Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Senate Conservatives Vote to Order Congressional Budget Office to Cook the Books

Because That’s the Only Way Conservative Budget Numbers Add Up

When Conservative who believe despite all evidence to the contrary that tax cuts pay for themselves come up against real world data they do not change their positions.  They seek to change real world data.  So now the Senate has voted to require the Congressional Budget Office, the independent score keepers on fiscal matters, to show that tax cuts increase revenues.

Rob Portman is pictured. | AP Photo
Sen. Rob Portman's plan eked out a narrow victory in budget votes Saturday. | AP Photo

A victory for ignorance of course.

The amendment endorsed a model called “dynamic scoring,” which assumes that tax cuts will pay for at least part of their cost by generating more economic activity. The measure by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) called on CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation to include “macroeconomic feedback scoring” in all future estimates of tax legislation.



So now the independent CBO must, by law if the measure stays in the legislation, fudge the numbers.  Of course, just forecasting increased revenues doesn’t produce them, as George W. Bush et. al. found out in 2001 and 2002 and 2003. 

This is a trend in Conservative thinking (?).  In North Carolina the newly in charge Republicans passed a law forbidding the sea level increases from global warming rising enough to threaten coastal property.  The sea level was not impressed.

 But Conservatives create an alternate universe when they need to.  In fact in most cases they have to.

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