(Community Matters) This week has given new definition to Otto von Bismarck’s quote about the legislative process. And, rightfully, people are asking, is this what we expected from President Barack Obama.
A couple of perspectives on this.
Though, first, I’ve gotta unload my disappointment in the slippage for a couple of cabinet nomination vettings – which comes as no surprise to regular readers of this blog – I will also acknowledge most have been outstanding. Tom Daschle – huge disappointment, however. He knew about the tax problem in June (if not earlier) and evidently failed to inform the transition team. This alone should have disqualified him since this appears to have not been an oversight but an intentional disregard for openness and protecting the president. As to nominating someone so thoroughly entrenched in the industry, I initially had this concern and was impressed by a close friend’s perspective that it would take someone who’s a strident champion of health care reform & an industry insider as well as a master legislative craftsman to accomplish the herculean task of health care reform.
Gov. Richardson. A friend of mine was sitting next to someone from New Mexico on a flight shortly after the governor’s nomination for Commerce Secretary was announced. The woman from New Mexico innocently expressed her surprise that her governor would be nominated with such a cloud about state contracting over his head. Why didn’t the transition team know the extent of the problem?
President Obama once again showed his grounding by acknowledging his mistake and accepting the blame. We don’t (or shouldn’t) expect our leaders to be perfect, but we should expect them to learn from their mistakes and to rely on advisors who keep them from drowning in the beltway. btw, I’m not indicting Daschle. The tax code is ridiculously complex, sometimes ambiguous and always hard to navigate for those on contract (not opining on the particulars of his situation, don’t know enough about ’em). Mr. Daschle should remain an important player in the push for healthcare reform, though not as a member of the administration
umm, well, yeah, back to the legislative process for the stimulus legislation.
Haven’t figured out if I’m impressed with the GOP’s ability to help drive this agenda or if I’m even less impressed with the Democrats lack of ability while they were in the minority, but guess that’s spilt milk.
On the tax cuts, who has reliable detail on these? I’m a fan of tax cuts for the middle & low income. I favor cuts in regular payroll taxes which tend to be spent rather than lump sum rebates which are overwhelming saved and used to pay down debt. I’m against tax cuts for families making $250k+ and corporations (unless very directly linked to spending we wouldn’t see otherwise). Believe me, it’s not that I like taxes. But, irresponsible, supply side vodoo economics is half of what got us here.
Spending – grrr, this is the gristle and innards of sausage making. Not unlike most BHO supporters, I allowed expectations to outrun reality. Nevertheless, while there are certainly ridiculous bits of pork embedded in the stimulus, most of what the GOP calls wasteful spending I call critical – emergency funds for healthcare, unemployment & education. Not only are these funds earmarked for important government services while need is increasing, these monies put pay in the hands of middle class workers. I realize some GOP members do not prioritize social safety spending and believe it only makes sense to give government money to rich people (of course camouflaged in all sorts of rhetoric), but we’ve been there, done that. I also know some Republicans want to minimize government spending, maximize monies in their hands and then generously support nonprofit social services – wish there were more of these.
Admitted: we’ve got to police the administration of these monies at the state level.
And, there’s money for transit, green energy and infrastructure development which won’t only employ Americans (though this alone is a huge reason for them, especially considering 3.7 million jobs lost in 2008) but also represent investment. A multiplier on these monies? Not as much as proponents like to suggest. Nevertheless, to the extent we identify shovel ready projects, we’ll be making investments while stimulating spending and employment.
But, let’s not forget the macro issue here – our broken financial system and mortgages which still threaten to bring down the system. I’m more inclined to trust Paul Volcker than Sumners or Geithner here, since I believe the latter two have baggage. Glad the President includes Volcker and Buffett among closest advisors.
footnotes: deflation – in my mind, an increasing risk with real fall out potential – we’re already seeing lots of wages decreasing – as well as eventual investment opportunities. Inflation – what’ll probably make this a double dip recession. We’re still calling it that right? Not a depression?
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