There was a time, about 10 years ago, when I honestly believed that Republicans cared about things like creating jobs and economic opportunity. Since then, I have come to realize that the primary purpose of Republican economic policy is not the creation of wealth, jobs, or opportunity, but rather the protection of private wealth and property.
That's fine, as long as we have a balanced budget. But we don't, and we haven't since 2000 when the tech bubble burst and Bush got elected.
I know a lot of liberals are really angry at Barack Obama right now, because he's not doing enough to hold the line on protecting Social Security and Medicare. That's understandable, and I can empathize with the impulse to put our money in a lockbox (or bury it in the backyard of the White House, or something equally protectionist).
I'm not interested in putting Social Security or Medicare funds into the stock market, subjecting American economic security to the whims of the robber barons and hedge fund managers. I am, however, interested in economic policies that are focused on the creation of wealth and jobs, rather than being focused on the protection of wealth and the outsourcing of jobs to robots, slaves, or prisoners.
Tax cuts that are not invested in the American economy are not going to stimulate the American economy. Tax cuts that are reinvested in jobs overseas might help the global economy, but they will not help us pay off America's $14 trillion debt (thanks, George W. Bush!).
President Obama has been working to create new new markets, new jobs, and new industries for the 21st century economy. Rather than focusing on the protection of wealth and existing corporations, he's been focusing on the creation of new businesses, new jobs, and new wealth. This is exactly what we need to do.
There are serious approaches to our debt crisis. And it is a crisis. But it should be obvious to anyone that we cannot simply cut our way out of the problem, because cutting spending will destroy American jobs, hurt our infrastructure, reduce our ability to defend ourselves, and shrink the economy. Any serious approach to solving our deficit problem must take a serious look at increasing tax rates.
There are a few obvious places where we can do this. First, end the Bush tax cuts on those who have income of $1 million or more. Second, raise the Social Security payroll tax above $106,800 per year (this could be done modestly, incrementally, perhaps to keep up with inflation or median household income or some other measure). Third, how about a transaction fee on swaps and derivatives? After all, the unregulated explosion of these complex financial instruments is directly responsible for the economic catastrophe that destroyed American wealth, devastated the housing market, and undermined our markets. Why do we continue to allow these mortgage-backed securities, credit-default swaps, and other derivatives to be traded freely? Doesn't it make sense to regulate this multi-trillion dollar shadow economy, so that it doesn't lead to another market bubble that undermines sustainable growth?
One final thought, on revenue. Isn't it time to legalize and regulate the sale and distribution of marijuana?