Idea of the Day: Plan B Won’t Resolve the Fiscal Showdown

December 20, 2012

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House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) latest gambit to avoid making a deal to resolve the ongoing fiscal showdown would seriously damage the economy, raise taxes on millions of middle- and low-income families, and accomplish almost nothing to meaningfully address our long-term budget challenges. Other than that, it’s a great idea.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama made House Republicans an exceedingly reasonable offer that moved more than halfway between each side’s starting bargaining positions. But instead of taking the deal or making a reasonable counterproposal, Speaker Boehner rejected the president’s offer and instead turned to what he is calling “Plan B.” Plan B’s patina of compromise—it allows a portion of the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes of more than $1 million—is merely a shell of a plan that is bereft of seriousness and does way more harm than good.

For more on this topic, please see:

• Plan B: Job Losses, Middle-Class Tax Increases, and Trivial Deficit Reduction by Michael Linden and Michael Ettlinger