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Michael Tanner, CATO Institute senior fellow, on why he believes the focus of the fiscal cliff talks needs to shift back to spending cuts and away fro...
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Ping pong first guest says the emphasis on taxes is -- -- guy isn't both parties should move the focus back.
-- spending cuts Cato Institute senior fellow Michael -- joining us now Michael I hear what you're saying but surely.
Cutting spending is not the whole also to bringing this debt down there's got to be a tax or some other -- revenue -- that correct.
While the tax -- that's being talked about isn't even enough to cover the new spending that President Obama has recommended.
So it's certainly not going to be able to tax -- our way out of this problem.
The only way we're gonna get serious about reducing the debt is if we do something.
To bring down the levels of spending that we're talking about an hour right now no serious spending cuts are on the table.
Entitlement reform has been -- the talked about for years now and it has gone nowhere.
So now are up again against the deadlines you actually think that we are going to be able to touch grandma's Social Security check at the end of the day.
While I certainly think that there should be some demand for retirement entitlement reform if there's going to be any increase in taxes otherwise we're just gonna continue to throw good money after bad.
We can't keep raising taxes in order to keep spending it.
The fact is that even if the president gets everything that he wants in terms of tax increases as part of this deal.
That his budget proposal -- another six trillion dollars to the national debt over the next ten years six trillion dollars that's just not acceptable.
So Michael listen at the end of the day do we get kind of split the difference deal here and if we dude do you think there's going to be so it appears that the Republicans.
Some Republicans I should say there's some cracks here in their arguments about the tax rate going up on the highest and is do you think there's some compromise some wiggle room in -- perhaps the top rate going from.
36 to 37 -- 37 and a half percent rather than the you know 39 point 6% of the president is you know one thing is there's some room -- there.
But -- that's the whole problem more focused again on this tax question.
What will the ten Republicans give they wanna raise revenues in one wave the president wants to raise revenues in another -- why are we talking about spending cuts is because the Democrats.
Have absolutely refused to negotiate when it comes to spending.
Just over the -- -- Dick Durbin the number two Democrat in the -- was saying no to any changes in Medicare the president has said -- any changes in Social Security.
A -- -- deal with the spending side of the equation that all this talk about raising taxes is just throwing good money after bad.
Somebody DO mean I I failures I really you web what you're saying I mean you could argue that.
All we need are spending cuts they don't have to raise taxes at all to see this problem.
But that but we're dealing with children in the play room right now -- don't wanna compromise so what happens do we let ourselves go over the cliff in order didn't make anybody wake up.
And come to the middle.
But why should we blame the Republicans for refusing to compromise on the tax issue without attaching equal blame for the Democrats who are refusing to compromise.
On the spending issue you know everybody's focused on this pledge in Grover Norquist about taxes.
More than half of house Democrats have signed a pledge saying that they would not.
Envision any reform whatsoever to the social security and Medicare systems I think that's a pledge we should be talking about and and I you know where you stand on this from Michael Tanner from Qaeda thank you so much for joining us.
Well that's equipment that the fear is a split the difference to deal -- I just -- kick it down the road.
