Posted on 04/02/2013 1:04:19 PM PDT by robowombat
David Stockman, who was Republican Ronald Reagan's budget director from 1981 to 1985 and a key architect of tax-cutting policies, and Peter Orszag, budget director for Democratic President Barack Obama from January 2009 until July 2010, agreed the United States spends more on defense than is needed.
Both also said the country would be well-served if better-off citizens paid more taxes and took smaller benefits from the government in their old age.
But the two men, who appeared together at a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event, were at odds over how quickly and forcefully the government should act to reduce the deficit. Stockman contends the government should dramatically cut spending and raise taxes to pay down the national debt.
Orszag says governments are right to use spending to stretch out the economic adjustments to keep large segments of population from losing their jobs, which itself can cause long-lasting problems.
Stockman calls his book, which runs more than 700 pages, a screed. He says he wrote it to call attention to damage caused over 80 years by crony capitalists, spendthrift politicians and central bankers at the Federal Reserve who have inflated financial bubbles by printing money.
Stockman criticizes politicians of both parties, starting with Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and including his former boss Reagan, as well as former Republican President George W. Bush.
Stockman advises investors to sell their securities and hold cash instead.
Orszag told the audience, "David wants us to flog ourselves to have some brighter future and the problem is that the flogging can do some serious damage to that future."
Orszag said Stockman is wrong to place so much blame for the weak economy and budget deficit on government policies. Changes from new technology and global trade have hurt incomes and employment, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneynews.com ...
You know you want to.
If they are retired public employees from California I am cool with this idea. There should be a “windfall profits” tax on their pensions.
Hey, that's what the Romans used to do. The emperors used to force the wealthy to put the state or emperor in their wills and then had them killed.
Seriously, though, what the Hell happened to cutting spending? Federal spending doubled since 2001. Doubled. We don't have a "debt" problem. We don't have a "revenue" problem. We have a spending problem, period.
Yup. Just cut the fricken spending already! Cut the government!!
It all makes sense when you accept the fact that convicted criminal George Soros, who earned his billions manipulating currencies, put Ubama in office with the mandate to destroy the US dollar.
The US dollar is the last obstacle in the way of a global totalitarian dictatorship headed by George.
People work hard all their lives building a nest egg for retirement, then the government wants to step in and take it away to spread the wealth around to illegal aliens and the lazy bums who won’t work? FUBO!! Marxist traitor!!
You know you want to.
Yup, the new reward system for working hard, discipline and planning your future as best you could.
Knew I should have blown it all on wild women, fast cars and crap I couldn't afford bought on time, but noooooooooo :)
Exactly right. First they condemn us to die early with Obamacare health rationing , then they want to rip us off for what we have worked all of our lives for.
Soylent Green isn’t far off.
How about us folks that have worked for the last 45+ years and paid our bills and saved what we could get a break and you quit allowing the strong youth to suck us dry? zero and his growing dependent class think we survived this long just to give it away to them? Try to take it punks.
The only question is whether: some people take slightly fewer benefits in a graduated way, or a decade or two later, everyone takes massively fewer benefits all at once.
Indeed, that’s what they want to do.
I’d counter-assert that the 47% that don’t pay diddly and sponge off the rest of the country need to
“stop stealing and work with their hands”,
and pay some taxes for living in this country.
I'm all in favor of people keeping their own nest eggs, by force of arms in the last resort.
But government promises are not a "nest egg" and should never be counted upon by anyone.
IF they’re not going be able to take what they’ve worked for all their lives, then perhaps they should have been exempted from having had to pay into the crap as well.
It’s not a question of how wealthy or poor, it’s about getting back on the promise that was made to them.
Another government moron.
Fewer to squeeze with more of them going “Galt”.
Oh that's coming.....
I need to be protected from the federal government. They are at war with me and my country.
As Glenn says, we are passing exit ramps...
KMA.
Let me know when you're ready. I'll have it all shined up for you.
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