Let us count the ways:
1. Sunday’s paper had a couple of UD Professors of Economics firing up the noise machine for tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Even though two rounds of tax cuts moved the entire budget from surpluses to deficits — and structural deficits at that — that absolutely, positively never paid for themselves. Not in terms of government revenues, not in terms of GDP growth, not in terms of market growth — the only things that grew during this period were the wars we fought (not paid for), the incomes of wealthy people (who got a river of taxpayer money) and the housing bubble (nuff said). There’s a reason why these guys had to do this on a editorial page. And all of you kids out there looking to study economics? Keep away from these two guys. Or even better — ask them to show their homework in explaining how the last tax cuts paid for themselves and employed tons of people overnight. If you can get them to explain it, we’ll post it up here.
2. Who does their cartoons? There is one up on their website now called Corp[sic] (of Engineers) Values. For the life of me I can’t figure out what this is supposed to be saying. Maybe its the doodle quality of the thing (which most of them have). Really NJ, pay the fee to put up Rob Tornoe’s work and double the collective wit on your page.
3. Then there’s Harry Themal’s piece today where he doesn’t seem especially clear on the point that reconciliation is not going to pass the entire health care reform bill, but it will be used to pass the compromise fixes to the Senate bill if the House can pass it. But even better, he talks with our Congressional delegation about the dysfunction in the Senate. Carper doesn’t seem to think that the rules need changing, Kaufmann thinks they should change with each new Congress (they already do) and Castle delivers the kind of BS pablum that gets him his “moderate” cred:
“With true compromise and civility, there would be less need to consistently block the efforts of the other party by holding up a vote or blocking amendment consideration as is so common today.
The next question should have been — And what have you done recently in the House that might demonstrate to people that you’ll be committed to *compromise and civility* rather than what Mitch McConnell wants? Because really, voting mostly with your party certainly doesn’t provide any evidence of compromise. And really, journalists, you have to start asking this question and stop making pretend that Mike Castle has any moderate cred left. A man who has been voting largely with his party should be quizzed in detail on how his behavior will be different in the Senate. Because more of the same obstructionism is not what anyone needs.