so.cal.fan
12-10-2012, 11:55 AM
ByCBSNews .SCHIEFFER: Well, let me ask Senator Simpson. The New York Times crunched the numbers of the tax increases for the wealthy and determined even if the rates go back up to the Clinton-era rates it would only give us about a quarter of the needed revenue. So what other things can be done? What other taxes have to be raised or where do you get the money to get us to where we need to be?
SIMPSON: Well, you go into the tax code, as I say, but it's going to take too much time to do that. But there is no possibility to do this, not a single economist who talked to us in our hearings, said we can't grow our way out of this thing if we had double-digit growth for 20 years. You can't cut spending your way out of this baby or you're going to are ruin a very fragile economy and an emerging and helpful nation. And you can't tax your way out of this baby. This is impossible. And when these people zero in -- as Erskine said they zero in on taxes, taxes, taxes, we said you've got revenue one to four, three times spending cuts versus one of revenue, but you go into the code and like this one, you go to home mortgage interest deduction and the housing industry guys, all the lobbyists go nuts.
Well, we said, look, we're not going to take it away from you but it doesn't need to be a million bucks on a second home. We said take it to 500,000, give everybody a 12.5 percent nonrefundable tax credit which helps the little guy. And they go, "oh, yeah, well, I guess that might work." Everybody is in the game. We'll be savaged this next month. This will be savery, full-page ads, ladies, old, children, , veterans, Simpson-Bowles are doing their tricks out there. You know, hang on tight. It's going to be a real, real struggle.
Why didn't Bob S. ask Sen. Simpson the logical question after this reply?
"What can we do that will work"?
I suspect the answer would have been DEFAULT and DEFLATE?
SIMPSON: Well, you go into the tax code, as I say, but it's going to take too much time to do that. But there is no possibility to do this, not a single economist who talked to us in our hearings, said we can't grow our way out of this thing if we had double-digit growth for 20 years. You can't cut spending your way out of this baby or you're going to are ruin a very fragile economy and an emerging and helpful nation. And you can't tax your way out of this baby. This is impossible. And when these people zero in -- as Erskine said they zero in on taxes, taxes, taxes, we said you've got revenue one to four, three times spending cuts versus one of revenue, but you go into the code and like this one, you go to home mortgage interest deduction and the housing industry guys, all the lobbyists go nuts.
Well, we said, look, we're not going to take it away from you but it doesn't need to be a million bucks on a second home. We said take it to 500,000, give everybody a 12.5 percent nonrefundable tax credit which helps the little guy. And they go, "oh, yeah, well, I guess that might work." Everybody is in the game. We'll be savaged this next month. This will be savery, full-page ads, ladies, old, children, , veterans, Simpson-Bowles are doing their tricks out there. You know, hang on tight. It's going to be a real, real struggle.
Why didn't Bob S. ask Sen. Simpson the logical question after this reply?
"What can we do that will work"?
I suspect the answer would have been DEFAULT and DEFLATE?