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The Speaker’s Plan to Hike U.S. Debt and Taxes

By: Dan Perrin (Diary)  |  July 26th, 2011 at 04:34 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Now that the Speaker’s plan is going to be voted on tomorrow, and it is in writing, we have this handy comparison chart between the cut, cap and balance plan and the Boehner Debt and Tax Hike plan, I thought we should review what the debt hike and tax hike plan does:

It does not include the Balanced Budget Amendment, just passed by the U.S. House last week, but promises another vote on what is sure to be a weaker version of the one that already passed the House.

It relegates the Ryan budget to the dust bin of history by creating a super-moderate committee that will force, by Christmas of this year, immediate tax hikes and future promises of small cuts, on the nation.

It’s “cap” on spending in 2012 is a whopping $6 billion, that’s less than the $10 billion the U.S. government spends each day.

It promises cuts that will happen over the course of 10 years, mostly in the out years. (The check is in the mail.)

The plan will increase our debt, by the next election, not decrease it.

The plan will not forestall a credit rating downgrade.

It’s pathetic and should be voted down.

By my count, Freedom Works, Heritage Action, Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, National Taxpayers Union, among others, are opposed to the Speaker’s plan, and tea partiers are burning up the phone lines in opposition to the Reid plan, the McConnell plan, the Boehner plan and the-never-put-on-paper Obama plan.

Of course, there is one more thing, the Boehner plan and the Reid plan contain very similar cuts in the out years — something to think about when considering just how much Republicans want to actually cut spending.

Oh, for a glimpse of the future debt of the U.S. if a debt hike fails to pass, check out the second graph from Slate.

COMMENTS

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  • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

    The unreality is this …. The Senate Democrats are far far far far from doing anything that would allow a House failure wrt Boehner plan to end up good for conservatives. What it will do is weaken Boehner, which will strengthen Reid and his hand, and they will use it to cram down their crappy bill.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/dem-game-plan-let-boehner-proposal-crash-and-burn/2011/03/03/gIQAFebvaI_blog.html?wprss=plum-line

    Boehner plan failure will lead to Reid bill. Via the PlumLine:

    ” Here?s the game plan, as seen by Senate Dem aides: The next move is to sit tight and wait for the House to vote on Boehner?s proposal. The idea is that with mounting conservative opposition, it could very well be defeated. If the Boehner plan goes down in the House, that would represent a serious blow to Boehner?s leadership, weakening his hand in negotiations?

    At that point, the Senate would then pass Harry Reid?s proposal, and then kick it over to the House, which would increase pressure on Boehner to try to get it passed, since he was unable to pass his own plan.”

    What if Boehner plan PASSES?

    “The second alternative possibility being gamed out by Senate Dems would take place if the Boehner plan does manage to sneak through the House. Aides say Dems would then vote it down in the Senate. And here?s where it gets even more interesting.”

    If conservative activists make the Boehner plan crash and burn in the House, they are actually doing Reid and Obama the favor of not making them deep-six it.

    The conservative opposition to Boehner plan is good on principle of ‘it doesnt do enough’ but not so good on political positioning and coalition-building. It will just as likely lead to an outcome that does LESS than Boehner plan rather than more. The CCB will not get any notice in Reid’s Senate.

    After reading the Plum Line, my conclusion is this: We will go past August 2nd without a deal. There is a serious air of unreality, with the conservative activists demanding real cuts from the same Senate that ramped up spending $1 trillion in 3 years, or no deal, and the Reid/Democrat camp acting like they never lost the nov 2010 election.

    Better we batten down the hatches and have a solid and unified position than squabble amonst ourselves – that’s how we will get picked apart and lose. Calling the Reid and Obama bluff with the Boehner plan is a better way to go right now.

    • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

      Greg Sargent at Plum Line adds this:

      “UPDATE: One other key point. The idea is that if the Boehner plan fails in the House, the pressure will increase on a few Senate Republicans to support Reid?s plan, making it possible to pass the Senate, because the alternative is default and Republicans will want to avoid blame for economic calamity. Keep in mind that Mitch McConnell has long said the debt ceiling must be raised, and has suggested the GOP must find a way for avoiding blame for failure to hike it.”

      Again, this is the Democrats in the Senate thinking this. They are licking their chops hoping the Boehner plan fails and they can pounce.

      The choices 5 days before the deadline:
      1) Boehner’s cr*ppy watered-down semi-CCB plan $900B raise
      2) Reid’s much cr*ppier fake-cuts-so-its-really-just-a-’clean-escape-hatch debt ceiling increase $2.3T raise
      3) Default/shutdown, as both sides stay far apart, and pick up pieces with #1 and #2.

      • snowshooze

        On the young guns.
        But they could use some inspiration.
        Forget the deadline. It is their deadline, not ours,
        Geithner already has dibbs on the 10th. They have no credibility.
        ( I think it is their 5th, or 6th deadline…drop dead.)
        Assume we have the luxury of time at the outset.
        As soon as we violate that, we gain the strength. Ignore Obama and Geithner. They are a joke. Boehner, not far behind.
        First, attach BBA to everything going down the pipe.
        Second… repel all efforts to raise the ceiling.
        Third…. have the guts to push it.

        • Dan Perrin

          the plan to cut our debt was abandoned by the GOP, like a new born child left in the snow.

          And more of the same, we promise to cut spending later while we increase the debt now is going to cause Wall Street and the financial community to finally understand the President and Congress will never cut the debt.

          It exposes the joke that the U.S. fiscal house has become.

  • Dan Perrin

    The House does not have to either bring up or pass the Reid bill, if it in fact passes the Senate.

    The House should have stayed put on it’s Cut, Cap and Balance and gone to conference.

    • snowshooze

      Hey, we did the budget thing, we submitted CCB and BBA so we are done.
      Besides, we are now debating the all-important decision of what should be the designated National Fish. We are to busy to go back to your little issue..