Two posts by Ed Kilgore need to be read together. Here’s the first:
Yesterday WaPo’s Robert Costa told us that Scott Walker would be dining in New York with a select group of supply-side economics advocates in hopes of convincing them he shared the True Faith in tax cuts as the self-validating answer to every question.
The gathering, set for the upscale “21†Club in Manhattan, is the latest effort by the potential Republican presidential contender to bolster his relationships with the GOP’s anti-tax wing. It also reflects the interest business-friendly conservatives have in his possible candidacy, in spite of the recent ascent of former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
Economists Larry Kudlow, Arthur Laffer, and Stephen Moore will host Walker, according to several people with knowledge of the event.
For decades, that trio of friends — all associated with President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies — have been high-profile proponents of using tax cuts to boost economic growth….
Damn. That’s three of the four horses of the Apocalypse, isn’t it? Only one missing is Grover Norquist. Oh, wait….
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire supermarket owner and former Republican mayoral candidate in New York, is sponsoring the occasion, which will feature a roundtable discussion among Walker, the hosts, and a mix of wealthy financiers and political personalities.
Among those planning to appear: investment banker Lewis Lehrman, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, and philanthropist Jimmy Kemp, the son of Jack Kemp, the late New York congressman who ushered Reagan’s tax reforms through Congress.
And here’s post #2: Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin …
Can you imagine how your average self-righteous conservative would react if one of those people treated a debt obligation (per Bloomberg Politics’ Tim Jones) in this way?
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, facing a $283 million deficit that needs to be closed by the end of June, will skip more than $100 million in debt payments to balance the books thrown into disarray by his tax cuts. The move comes as Walker, 47, mounts a 2016 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, and while his state is under stress from a projected shortfall that could exceed $2 billion in the two-year budget beginning in July.
Delaying the $108 million principal payment due in May on short-term debt would free funds.
“They need some cash,†said Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, a nonpartisan research group that examines taxes and government spending. “This is kicking the can down the road….â€
Walker’s plan would increase debt-service bills by $545,000 in the next budget year, which starts July 1, and by $18.7 million in the one after that.
Where’s Rick Santelli when you need him?
It doesn’t matter how many times supply-side theory utterly fails in the real world. The faith never dies.
Update: Also, too, Walker proposes to stop using tax dollars to support state parks.
“It doesn’t matter how many times supply-side theory utterly fails in the real world. The faith never dies.”
“Trickle-down” is a secular economic religion – and its God, is Mammon.
The beauty of being a Wingnut, is that, once you establish yourself, no matter how badly or how often you f*ck-up, as long as you stay true to the Wingnut mantra, you’ll reap the benefits of Wingnut Welfare.
Forever!
YOU never have to adjust to reality.
WE, have to adjust to your reality.
Oh, if only our MSM would point things like this – how wrong, and how often these clowns are wrong – out to people.
But, they’re always assuming the next Republican big shot, is going to be the kind of Republican who can work with the Democrats, and accomplish bipartisanship. And their next idea, will accomplish the same goal.
Instead, the Republican(s) pisses on the heads of the Democrats and the MSM, and the MSM reports. “That the Republicans have brought rain!”
And, the rest of us are left to try to use that pee to make lemonade.
Oy…
And it’s an ever bleaker reality.
“will skip more than $100 million in debt payments to balance the books thrown into disarray by his tax cuts”
Well sure, the result is not what matters, what matters is that Walker can go on the presidential campaign trail and claim he cut taxes when he was governor. Who’s gonna call him on it they all watch FAUX? It’s not governing it’s resume stuffing for the next political con job.
Oy, don’t get me started… Ok, I’ll take the bait. The Taxpayers alliance is code word around these cheesy party for Teapartiers who can add. The fact that they’d criticize Walker is amazing in its own right. I’ve read a few articles by non-WI guys who have said Walker’s most recent budget is a play to the party base/primary voters. While I’m sure they’ll love it, it’s nothing new for Walker. This is who he is. My hope with him going national is that finally, someone will investigate some of this crap, because no one around here will do it. Walker is a radical who seems like the nice guy next door who will help you move your freezer. He’ll do that and then steal the silver, and then give the silver to some really wealthy people across the street. If you needed yet another example of how supply-side economics doesn’t work, just look here. A state that had typically been a good bellweather for the country, if the national economy improved then so would WI’s, at about the same rate too, has become Missiwisconsin. Job growth, nah, employment improving, nah. Certainly not at the rates of our terrible liberal neighbors like Illinois and Minnesota. And besides being really bad at math the budget also has some nuggets in there for people who don’t like or support Walker. More cuts to public education, K12 and college. The Secretary of State’s office was cut some more, our current secretary of state is a guy named Doug LaFollette (grandson of Battlin’ Bob) who also just won re-election, but has been very critical of Walker. They changed how our Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is chosen, which has been done this way for 120+ years. The current Chief Justice is a woman who is also a liberal, but I’ve never heard her being critical of Walker. They’ve changed the way families can access Medicaid money for their severely disabled children and the elderly, instead of it being run by local county boards it’s being handed over to a national insurance company, so they can make a profit meaning there’s less money for many people who really, really need it. Walker is a combination of W and Nixon; the cocky, smirking attitude and brains of W along with the vindictive spitefulness of Nixon. He is a very scary, scary man. And the fact that he’s a contender for the republican nomination is all you need to know about the current republican party. God help us all if this man actually got elected.
Economists Larry Kudlow, Arthur Laffer, and Stephen Moore
It’s hard to imagine that much fail at one restaurant table. It’s like a black hole of economic stupid.
Mike G,
It’s like ‘The Three Stooges” – minus the pathos and laughs.
The nasty thing about the debt servicing is that it might allow a bankruptcy – and that might allow even more nastiness later. And of course, it won’t be Walker’s fault!
This is one of the best ways they manage to screw workers – they just keep deferring pension fund payments, and then, when the pensions are severely underfunded, whine that they can’t possibly afford to fix ’em, and so they’ll have to tighten their belts, which is to say, screw the workers who screwed up by trusting the state.
I’ve heard it said that Texas is actually showing an illusion of prosperity because it’s got a lot of long term bond issues and their debt service is acceptable now, but the actual dollar figures are scary large, given Texas’ refusal to tax income. On one hand, I believe it – on the other, damn it, this isn’t rocket science, why hasn’t anyone said *anything* if this is really happening?
Walker is a combination of W and Nixon; the cocky, smirking attitude and brains of W along with the vindictive spitefulness of Nixon. He is a very scary, scary man.
BuckyBlue, I live a thousand miles from Wisconsin, and that’s exactly the vibe I get from Walker. I suspect he and Jeb will be the only ones left standing, and Walker will become VP. And Jeb is W with some brains.
moonbat: so Jeb has W attitude and Nixon brains, while Scott has W brains and Nixon attitude. Got it.