TPMDC Social Security: February 2012
Steny Hoyer
Hoyer Working Behind The Scenes On Major Deficit Reduction Bill
Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is looking to shake legislative politics out of unconsciousness as early as this spring, and force a vote on a bipartisan legislative proposal - which would include higher taxes and cuts to federal programs -- to reduce deficits by trillions of dollars over the coming years.
The push is intended to disrupt the consensus among most political leaders that Congress will punt budget consolidation efforts until after November -- when the election returns are in, and the January 1, 2013 expiry of the Bush tax cuts and deep across-the-board spending cuts make real action inevitable.
In a speech hosted Monday morning by Third Way, Hoyer revealed that he and other lawmakers are looking for the right moment to introduce a bill that would achieve the sorts of deficit reduction goals that have eluded Congress and the White House thus far.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bush Tax Cuts, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Steny Hoyer, Taxes, Third Way
Mitt Romney
D'oh! Debt Hawks Fear Most GOP Tax Plans Will Increase Deficit
A key test for the political establishment and the media this campaign cycle will be whether they accurately explain the Presidential candidates' budget plans to voters, or whether they allow the candidates to spin their way out of the severe implications of their own proposals. The election will hinge to a large extent on the two parties' visions for the role of the federal government and how to pay for it, and keeping the taxing and spending implication of those visions clear is the key to helping voters make informed decisions at the polls.
An event hosted Thursday morning by the fiscal discipline hawks at the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget offered this corner of the establishment an early critique of the GOP candidates' tax and spending plans -- all of which drew mixed reviews or worse.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Budget, Bush Tax Cuts, Debt, Deficit, Medicaid, Medicare, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Social Security, Tax Cuts, Taxes
Medicare
The Map That Proves Red Staters Use The Safety Net Too
Just over a week ago, the New York Times ran an eye-opening story about a key paradox in U.S. politics: It turns out the biggest critics of federal spending -- Republican base voters -- are some of the biggest beneficiaries of the social safety net.
Expand on that irony, and you'll find that some of the most conservative states in the country are the greatest beneficiaries of transfer payments -- where residents pay on average less in taxes than they receive in federal benefits. Not all "taker" states are red, and not all "giver" states are blue.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Taxes, Unemployment
Payroll Tax Cut
Why The GOP's Payroll Tax Cut Cave Is An Even Bigger Deal Than You Think
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama
The GOP's accession to reality on the payroll tax cut is being cast as a key victory for Democrats and President Obama. Republicans caved, the payroll tax will almost certainly be renewed, and the economy won't take a tough hit just as the recovery's beginning to accelerate.
But it also reveals a flaw -- a potentially huge flaw -- in the conservative movement's generational strategy to roll back the federal safety net.
These might sound like two wildly disparate issues, but they're actually variations on a years-long theme. And the outcome of the payroll tax debacle bodes poorly for the GOP on the rest of their long-run goals.
Here's why.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Conservative, Conservatives, John Boehner, Medicare, Payroll Tax Cut, Social Security, Tax Cuts, Taxes
Mitt Romney
Why Florida Was A Dangerous Test Case For Romney's General Election Prospects
Mitt Romney
The fight for Florida's fifty delegates was more than just a key test for the four remaining Republican presidential hopefuls. It also took the GOP's three year experiment with far-right politics into a more appropriate laboratory -- a state where the voters didn't reflect the party's base as neatly as they did in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
And though Mitt Romney trampled his opponents and solidified his status as the nominee-in-waiting, Florida was also a wake-up call. To win so resoundingly, Romney had to inch away from conservative movement dogma for the first time since he began his candidacy.
It wasn't easy.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Barack Obama, DREAM Act, Foreclosures, Medicare, Mitt Romney, Social Security
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