Let the Bush Tax Cuts Die, It's Time for the Obama Tax Cuts
Posted at 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2012
While lawmakers consider what portion of the Bush tax cuts to extend as part of a deal on the “fiscal cliff,” Simon Johnson urges President Obama to “step off the ‘cliff’ by vetoing any extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.”
“Once tax rates were restored to their previous levels, Obama could present his own tax-cut package to Congress… This approach would significantly transform America’s longer-run fiscal prospects… In effect, the House Republicans can be forced to sign onto a deal that both supports the economy and restores revenue to the level that prevailed before the disastrous experiment of Bushonomics.”
“Ordinarily, partisan political gridlock in Washington would prevent any such sensible change. Fortunately, the fiscal slope gives Obama the opportunity to bring it about – and even to write some history in the process. That means vetoing any extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, and then working to enact the Obama tax cuts.”
