Krugman: "The Gullible Center"

Paul Krugman asks the obvious question that was implicit in President Obama's criticism of the Paul Ryan budget proposal that was passed by House Republicans last week.

Obama called it a "Trojan Horse," meaning that it is a fraud: “Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.”    And that radical vision?    It's not so new in Republican circles but rarely has it been so stark:   The vision is that fixing the deficit is the most important thing and that the only way to do it is to cut taxes for the wealthy and slash benefits for the poor and middle class.   So the Republicans' radical vision is, at heart, a plan that is divisive and increases the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us.

Then Krugman raises the obvvious question:   Why are the Centrists buying this?   Here's what it would do, according to Krugman's analysis.

Let's put aside for the moment the fact that most economists, who are not in thrall to Ayn Rand as Paul Ryan is,  say that a time of high unemployment is not the time to worry about the deficit but the time to create jobs.   I strongly believe that too, but that's not the issue here, so back to the effects of the Ryan budget proposal.

In exchange for the $4.6 trillion in revenue lost over the next decade from the tax cuts, between 14 and 27 million would lose their health care insurance under the proposed cuts to Medicare.

But here's the real kicker that makes you wonder why intelligent people are buying this:   It wouldn't fix the deficit either.   That is, unless you buy the snake oil that Ryan's budget is peddling under the heading "closing loopholes," which he declines to specify.

When has Congress ever been able to close those much-touted "loopholes" -- without other loophole-leaks springing up elsewhere?

 So, much as Ryan and the Republicans claim this budget proposal is "revenue neutral," while reducing the deficit, it is far from that in the actual implementation.  And, even if it were somehow to magically close those ubiquitous loopholes, it has a devastating effect on our social contract with those in need, while further enriching the rich.

So, let the debate between Obama and Romney begin.    At least it has a chance of being about the big ideas of who we are as a nation, instead of the silliness of the Republican primary season.

Ralph