Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan today said that income tax increases — back to Clinton Administration levels — may be necessary to help plug the nation’s yawning debt load because the Democrats won’t budge on spending reductions, although he made it clear that he would prefer to fill the gap with budget cuts as prescribed by congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI).
It was clearly an attempt by Greenspan to shake up the current stalemate in congress between the House and the Senate.
“I like the Ryan budget in all respects and I think that essentially that sort of thing is what I would vote for if in fact we’re voting,” Greenspan told CNBC. “But the problem essentially is that is not going to get a majority vote in Congress or be signed by the president of the United States. The question is, what’s my fallback position?”
Could there be a grand compromise where Ryan’s cuts and tax hikes could be passed together? Extremely doubtful. Greenspan’s words are in direct conflict with House Speaker John Boehner’s. He has said everything is on the table — except tax hikes. And the Democrats are treating the Ryan entitlement reform plan like the contagious form of leprosy.
Those points aside, one look at the political calendar suggests no. No way the Democrats or Republicans raise taxes going into 2012.
It has to be balanced. I’ve been saying it all along. Neither Medicare reform or tax hikes are happening before the election. The question is, who is most likely to get that done after the election?
The problem is that increasing taxes and reducing government spending slow economic growth so there are real political penalties and incentives for each side to be intransigent. It may be a mistake for the Republicans to build their campaign strategy soley around cuts without addressing the job growth issue.