The Winning Answer (Romney's response to the deficit and debt was what turned the tide)

Weekly Standard ^ | 10/07/2012 | WILLIAM KRISTOL

[SeekAndFind]

Almost 25 minutes into last Wednesday night’s presidential debate, it was already clear Mitt Romney was doing better than expected, and that Barack Obama was a bit flat. But it wasn’t yet obvious at the end of the debate’s first segment that the debate would produce a decisive winner.

Then moderator Jim Lehrer moved from taxes to a discussion of “what to do about the federal deficit, the federal debt.” Mitt Romney spoke first. His two-minute answer was the inflection point in the debate. After that, he was on a roll—a conservative roll. And President Obama would be reduced to an ineffectual defensive crouch—a liberal crouch.

Romney’s statement deserves to be reproduced in full:

***

Romney: Good. I’m glad you raised that, and it’s a—it’s a critical issue. I think it’s not just an economic issue, I think it’s a moral issue. I think it’s, frankly, not moral for my generation to keep spending massively more than we take in, knowing those burdens are going to be passed on to the next generation, and they’re going to be paying the interest and the principal all their lives.

And the amount of debt we’re adding, at a trillion a year, is simply not moral.

So how do we deal with it? Well, mathematically, there are three ways that you can cut a deficit. One, of course, is to raise taxes. Number two is to cut spending. And number three is to grow the economy, because if more people work in a growing economy, they’re paying taxes, and you can get the job done that way.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Yes, but the cuts that are actually necessary are acceptable to no one - so Romney has to nibble. It won’t be enough, but maybe he can buy us a couple of years to finish preparing.

[Mase]

Bill Kristol is uniquely unqualified to be lauding anyone for espousing conservative values. This is a guy who dumps on his own candidate just so the left will use him as an example of a "good conservative" and continue inviting him to their cocktail parties.

He's singing Mitt's praises simply because he wants to be on the side that's winning. STFU Kristol.

[DManA]

We can’t even close the deficit. The deficit is Mars. The debt is Alpha Centuri.

[andyk]

The problem with raising taxes is that it slows down the rate of growth.

I think the problem is that taxing labor is immoral.

[DManA]

The things Mitt is proposing would have been efective if GHWB had done them. We are so past this stuff it’s pathetic.

For crying out loud! Algore promiced to make govmt more efficient.

[LS]

Working from IPad and have constant problems. That is, “Although it was still astronomical in terms of the day, it is possible [to reduce it] in a fairly short time.” There, better? Now pass the vodka.

[loveliberty2]

Romney needs to continue the discussion he began on Wednesday about the immorality of loading future generations with debt. "Ideas have consequences!" (Weaver).

"I sincerely believe... that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816. ME 15:23

"[With the decline of society] begins, indeed, the bellum omnium in omnia [war of all against all], which some philosophers observing to be so general in this world, have mistaken it for the natural, instead of the abusive state of man. And the fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression." --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. ME 15:40

The second and succeeding parts of Romney's discussion must allow younger generations to see that the consequence of debt is loss of freedom, making their choice one of freedom vs. slavery to government.

America's Founders and Framers of the Constitution which, if enforced by its "only KEEPERS" (Story) prevents Obama and his fellow "progressives" from enslaving America through excessive and non-productive spending.

The Author of our Declaration of Independence from another petty tyrant's excesses, Thomas Jefferson, in his First Inaugural Address, summarized what Romney needs to find a way to summarize. His clearly-stated summary is reproduced below, as it appears in "Our Ageless Constitution."

[LS]

Not “we can’t,” but we haven’t yet. It is possible, similar debts-to-GDP have been eliminated in the past, and without devaluation.

[Sequoyah101]

It is a start. The only way to feed the Creature from Jekyll Island, the FEDERAL RESERVE, a PRIVATE business venture, is to grow the economy. As long as the big government pig is fattened the Creature gets fed. The Creature gets interest payments. TAXES must be raised to feed the FED. Meanwhile, the FED prints more money to prop up the economy. This printing creates the cruel tax of inflation.

The Creature does not care if the principal is paid so long as the interest income keeps coming in. It is an income stream for nothing. Remember that the FED can PRINT money from nothing and it is backed by NOTHING. Consider this, for a house with a loan the lender will make more money over the life of the loan than all the other trades combined. Granted, they are paid MOD dollars but that is fine with them because the PV dollars are more than adequate compensation with fractional banking.

Von Mises points out that unless growth goes on at ever rising levels the debt service can’t be maintained. Even ad infinitum has to end though. Eventually fractional banking, the pillar of the FED, has to end. Neither inflation or taxes can feed The Creature forever.

Hardly anyone understands why the Creature, the FED, and fractional banking are so terrible.

[stocksthatgoup]

Taxing Income is NOT taxing wealth.
Income = Net Work
Wealth = Net Worth

[DManA]

Sure, we could go to Mars too if we wanted to.

[flaglady47]

“Yes, but preaching it and believing it are two different things.
Remember “Read my lips” ?”

Would you rather read Obama’s lips for the next 4 years?

[andyk]

Taxing Income is NOT taxing wealth.

Correct! Thus it is impossible to tax the rich vs. the poor with our system of income taxation.

[thirst4truth]

Anyone who finds that answer reassuring doesn’t understand how much a $trillion really is.

How Big is a Trillion?

In the U.S., one trillion is written as the number "1" followed by 12 zeros (1,000,000,000,000). One year of clock time = (60sec/min) x (60 min/hr) x (24 hr/da) x (365.25 da) = 3.16 x 107 sec

One trillion seconds of ordinary clock time = ( 1012 sec)/( 3.16 x 107 sec/yr) = 31,546 years!

[lewislynn]

Anyone who finds that answer reassuring doesn’t understand how much a $trillion really is. Getting efficient won’t close it. Growth won’t close it. Zeroing out the discretionary budget won’t close it.

You're right, doing nothing is a much better way. < /sarcasm >

[taildragger]

IMHO more damning was Romney why he didn't run with Simpson Bowles and Obama said it is going through the House and Romney retorted something like you had 4 years to do it...

It was a gentle business like smackdown I have seen at the Corporate level when someone is off task and taking the team down with it.

NO ONE, likes a team leader or co-worker mucking up the project....

In today's stressful business environment I wonder if that back and forth registered with those undecideds that are stressed at the job....

[DManA]

That in essence is what Romney is proposing. Nothing.

[LS]

Ah, but that’s the difference: we HAVE paid off massive Nat debt before, twice, but haven’t gone to Mars once!

[DManA]

Ah but that’s the smallest part of our problem Our unfunded liabilities are 5X the debt.

[chiller]

When talking about our debt, (easily the largest of any country, ever, and by a lot !) I always see the image of a trillion dollars. And 15 trillion is basically a soccer field filled to the mezzanine with 100 dollar bills. Massively huge, BUT....

...by the grace of God perhaps there is an answer and it is the energy sector. Unleashing that generates so many jobs, and so many taxpayers, and billions and billions of dollars, not to mention oil/gas lease revenues, and not to mention all the money on the sidelines that will come back into play. Energy exports.

This economy will roar with inexpensive energy. Without it we would truly be looking at default. But we can do this.