Jobs and Debt
2011-08-17 - by
The most overused political cliché today is that Washington is wasting time talking about deficits and debt when it should be talking about jobs.
But thereâs another political cliché that matters here: He who defines the debate wins the race.
By that measure, Republicans are hammering President Obama and the Democrats. And itâs hard to see now how Obama & Co. overcome it.
Thanks to the Tea Party, Republicans have made the debate about debt the debate about jobs.
Rick Perry articulates that best of any Republican presidential candidate. His formula for jobs and economic growth is simple: cut taxes, cut spending and limit lawsuits. Itâs simple, clear and strong â seven words long. And he points to the so-called Texas Miracle (which he hopes holds up better than Michael Dukakisâ short-lived Massachusetts Miracle in 1988.)
President Obamaâs jobs message, on the other side, is ⦠Well, beats me. Some combination, I guess, of research, incentives, fuzzy âgreen jobsâ and â the kiss of death â higher taxes.
âReal Democratsâ would have Obama full-throatedly endorse higher taxes (on the rich, of course) and gobs of federal stimulus spending. That may well be the right policy answer, but itâs political hemlock.
Itâs hard to see how even a wordsmith and orator of Obamaâs talent can talk his way out of this box.
Jobs and Debt
2011-08-17/
The most overused political cliché today is that Washington is wasting time talking about deficits and debt when it should be talking about jobs.
But thereâs another political cliché that matters here: He who defines the debate wins the race.
By that measure, Republicans are hammering President Obama and the Democrats. And itâs hard to see now how Obama & Co. overcome it.
Thanks to the Tea Party, Republicans have made the debate about debt the debate about jobs.
Rick Perry articulates that best of any Republican presidential candidate. His formula for jobs and economic growth is simple: cut taxes, cut spending and limit lawsuits. Itâs simple, clear and strong â seven words long. And he points to the so-called Texas Miracle (which he hopes holds up better than Michael Dukakisâ short-lived Massachusetts Miracle in 1988.)
President Obamaâs jobs message, on the other side, is ⦠Well, beats me. Some combination, I guess, of research, incentives, fuzzy âgreen jobsâ and â the kiss of death â higher taxes.
âReal Democratsâ would have Obama full-throatedly endorse higher taxes (on the rich, of course) and gobs of federal stimulus spending. That may well be the right policy answer, but itâs political hemlock.
Itâs hard to see how even a wordsmith and orator of Obamaâs talent can talk his way out of this box.