Reform Translated Means Dooh Nibor Economics

With debt default temporarily averted and the Federal government back open for a few months, we are already hearing certain members of both parties talking about “reform”. But tax “reform” typically refers to having the middle class lose a few tax deductions so that we can cut tax rates on the rich even more – and any Republican version of this would mean even less tax revenues. But don’t fret boys and girls as they will reduce spending via entitlement “reform”, which means again that the middle class and the poor would have even less income so the rich can pay less in taxes. What did Paul Krugman call this?

That agenda is to impose Dooh Nibor economics -- Robin Hood in reverse. The end result of current policies will be a large-scale transfer of income from the middle class to the very affluent, in which about 80 percent of the population will lose and the bulk of the gains will go to people with incomes of more than $200,000 per year.

So why don’t the center right Democrats who want to assist the Republicans in this agenda just drop the word reform and speak clearly? Is it because if they did speak in plain English, the public would turn against them? One small glimmer of hope is that the repeal of the medical device excise tax – which would be a giveaway to the medical device fat cats – was not part of yesterday’s deal in part because the dreaded Tea Partiers actually turned against this repeal. A small bit of light finally appears?