Obama, GOP Blowing Hot Air on Tax Plans

Mayor Bloomberg: Let Bush cuts expire and pass Bowles-Simpson
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 29, 2012 1:19 PM CDT
Obama, GOP Blowing Hot Air on Tax Plans
President Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a 2011 file photo.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Mike Bloomberg sounds a little weary of election-year politics as it pertains to the economy. President Obama, for instance, is tacking way left with his populist call to soak the rich. His tax plan "is a political strategy, not an economic one," writes Bloomberg in the Wall Street Journal. "It will have virtually no bearing on the federal deficit or our ability to finance current spending levels." Republican candidates aren't much better. "They say they'll make the Bush tax cuts permanent while also eliminating the deficit," he writes. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you."

It's not some trivial political argument: CEOs are holding back on investments until they know exactly how Washington plans to cut the deficit, argues Hizzoner. What to do? Start with this: "The president can declare that he will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for all income levels," and Congress should pass the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction plan. (Don't hold your breath on the latter.) Its combination of spending cuts, entitlement reform, and tax reform might just pave the way to closing the deficit in 10 years, writes Bloomberg. Let's see the White House hopefuls take a stand on that. Catch Bloomberg's full opus here. (More President Obama stories.)

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