Monday, June 14, 2010

Portman's Tax Cuts

Rob Portman, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for Ohio, is using the same GOP playbook and script. Portman has called for tax cuts. Really. Tax cuts seem irresponsible at this time in our recovery, but that hasn't stopped Portman for suggesting them.

In a commentary posted at the Dayton Daily News Portman's tax cut proposal seems like a political ploy instead of a thoughtful, well-researched plan.

Dayton Daily News:

...There is only one problem with Portman’s call for tax reductions: the laws of mathematics.

At a time when federal deficits exceed $1 trillion, extending the tax cuts “makes getting back to fiscal sustainability a lot more difficult,’’ said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a Washington organization that champions balanced budgets.

Here is how deep a fiscal hole the nation is in. Assume that Congress does nothing and the tax cuts expire at the end of the year. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the government would still run a $1 trillion deficit in the 2011 federal spending year, as well as huge deficits through 2020....

Portman's tax cut proposal is wrong for this time. However, I'm not surprised. Please remember that Portman was a member of the Bush administration and we know how their decisions in the past have impacted our lives today.