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My company's employee intranet site posts a Dilbert comic every day alongside the lunch menu, and while most elicit a chuckle among myself and my fellow cubicle-dwellers, this one was downright eerie... mainly because it somehow reminded me of the national debt (my brain is a scary place, I know).
The deficit panel this week created a proposed list of spending cuts/tax increases in an attempt to cut our nation's debt (see WSJ article). Honestly, I am surprised to say that I actually think a lot of the suggestions make sense... for instance, lowering corporate tax rates, but eliminating a lot of loophole deductions. (Ditto for individuals, who would have some deductions eliminated, like mortgage interest, but whose base tax rate would go down). I think those moves could majorly simplify filing taxes, a process so complicated that even CPA's eyes cross (mine do, anyway). But the point here is that it comes back to Dilbert: many citizens wants the government to cut the deficit (myself included), but none want to deal with the practicalities of making it happen... sending the sort of mixed message I used to hear in my investment banking intern days:
Managing Director to me at 6pm on Friday: "We have a new project, but I don't want you here all weekend working on it. It should take about 25 man hours. I need it on my desk first thing Monday"
Uhh, ok.
Getting a politician to go anywhere near the Deficit Panel's suggestions will be essentially impossible, since political suicide is usually spelled: a) cutting spending to popular programs b) raise taxes on everyone (including the 'middle class') c) all of the above. So, as the New York Times asked today, 'how would you fix our budget'??
Mr. Deficit, I don't know how to get rid of you without a lot of painful measures. But I also know that our pain (and your grinch-iness) will only increase ten fold if we ignore you. So I would like to offer up some parting wisdom from our friend Mr. Seuss: