Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Paul Krugman: Plan To Avoid Fiscal Cliff A 'Betrayal To The Electorate'

President Obama is leading Mitt Romney in the polls, but even if he wins in November, he’ll soon face another daunting problem: The fiscal cliff.

To avoid the series of tax hikes and spending cuts that are set to take effect in the new year, Congress will need to agree on a plan shortly after the elections and the one they may favor could put President Obama in a tight spot, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

That likely plan is commonly referred to as Simpson-Bowles, named for authors Alan K. Simpson and Erskine Bowles who were appointed co-chairmen of President Obama's deficit commission, which failed to agree on a plan of its own. If President Obama were to go along with the plan, he would be forced to commit a “betrayal to the electorate,” according to Krugman, since the proposal makes changes to Social Security and Medicare that jeopardize the safety net, while lowering the marginal tax rate, which he says does little to reduce the deficit.

Krugman has used even stronger language to criticize Simpson-Bowles in the past. He penned one blog post earlier this year called “A Public Service Reminder: Simpson-Bowles Is Terrible,” while in another post Krugman called the proposal, “a really bad plan.” For Krugman, it seems, if Obama caved to a plan even based on the original Simpson-Bowles proposal he would be turning his back on voters who support him for his emphasis on preserving the social safety net.

But Krugman isn’t the only public figure to criticize Simpson-Bowles. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have spoken out against it, albeit for different reasons. Republicans, including Paul Ryan and one of Romney’s economic advisers, Kevin Hassett, have derided the plan, saying it will increase taxes, The Washington Post reports. On the other hand, Democrats have opposed the plan fearing that it makes too many cuts to Social Security among other concerns, according to Businessweek.

Then there’s Mitt Romney, who doesn't hold such disdain. In August, he told talk-show host Sean Hannity “My [deficit reduction] plan is very similar to the Simpson-Bowles plan," TIME reports.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Harry Bradford

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