Budget Calculations Slay the ’Starve the Beast’ Mythology: View

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=ihB55rTbhU5s

For more than 30 years, since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, some Republicans have pursued a theory called “Starve the Beast.”

STB holds that you don’t cut government spending in order to lower taxes; you lower taxes in order to cut government spending. The deprivation of revenue will force the government to get smaller. How this is supposed to happen has always been a bit of a mystery. Sages across the political spectrum have noted that both parties have consistently shown a willingness to spend money the Treasury doesn’t have.

At first, this strategy was considered a scandalous secret. Democrats -- most notably the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York -- asserted that this was what the Republicans were up to. Republicans denied it, insisting publicly that they were merely following the prescriptions of supply-side economics: Painful spending cuts are unnecessary because tax cuts will pay for themselves in new revenue. STB considers, by contrast, that tax cuts will pay for themselves by forcing spending cuts. Gradually, this theory became something Republicans would openly brag about.

Now, it appears that shrinking the government has become the focus of House Republicans. They claim to be concerned about reducing the national debt, but they’re actually using that issue as a way to force cuts in government spending. The deficit and the accumulated debt are almost considered good things, in a way, because they will force the government to get smaller.

[louis-t]

1. It is a sickness, being a Republican.

[OHdem10]

2. It has worked perfectly.

When Congress opens the books at the beginning of a new
seesion, there are the costs)programs, defense, emergency.
etc. etc.

Let's pretend No New Legislation. The Costs remain the same.

When you cut taxes, you take money that was being counted
on for budgetary needs away. Trillions will not ever reach
the treasury.

the last 30 or so years, the taxes were cut without a worry
about covering the cost of Government. Less and less money
came to treasury.

The chickens have come home to roost. The Starve the Beasters
won. They have deprived the Coffers long enough that we
cannot now pay for established programs.

This was the goal. NO MONEY---Cut SS Medicare and Medicaid.
Starve the Beasters came into being when Reagan wanted to
"reform" SS and the Public went Ballistic. It was quipped
we will just "Starve the Beast". Grover Norquist's group
went to work and when GWB came into office Grover set out
to close the deal. By Gosh he has just about closed the deal.

[orwell]

3. Borrow and Spend Republicons...

...have had it both ways for 3 decades. That is how they have remained politically viable.

But now that the goose is out of golden eggs, their brain dead minions are about to experience the other side of the coin, massive aggregate demand loss due to federal, state, and local government spending contraction.

You think you've seen job losses? You ain't seen nothin' yet.