Republicans Can Gain More By Accepting Tax Increases
Posted at 8 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2012
Edward Glaeser believes that Republicans can do more to advance the cause of smaller government if they accept higher income tax rates for the wealthy in exchange for innovative curbs on spending.
“They might start by requiring cost-benefit analysis for any future federal spending on roads, bridges and other infrastructure… The Republicans should also demand consolidation of federal social policies. The U.S. has six large programs — Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers, unemployment insurance and the earned-income tax credit — spread across four Cabinet departments and the Internal Revenue Service.”
“Most important, the Republicans need to demand fundamental changes in Social Security and Medicare. They have already endorsed the easy solution: raising eligibility ages.”
The Onion has a list of its own proposed cuts to avert the “fiscal cliff.”
