On Fox News Sunday and on This Week, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts was much discussed. Under the incredulous questioning of Jake Tapper, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner claimed the economy wouldn’t be hurt by an enormous hike in tax rates, which will hit small businesses as well as “the rich” (who are also the investors, the employers, and the consumers needed to jump-start the economy). When Geithner says that growth has been “pretty good” and that employers are going to start hiring soon, you wonder if the Obami are delusional. But when Geithner says — after a spending spree to end all spending sprees — that the tax hike is needed to “make sure we can show the world that they’re willing as a country now to start to make some progress bringing down our long — our long-term deficits,” you see that the Obami really are rather deeply cynical. (The contrast with the show’s other guest, Chris Christie, who talked about cutting spending and taxes, could not have been more stark.)
On Fox, Brit Hume tried, without much success, to explain to Juan Williams why hiking taxes is a bad idea:
WILLIAMS: Let me finish this point. President Obama has already cut taxes…
HUME: When’s the last…
WILLIAMS: … as he points out for 95 percent of working people by cutting payroll taxes.
HUME: Well, that — just let me ask you this question. When’s the last time one of these poor people offered you a job?
The people who are the job creators, the people who have money to invest, capital to put at risk, to build enterprises and, they hope, make more money are people that have some money to begin with.
WILLIAMS: And God bless them. They’re important.
HUME: And if you — if you…
WILLIAMS: But don’t you have to have consumers?
HUME: … if you diminish, A, the amount of money they have on hand by taxing it away and the incentive they have to make more because they know a larger portion of it’s going to be taxed away, you are — you are dampening the impulse to grow the economy which is…
WALLACE: Mr. Williams, you get the final 20 seconds.
HUME: … in the hearts of business men across — and women…
WALLACE: Go.
HUME: … across the country.
WILLIAMS: I appreciate it. Consumers are the heart and soul of this economy. You’ve got to have people who are willing to go in…
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: … and spend money in order that small business will be in a position, then, to do the hiring. But you can’t have banks and small business saying…
WALLACE: OK.
WILLIAMS: … “You know what? We’re sitting on…”
WALLACE: All right.
WILLIAMS: “… our money because we’re worried about risk.” That’s ridiculous when they have the money.
So the way to get banks to loan more money is to raise taxes? It is hopeless, it seems, to explain it to the left, which simply cannot countenance letting investors, consumers, and employers keep more of their money.
One thing is certain: the voters will have a clear choice between tax cutters and tax hikers. There isn’t any way to fudge the answer for those on the ballot. For or against a big tax increase? If Americans at this point think that the economy is sagging and that tax hikes will hardly help matters, the Democrats are going to face some hostile audiences on the campaign trail.