We Didn't Think Of That
by digby
Dear God. Some of these people must be either criminally inept or crudely malevolent. There is no other choice:
Q So the only reason that the payroll tax holiday will provide more stimulus is because it’s twice as large. Making Work Pay was capped. Why didn’t you preserve Making Work Pay? Is it because, as the President said some months ago, it’s just a kind of invisible tax cut and didn’t provide any political benefit for the White House?
MR. SUMMERS: No, it came out of the process of compromise with the Republicans who were more attracted to the payroll tax holiday concept, and that was a proposal that, as had been coming out of here, we had been giving considerable thought to in the context of the President’s budget.
I find it hard to believe that such smart people didn't know that this was a landmine. If stupid hippie bloggers understand that it's going to be nearly impossible to reinstate that tax, then surely world class intellectuals and political professionals do. They had to know that this was going to weaken social security and one can only assume at this point that they did it in service of their stated goal of "saving it" by cutting it --- and being rewarded as big heroes by the people (and Wall Street.)
Somehow, I don't think their clever plan is going to go the way they think it will.
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