Fertile Ground

A politico trained in agronomy
Was convinced he could grow the economy:
"To start with manure
'S the best way for sure,
So bullsh*t's incumbent upon-a me."

If there's one phrase that unites Washington these days, it's "to grow the economy."  Passions may boil over whether it's better to direct such growth from "the middle out" or "from the top down;" whether "the job creators" or "America's working families" comprise the more fertile soil in which to germinate the economy's roots; but there is no doubt as to the choice of metaphor.  In the newly redesigned New Republic's Jargonist column, Noreen Malone finds that "growing the economy" is a relative neologism in our old republic, first popularized by Bill Clinton in 1992.  Prior to that, the preferred metaphor imagined the economy as "an engine," on the basis of which the partisans could dispute how many cylinders it had, or whether it was firing on all of them.  Perhaps it is time to bring back Adam Smith's "invisible hand," although, in our hypersexualized era, we may not yet be ready for its inappropriate touch.

Debate Wrap-Up

The best one can ever expect,
In debates over whom to elect,
Is that when it's all done,
One's candidate won
But the other guy gets one's respect.

Dr. Goose's household gathered this evening to watch the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and the man who would take his job, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. We saw a spirited debate in which each man vigorously stated and defended his case while challenging that of his opponent; a sharp but respectful exchange. When it was over, the two men shook hands and remained on stage as their respective families joined them and greeted one another amiably. They gave us an example of what democracy should be - I had a momentary, faint vision of post-gridlock Washington.

On substance, it was a rather balanced outcome, regarding which most of the viewers in our family room gave the edge to the Vice President. He defended the Obama record while giving point-by-point rebuttals to the Congressman's challenges. Mr. Ryan, for his part, was hard pressed to explain what a Romney administration would do differently in Iran and Syria, and refused to provide specifics to back up the claim that 20% across-the-board tax rate cuts could be made revenue-neutral.

Still, it was a debate from which both VP candidates and their supporters could emerge with heads held high.

Republicans in the News

The Scottish historian Niall
Said Obama had lost his appiall.
This caused a brouhaha
With Dems who said: "Ah ha!
The figures you cite are not riall."

Senatorial candidate Akin
Found his cervical knowledge mistaken.
"We must shut this thing down,"
Said Rove, "or he'll bring down
Our chance for a Senate retakin'."

"Obamacare's taking from Medicare,"
Said Ryan, "Which brings you unsteady care."
He hopes, in all fairness,
The public will care less
For ACA than they already care.

Krugman Examines the Ryan Plan

That dapper young Congressman Ryan
Was sellin' what many were buyin'.
A wonk came along,
Announced he was wrong,
And proved it without even tryin'.

"My plan," said the Chair of the Budget,
"Will balance the books, as I judge it."
Said Krugman: "Your cuts
Are unspecified, but
Any figure looks fine if you fudge it."

"To cite what I find so offending
In the plan that the Chairman's intending,
Have a look at the dents
That he'd make in Defense
And in Other Discretion'ry Spending."

"They'll cut, say the Chair and his staff,
From 12 points to 3 1/2.
Since the Pentagon's spent -
On its own - 4%,
This projection is good for a laugh."

"If you doubt this Princetonian nerd,
Let the CBO have the last word:
'The specifications
For these calculations -
At this point - have yet to be heard.'"

Paul Krugman, in his New York Times blog, asked What's In The Ryan Plan and determined: not much. His dismissive critique of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's US federal budget proposal is based on the analysis of the Congressional Budget Office, which found that the plan's headline numbers were unsupported by specific proposals to achieve them.

Running Mates

Mitt Romney had tried not to frighten
Those whose Medicare worries were heightened,
But picked for his second
A fellow who reckoned
He'd cut it, and put that in writin'.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen as his running mate Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Chairman of the House Budget Committee. While Mr. Romney's core beliefs can sometimes seem hard to pin down, Mr. Ryan has captured the attention of the political world with a deficit-reduction proposal that would do away with Medicare in its current form, something heretofore considered the "third rail" of American politics. In the Ryan proposal, Medicare would become a state-administered voucher program. In bringing Rep. Ryan into his campaign, Mr. Romney has given new energy to both Republicans and Democrats, each of whom now see a starker choice in November.

Little Interest in Saving

Said Bernanke, waxing inventive
On another recession preventive:
"Though our savings must grow,
I'm keeping rates low,
So look for another incentive."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is making life very easy for Jerry Stiller.  Mr. Stiller (pictured) is the lovable alte kocker who, as spokesman for Capital One Bank, brays happily that his client pays checking account interest "up to five times the national average."  Mr. Bernanke, testifying before the House Budget Committee on Thursday, noted that the fragile state of the US economic recovery dictates that the Fed hold rates to near zero through the end of 2014.  Corroborating the Chairman's testimony, the Capital One website promises to quintuple Dr. Goose's locally average checking account rates to a winning 1.00%. For the foreseeable future, it all adds up to little interest in saving.

The President's Rebuttal

"The GOP budget cut packet
Is so flawed that I've got to attack it;
The shortfall won't close
Unless we put those
Such as me in a higher tax bracket."

US President Barack Obama responded to the Republican deficit reduction proposal yesterday, declaring that he would "refuse to renew" an extension of the "Bush tax cuts" for the wealthiest Americans, including himself. The proposal put forward by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R - Wis.) would privatize Medicare and make drastic cuts in many federal programs, and yet not result in a projected balanced budget until 2030. As the President and most non-partisan experts have pointed out, the federal budget cannot be balanced in a reasonable time frame - even with substantial cuts in programs - without reverting to the tax rates of Clinton years.

GOP Deficit Reduction

House Budget Committee Chair Ryan
To balance the budget is tryin',
But without tax-rate hikes
He may cut as he likes
And fall short of the goal he's implyin'.  

The budget proposal unveiled by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisconsin) serves up an unusual recipe of brutal realism and wishful thinking. On the one hand, Mr. Ryan correctly identifies healthcare spending as the element most in need of control, and makes potentially explosive changes and cutbacks to Medicare and Medicaid. On the other hand, by starting from the revenue base of the Bush tax cuts, he doesn't project a balanced budget until 2030. Even this achievement relies on such rosy assumptions as 4% unemployment and a reduction in federal spending from  24% to 14.75% of the US economy. A truly realistic plan to balance the budget will require more revenue as well as less spending.