Here Comes Mitt Romney « The Washington Independent
Jul 31, 202057.9K Shares1.3M Views
Here at the Republican Working Committee on Economic Recovery hearing, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) pushes bipartisanship again: “President[-elect Barack] Obama recognized last week that the monopoly on ideas does not belong to one party.” He introduces former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), whose statement I am reading through.
“„Research by Christina Romer, the President-elect’s Chairwoman for the Council of Economic Advisors, shows that tax cuts have a substantially greater multiplier effect than does spending on infrastructure projects.
This is an oft-repeated misreadingof Romer’s thinking. Romney weighs in against the idea of one-time tax cuts.
“„The best medicine for a sick economy is permanent tax relief. A rebate check would be a welcome sight to every businessman. But a rebate check isn’t going to incentivize businesses to expand, to invest for greater productivity, or to hire more people. It’s lower tax rates that do that.
The question is, as always, why haven’t yearly tax cuts signed by President Bush done this?
“„I would like to see a significant portion of new spending to be devoted to the maintenance, repair, replacement and modernization of our military equipment and armament. Since the 1990’s dismantling of our military …
This continues as you’d expect.
“„Republicans should commit to vote “no” on any stimulus bill with earmarks that have not been voted upon by the entire body.
This probably isn’t going to happen.
“„As a governor who welcomed the help you provided to us in the last recession, I won’t prescribe zero help for the states. But I do believe that it is critical for cities and states to use this time to finally align spending with revenues.
There are probably better times to balance budgets than during economic recessions. Any other time, for example.
“„Card check is a very bad idea under any circumstances. In these circumstances, it would be calamitous.
Conclusion: Romney is running for president in 2012.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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