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John Hilsenrath, chief economics correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, on if taxing millionaires more would really help to close the deficit.
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Today a group of so called patriotic millionaires or the White House to support the president's call for taxing the rich more.
But how much would that really helped to close a deficit and would there be -- cost in terms of economic growth joining us now.
Is the Wall Street Journal's chief economics correspondent John pills and -- John great to see you thanks for community appreciate it perhaps.
Hi John I have in my hand the letter that these millionaires so called -- try to millionaires presented to the president.
And they're focusing on incomes above a million a million dollars and -- or not just incomes but.
And that first million would be exempt from tax hikes according to ban this or any chance that the president is gonna go for that because that's.
Much much more income before taxation what the president wants.
-- that some people that some people -- today that that's an idea that some people on his own party proposed before the election.
But he seems to be dig in his heels -- on the the levels that he's been talking back 250000.
For households and 200 for individuals.
Maybe in a compromise there's so many moving parts that was -- hard it's it's hard to predict which way it's gonna go.
But these are these are people that are pro Obama and for them to say look we're we support your idea -- the -- should be paying more but you should started a million.
That might be more persuasive to him than what some Republicans yourself.
It might be more persuasive -- wouldn't you know what what he's been arguing he says he wants to get to one point six trillion dollars.
Overall in tax increase -- a ten year period we -- over a ten year period did it exactly so.
Yeah he's going to be arguing to get to that number if you -- you cap out in a million.
Then it's a little bit harder to get to the number but.
He's presumably he's gonna have to give on something so we might -- he might give on those levels.
He might give on the one point six trillion number tail.
Well John he said yesterday -- simple math and and let's look at some of the -- because some of his figures don't add up.
The most that you can get a court of the joint economic committee the most that you could get if he got all of us tax increases that he wants.
Is 82 billion dollars a year that's the most that's the high side.
Now that's -- I haven't we have a one point one trillion dollar deficit we've added over four year period.
So that's only 8%.
Of that deficit how where's the other 92%.
Well so you know 82 billion over ten years gets hits over 800 billion dollars show and that's it that's just part of the proposal you know he's talking about a lot of other pieces that would get them all the way up to one point six trillion.
So that's just a piece of it.
Yeah hello what do -- I think one point six trillion over ten years has all the coverage to about 10% jump -- one point two trillion dollar deficit we're running every year and as we can see from the speakers.
We put together some figures of the of this spending that we've had federal expenditures.
Since 2007.
What we -- that that 800 billion dollars that was going to be a one time shot to spend for their recession that we were in.
Turned into our regular thing we keep spending 800 billion dollars year after year it's become sort of the baseline.
For spending so.
That's not going to be cut you're gonna have to get a lot more revenue than what the president was -- -- It and this is the interesting point to me is so here we are a week into this debate in all anyone's talking about is taxes no one is -- That the president has said well they'll accept a conversation about entitlements but.
Where the numbers on that front you know I think maybe after the Republicans sit down with the president tomorrow.
The conversation starts moving in that direction.
But right now doesn't look like it's going in a way that's very well favorable to the Republican Party because all of a sudden -- -- -- It's -- to the American people I mean frankly the only way you get that kind of revenue is by growth if you grow the economy more you you can start.
Improving by hundreds of billions of dollars a year in revenue.
But if you have a tax hike right now there was a time when even the president said that could cause another recession.
-- -- you know that that's an interest in part of this because we know where we're heading into a lot of people are starting to worry that we're gonna head into our recession next year.
Certainly the stock market underscores those worries.
-- -- This has that the president isn't using.
He -- using dynamic scoring and the way he measures.
The the impact of these tax increases.
If you look -- What we're talking about -- these tax rates -- suggests that there isn't it a relationship between tax rates and growth because higher tax rates people are saying could cause a recession next year.
If we go -- another recession our deficit is gonna double there's no question about John hills and -- thank you very much good to see appreciated our lives thanks a lot to have John on the show.
