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Who’s Afraid of the Fiscal Cliff?

Veronique de Rugy has a helpful graph on the relatively small impact of sequestration on the public debt-to-GDP ratio: James Freeman explains why we should learn to love the Budget Control Act, Says Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, “The only thing worse than a defense cut is no cut at all.” House Speaker John Boehner should rally […]

Veronique de Rugy has a helpful graph on the relatively small impact of sequestration on the public debt-to-GDP ratio:

Veronique de Rugy / Mercatus

James Freeman explains why we should learn to love the Budget Control Act,

Says Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, “The only thing worse than a defense cut is no cut at all.” House Speaker John Boehner should rally Republicans around the idea that the sequester, including its defense cuts, should proceed absent a very compelling offer from Mr. Obama on taxes or spending reform. This will allow Republicans to test how far the president will go to avoid roughly $100 billion in cuts to discretionary spending in 2013.

This seems smart, but there are some high-level Republicans apparently willing to hike taxes to spare the Pentagon the indignity of a less-than-ten percent cut at the end of a war.

But sequestration only amounts to about ten percent of the deficit reduction from all components of the so-called fiscal cliff:

Dylan Matthews / Wonkblog

Obama will get his upper-income tax hikes no matter what, the question is whether or not Republicans will cooperate to avert them for everyone else. If they don’t, the Democrats will continue to paint the GOP as obstructing primarily on the wealthy’s behalf, and the president will get credit for practically balancing the budget. According to the CBO, by 2022 the deficit would be at $200 billion, and the budget would be balanced long before the Ryan plan promised to.

Mitt Romney and the Randian wing of the GOP can take some consolation in the fact that, absent unlikely compromise, the ranks of the 47 percent will be reduced next year. Or, slightly less cynically, that taxpayers will come closer to paying the full price for their government.

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