This morning’s New London Day has a puff piece about the three Republicans vying to get crushed by Joe Courtney in November. This sentence caught the eye of my vigilant spouse, and impressed me as well:
Along with fellow Republicans, they want to reverse Democratic policies like the health care reform bill, enacted by Obama and Democrats in Congress earlier this year, decrease federal spending and restore the Bush tax cuts to reduce the federal deficit…
Now I realize that we are living in an age where many journalists consider themselves mere stenographers, but isn’t this a bit much? There’s not a word in the article that questions the efficacy of balancing budgets by reducing revenue.
Perhaps Joe should tell the Day that he proposes increasing spending by a trillion dollars (roughly the cost of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy over the next 10 years) over the next 10 years in order to reduce the deficit. Would the Day swallow that whole without gagging, or would they point out that Joe was losing his mind? I should add here, parenthetically, that unlike the three Republicans, he does have a mind to lose.
The ironic thing is that, given present conditions, increased spending now would mean lower deficits over the long haul, depending, of course, on what you are spending the money on. Giving tax breaks to those least likely to spend the money is a proven deficit creator. Those seeking further proof are referred to the 1980s and the Bush years, respectively.
This all reminds me of these lines from Lewis Carroll’s Hunting of the Snark:
“Just the place for a Snark!” the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.“Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What i tell you three times is true.”
The Republicans have told us that tax cuts lower deficits about 3 million times, and apparently, at least for the Day, that makes it true.
By the way, I can’t supply a link to the Day’s article, because as I write, the Day’s website is down. You’ll have to trust me on the quote, and my assertion that the reporter, Matt Collette, expressed not a word of wonder at the arithmetically absurd position of all three candidates.
UPDATE: Here’s the link.
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