CEOs' warning must be followed
Lewis DiuguidChief executives of 80 major U.S. companies are right to appeal to Congress to raise taxes and cut spending to reduce the federal deficit.
The Associated Press reports that the CEOs warned that the burgeoning deficit is sucking the life out of plans of businesses to hire and invest. The deficit topped $1 trillion for four consecutive years and is holding down the country’s economic recovery.
In addition to higher taxes and cuts even in programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the CEOs are wanting more federal investment in math and science education and the nation’s infrastructure.
Congress and the next president need to pay attention to the CEOs. These guys generally don’t step into such matters unless economic conditions are seriously dire.
Phil Cardarella
6 months, 4 weeks agoAnyone can call for cuts in spending on those things that do not matter to them.
But, there is a word for those who advocate raising taxes on themselves for the good of the nation; Patriot.
William R. Nelson
6 months, 4 weeks agoYou are incorrect, Mr. Diuguid. These 80 CEOs DID NOT call for higher taxes.
The executives want Congress to strike a deal that reforms entitlement programs and cuts spending, but also overhauls the tax code in a way that increases revenue; IE: increase the base of taxpayers and eliminate high end deductions, etc. That’s NOT the same thing as ‘higher taxes.’
The policy statement from the CEO’s organized by the Campaign to Fix the Debt - a group founded by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the former co-chairmen of president’s deficit-reduction commission and authors of a deficit-reduction plan that bears their names (and whose recommendations Obama IGNORED), can be found here.
Mark Hastert
6 months, 4 weeks agoYa know Wm., if you’d get your news anywhere else but FOX you get the whole picture. (putting it in bold letters isn’t going to make it more truthful)
This excerpt is from the Wall St Journal (so you can’t accuse me of citing a partisan source)”The CEOs who signed the manifesto deem tax increases inevitable no matter which party succeeds at the polls in November. “There is no possible way; you can do the arithmetic a million different ways” to avoid raising taxes, said Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna. The executives called the Simpson-Bowles commission approach—about $3 in spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases—an “effective framework” for addressing what they termed “a serious threat to the economic well-being and security of the U.S.”
They did indeed also call for a tax overhaul and broadening the base which is good because it’s a hot mess but it’s clear that they comprehend that a tax increase is necessary as well. So….. which candidate is calling for a balanced approach of spending cuts and tax increases? Which candidate/party has pledged allegiance to Grover Norquist?
Read my lips, Yo new taxes, LOL!
Mark Hastert
6 months, 4 weeks ago“Again, raising taxes and higher taxes are two different animals.”
…..oh then what does lowering taxes mean? and what does this quote from the Wall Street Journal article mean?
“The executives called the Simpson-Bowles commission approach—about $3 in spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases”
So which candidate’s position most closely resembles this?
You guys are a hoot. ‘sokay, it’s hard to let go of your fantasies.