Sometimes it really is about you: GOP Edition

Martin Wolf Makes the Case that America's Future Depends on the Destruction of the Republican Party - Grasping Reality with Both Hands

What conclusions should outsiders draw about the likely future of US fiscal policy? First, if Republicans win the mid-terms in November, as seems likely, they are surely going to come up with huge tax cut proposals (probably well beyond extending the already unaffordable Bush-era tax cuts). Second, the White House will probably veto these cuts, making itself even more politically unpopular. Third, some additional fiscal stimulus is, in fact, what the US needs, in the short term, even though across-the-board tax cuts are an extremely inefficient way of providing it. Fourth, the Republican proposals would not, alas, be short term, but dangerously long term, in their impact.

Finally, with one party indifferent to deficits, provided they are brought about by tax cuts, and the other party relatively fiscally responsible (well, everything is relative, after all), but opposed to spending cuts on core programmes, US fiscal policy is paralysed.

Before Republicans dismiss this as baseless criticism I really think they should stop and answer this question: When we regain power will this time be different?

For all the recent talk about deficits, it's still an open question in my mind if the GOP understands that the fundamental challenge we are facing revolves around spending. Whether this spending is financed with taxes now (which they oppose) or debt now and taxes later (which didn't seem to bother the GOP during the Bush years) is just a question of financing.