Courtesy of Mish.
In a New York Times Op-Ed, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew made a plea for more government and higher taxes. Of course, those words were not his title.
Instead, Lew disguised his message by labeling it Lessons From a Crisis.
Let’s take a look at some details.
Lew: Without question, the government shutdown and the debt ceiling impasse have led to economic hardship in every corner of the country. While we do not yet know the exact magnitude of the damage, these events have generated unnecessary headwinds for the economy. We should never again take this country to the point of near-default in order to exact political gain. We can start by hammering out a budget agreement that builds on the progress we have already made to lower our budget deficits.
Mish translation: Without question, we can start by raising taxes.
Lew: This is an opportunity to improve our nation’s long-term fiscal health, and it should be achieved through a comprehensive package that shrinks our deficits, protects Medicare and Social Security for those who rely on it, and expands our economy well into the future.
Mish translation: This is a welcome opportunity to raise taxes and throw more money at Medicare and Social Security.
Lew: That means closing wasteful tax loopholes and making targeted investments to improve our education system, increase domestic energy production, and expand our manufacturing base.
Mish translation: Let’s raise taxes and target more money for education.
Lew: We must come together to fix the blunt spending cuts known as sequestration, once and for all. These indiscriminate, across-the-board cuts, which went into effect earlier this year, were intended to be so mutually disagreeable that they would force Congress to find agreement on a balanced package of deficit reduction measures.
Mish Translation: Let’s roll back the miniscule cuts in the projected increase in government spending. To do that, we need a balanced package of tax hikes.
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