[Pen-l] Democrats to placate Republicans on recovery plan

[John Gulick <john_gulick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

DH wrote:
 
Summers had been arguing against big tax cuts and for infrastructure/
green jobs, on the grounds that the last thing the U.S. economy needs 
is to sustain overconsumption - instead, what we need is higher investment
and new dynamic sectors to generate long-term growth. The Reps don't like
that at all.

JG writes:
 
Thanks for the info. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize that
Summers was plumping (ha!) for this. Porky sure has come a long way, eh? I
know what they say about the times shaping the man and all that, but still...
 
OTOH, this sounds a lot like Clinton 1993 to me, so I suppose it should not come
as a big surprise. O'Connor called it "supply-side social democracy" (the "social
democracy" tag seems way too generous to me though!). Justify public expenditure
in terms of its positive contribution to increasing productivity. Education spending =
"human capital" enhancement. Wetlands protection = "natural capital" enhancement.
It's the semiotic trimuph of capitalist values. And with productivity increases gainsaid
there's a strong emphasis on public expenditure being self-financing and deficit neutral
(at worst).
 
This is not the sort of program that involves a big increase in federal bureaucracy,
regulation, or taxes. There's a potential huge role for private contractors. Why are the
Repubs so dead-set against it? Knee-jerk Grover Norquistism? Political differentiation for
differentiation's sake (and playing to the yahoo base)? Their favored lobby shops and
contractors are cut out of the loop because they don't control congressional committees?
All of the above? The schism does remind me of the Clinton years. The "national greatness"/
"big gov" Repubs who allegedly flourished during the post-911 segment of Bush's first term
(their significance always overstated) have completely vanished. It's almost like the
distillation of essences.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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