Spring Counteroffensive

Representative J. McDermott (D-WA) has an eloquent post on dKos today.

It's the most concise and convincing critique I have heard yet of Bush's nonexistent plan.

Privatization is a phase-out scheme for Social Security and nothing more. It moves dollars out of Social Security, divides voters by age, and shaves benefits to the vanishing point.

Alan Greenspan

Paul Krugman also weighs in with a solo-shot off of Greenspan's cameo pitch at the Budget Committee on Wednesday.

In 2001, President Bush and Mr. Greenspan justified tax cuts with sunny predictions that the budget would remain comfortably in surplus. But Mr. Bush's advisers knew that the tax cuts would probably cause budget problems, and welcomed the prospect.

In fact, Mr. Bush celebrated the budget's initial slide into deficit. In the summer of 2001 he called plunging federal revenue "incredibly positive news" because it would "put a straitjacket" on federal spending.

To keep that straitjacket on, however, those who sold tax cuts with the assurance that they were easily affordable must convince the public that the cuts can't be reversed now that those assurances have proved false. And Mr. Greenspan has once again tried to come to the president's aid, insisting this week that we should deal with deficits "primarily, if not wholly," by slashing Social Security and Medicare because tax increases would "pose significant risks to economic growth."

The crowd at the Budget Committee Hearing on Wednesday thought the show was over. They went to lunch and made phone calls, went home and got back to work. Now some of them will miss this Friday editorial because of their weekend plans, but consider this blog as just one of the many hightlights shows. People who were away from their seats when Krugman swung can come back and catch it later. It's a beauty. Upper deck.