From TPM Reader TK …
I’d love to see you highlight Nouriel Roubini’s op-ed in today’s Washington Post, where he proposes using the revenue gained from letting the $250,000+ tax cuts expire to lower payroll taxes in order to fight unemployment and increase the spending power of working families. From both a policy and political perspective, this seems like a complete no-brainer. Imagine forcing every member of Congress to vote on whether to lower the payroll taxes paid by working men and women and their employers or to instead lower taxes on millionaires — the perfect campaign issue.
Maybe this proposal comes too late in the game and maybe the political strategists in the White House and on Capitol Hill are too stupid to take a guaranteed winner into the general election, but why not go for it?
It’s probably worth noting that we’re not ‘gaining’ any revenue from not extending those tax cuts. It’s all basically money we don’t have. But a lot of smart economist types believe that a short-term cut to payroll taxes would be a good move to combat the recession.
