, some with incomes way above $250,000. Like Romney.
Er … I mean … he should turn the discussion into one that shows how serious a challenge it will be for younger generations of people who will take personal responsibility for themselves by forgoing, say, college-tuition loans because those loans no longer exist—oh, or by asking their parents to pay the tuition, and then to lend them the money to become entrepreneurs, like Tagg Romney—to pay down that national debt that by then will be trillions of dollars larger, courtesy of the Romney/Ryan income tax reductions.
Sounds like a (campaign) plan, to me! Go for it, Mitt!
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*CORRECTION: Welllll, commenter rjs informed me that Samuelson is not an economist. He just sorta masquerades as one. Ooooops. Sorry about my gullibility there, folks.
Beverly
I guess I need to try to make it clear I do not agree with Samuelson… or your characterization of requiring the poor to pay more taxes to make up for tax cuts on the rich…
but as long as you call for rescinding the Bush/Obama tax cuts for those “over 250k” while keeping them for those in your income bracket..
i cannot agree with you. you are essentially agreeing with Mitt: tax someone else, don’t tax me.
what’s funny about this is that when the Bush tax cuts were passed everyone pointed out how small they were for “the poor” and how big they are for “the rich.” but when it comes to rescinding them… oh, no, don’t touch MY tax cut.
Finding balance in a tilted world…
To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there’s more idleness and abuse of government favors among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the disadvantaged. -Norman Mailer, author (1923-2007)
Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population,established 2001
Chapel Hill, NC
ummm…robert samuelson is not an economist; he’s just a WaPo hack…
he’s not even related to the economist paul samuelson…
Romney is struggling to right the ship after damage from the release of a secret video from a private fundraiser in May in which he disparaged Obama supporters as dependent on government.His campaign has also been subjected to infighting and some Republicans have complained that he needs to campaign more.The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed the challenge that Romney faces after one of the most difficult stretches of his campaign. Obama solidified a five-point lead among likely voters, 48 percent to 43 percent for Romney. Surveys show him behind in some of the key states he needs to win on November 6.
Robert Samuelson is not an economist? Geeez. My bad. I have to stop being so gullible. Seriously. Why did I think this guy is an economist?
I’ll correct my post. Thanks, rjs.
Beverly
because he plays one in the MSM.
no big thing, beverly, you probably confused him with nobel economist paul…an error i’d made myself before i got my ducks in a row…
It is my understanding that Samuelson IS NOT an
economist. He has a B.A. in Government. His opinion on the subject of economics is hardly authoritative.
lothian
thing is, you know, what passes for an economist these days, Samuelson could really be one.
you just have to be capable of a willing suspension of disbelief without ever reading anything as realistic as Pride and Prejudice.