On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 3:39 AM, Max B. Sawicky <[email protected]> wrote: > I've started looking at the O-budget numbers, which are pretty > remarkable overall. I mean the humongous jump in non-defense > spending. Some kool stuff on the tax side too (cap and trade, > tax on hedge funds, cap deductions at 28%). It makes me think > of the LBJ mix -- big growth in domestic spending, and sliding > into a potential foreign policy morass (in Afghanistan).
I thought there was a lot to like in the Obama budget: elimination of Bush tax cuts including I assume reinstating the estate tax; reduced war spending; removing subsidies for pharma companies; removing the hedge-fund/private equity tax loophole; tax hikes for the wealthy; tax cuts for the poor; some health-care spending etc. Unlike the financial bailout which sounds entirely awful and the stimulus package which is only so-so. Sure the budget makes exaggerated noises about deficit reduction, but it is coming from soaking the rich and auctioning carbon credits - which in principle would leave a lot of fiscal ammunition in reserve for progressive policies in future. -raghu. -- "I have the heart of a child... in a jar on my desk." - Stephen King _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
