Via Paul Krugman:
The truth is that as far as the straight economics goes, America’s long-run fiscal problems shouldn’t be all that hard to fix. It’s true that an aging population and rising health care costs will, under current policies, push spending up faster than tax receipts. But the United States has far higher health costs than any other advanced country, and very low taxes by international standards. If we could move even part way toward international norms on both these fronts, our budget problems would be solved.
So why can’t we do that? Because we have a powerful political movement in this country that screamed “death panels” in the face of modest efforts to use Medicare funds more effectively, and preferred to risk financial catastrophe rather than agree to even a penny in additional revenues.
The real question facing America, even in purely fiscal terms, isn’t whether we’ll trim a trillion here or a trillion there from deficits. It is whether the extremists now blocking any kind of responsible policy can be defeated and marginalized.
It’s been proven beyond a doubt that “trickle down” simply doesn’t work. Not a single job has been created by lowering taxes. The top level tax break recipients don’t use the extra money to hire new workers; they hoard it.
We need to finally put an end to this failed policy. Raise taxes on corporations and the top 1%. Spend more to invest in new technologies that will create jobs, which in turn will bring in more revenue. This is just plain common sense, something the Republicans & Tea Partiers lack.