Ayn Rand Disciple Greenspan Now Favors Ending Bush-Era Tax Cuts
- Posted on October 10, 2011 at 2:01pm by
Becket Adams
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Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, has gone on record saying that he thinks the Bush-era tax cuts should be allowed to expire.
“If we do not get Simpson-Bowles as a fallback position,” Greenspan told CNBC, “I stand with allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire.”
“This crisis is so imminent and so difficult that I think we have to allow the so-called Bush tax cuts all to expire. That is a very big number,” he said, referring to how much the U.S. government could save from letting income taxes go back up to levels last seen under former President Bill Clinton, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Greenspan believes it would be the only deficit-reducing option available should policymakers continue to disregard Simpson Bowles.
For those unfamiliar with Simpson Bowles, it is the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (named after Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles) that was created in 2010 by President Barack Obama to identify, “…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run.”
The commission has been criticized as being overly-secretive and as being “stacked with people who want to target entitlement spending rather than any balanced proposal,” reports David Dayen of FDL. Several prominent Democrats and Progressives have voiced their opposition to the commission and have dubbed it the “cat food commission.” (The theory goes that if the commission cuts Social Security and Medicare benefits, previous recipients of these entitlements will be so destitute that they will be forced to eat cat food. Cute.)
Greenspan himself has been a vocal supporter of the commission and has said that the committee’s decision to eliminate most of tax expenditures (the $1 trillion in annual credits and deductions that are part of the tax code) was both “elegant“ and ”clever.”
“You could do it gradually, whatever,” Greenspan said about ending the tax cuts. “But if we think we have this luxury of waiting for a couple of years with a little stimulus now and then later tightening up. I hope the bond markets are listening.”
Mr. Greenspan was talking about re-imposing the taxes for all Americans. The Treasury has estimated that a permanent extension of all the Bush tax cuts would cost $3.6 trillion over the next decade. Allowing taxes to increase on those in the top income brackets would take the cost to the government down to $2.9 trillion, according to White House estimates, reports the Wall Street Journal.
PBS Interview: Bush-Era Tax Cuts Should Lapse, Warns on Budget Deficit
But the ex-Fed chairman didn’t comment on the budget deficit alone. He went on to claim that the financial catastrophe in the U.S. is being informed by the eurozone crisis.
“What’s driving the United States at the moment to a very large extent is Europe,” Greenspan told CNBC. “You can’t understand the United States at all, I think, unless you know what’s going on in Europe.”
“If we could somehow extract the goings on in Europe, I think we could see what we are seeing,” Greenspan told CNBC. “Namely, a sluggish economy but one that is continuously edging higher.
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Comments (68)
babylonvi
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 1:29amHe is one of the founders of this mess…..pump it up…..pump it up……pump it up.
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 6:57amDottering old fool…he helped cause this mess. Now he wants to make it worse. The Bush tax cuts were serious tax cuts for young hard working people who have kids and earn less than $50K. Minor marginal rate cuts were also included for higher income folks. Now this old fool wants to increase the tax on these young kids so the greedy politicians can spend it to get votes.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 7:40amHe’s not a Rand disciple. He and Rand parted ways long, long ago, the late 1960′s I believe (might have been the 70′s, I honestly don’t remember) because his statist leanings couldn’t be overcome with reason. He’s no more Randian than Obama is pro-capitalism.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 8:38amAnd who said 3 years ago that this administration would tax the middle class? You can’t tax the poor because they get everything back and then some. It’s just like Germany, When they came for the Jews, I did nothing because I wasn’t Jewish, etc. they‘ll come for the middle class when they figure out they can’t use them for votes. Anyone who gets all or more of their taxes back, shouldn’t have a vote. They’ll vote for the guy who is going to give them more back.
Report Post »Buck Shane
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 1:20pmGreenspan is a “used to be” disciple. After he fell from the principled philosophy, he help ruin the economy. The worst part is at one point he knew better.
Report Post »snidley-whiplash
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:55amIt does not matter what BS any one in politics says or does. Our freedom is gone. Expand you knowledge and read this article posted at the end. Maybe just maybe some of you will wake up.
Report Post »God will bless America but only the strong of will, the determined, the educated in-other words the
straight shooter will hit the target.
http://mises.org/daily/5752/The-Fascist-Threat
The-Monk
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 2:41amI can’t wait for Alan Greenspan to appear on the next Ghost Busters show as a dead psycho Wall Street analyst from hell. Burn in hell Alan just like your brother Bernie.
Report Post »RejectFalseIcons
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:27amWho approved the AIG/GM/Chrysler Loans? How dare you insult Ayn Rand by associating her with anyone in either party? The Neocons are mystics of spirit, and the Libs are mystics of muscle. Both ideologies are playing right into the hands of looters. They may tell you they are diametrically opposed, but they are both the same. Objectivist thinking is required to get us out of this crap we’ve gotten ourselves into. It’s not God-n-Guns vs. the Commies… it’s two different brands of supernatural garbage. Read up on it.
Report Post »Jefferson
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 1:26amEXACTLY!!
The enemy is the Federal Reserve. The Fractional Reserve Banking cartels. If you don’t understand who they are, and how they came about, then you have some studying to do.
Cain is part of that beast system, and nothing will be done about it. He’s just their “Omamma” puppet for the right.
They ALL are just puppets, except for Ron Paul. I know that is hard for some to believe.
People are so entrenched in this “red team vs blue team” BS, that they don’t even NOTICE the REAL criminals running off with the loot, and leaving us to take the blame.
WE started the Tea party in 2007 NOT YOU. You just came to get the sloppy 2nds after it had been co-opted by Beck, Fox,and Palin, Shammity, Dick Armey, and the rest.
The Tea Party was originally pure. Now it has been hijacked by a bunch of special interest, religious fanatics, warmongers, and RINO’s.
You’ve been played like a fiddle. They’re playing you against each other, and you don’t even realize it.
George Soros, is mere a cog in the vast machinery.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbp6umQT58A
Chuck Stein
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 2:09amThe title refers to Greenspan as an “Ayn Rand disciple” — no mention of that in the body of the story. Still, it is true that Greenspan was an associate of Ayn Rand. He and a few others met with her frequently in NYC. They had a cute/ironic name for thier informal club: “The Collective”
Report Post »BS61
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 2:20am@Jefferson
People are so entrenched in this “red team vs blue team” BS, that they don’t even NOTICE
You’ve been played like a fiddle. They’re playing you against each other, and you don’t even realize it.
As usual, a Ron Paul fan insulting us. If you think that the Tea Party is Ron Paul, then you can have your 8% of the vote. If you think that the current Tea Party is unaware that both sides are working against us then you are uninformed
Report Post »RejectFalseIcons
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 7:17amI am not so sure that Ron Paul is the only choice, or even the correct one. I think that if whichever republican candidate either does not beat BO in 2012, or if they do not take drastic steps to dismantle the bureaucracy, that we will finally see a new party. It’s just… unfortunate that so many capitalism and freedom loving Americans are SO WRAPPED UP in spiritual mysticism that it’s unlikely to really change things.
Report Post »Jefferson
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 10:07am@BS61 It was more of an “if the shoe fits, wear it” statement.
I’m trying to wake you up, not insult you. I never stated that the “Tea Party WAS Ron Paul.”
I stated that WE STARTED it during the campaign in 2007, and it was hijacked, and steered in the direction that the special interests wanted it to go.
Joseph Stalin said that “the best way to defeat the opposition, is to join and lead it.”
If you don’t understand that history, or that tactic, then I’m not sure what to tell you.
Ron Paul is the “intellectual godfather of the Tea Party.” He has been recognized for that by even the mainstream media, which is corrupt to its rotten core.
The problem is that they NOW give you this puppet named Cain as your “outsider, non establishment” choice, and he is as bad as the rest of them. Sure he’s got some snappy lines, and that baptist preacher appeal, but he is part of the Fed Reserve system. He advocates it, and if people don’t understand THAT much, then there is NO chance of changing things for the better, because people have been duped again.
Report Post »It’s good that you see that “both sides” are against you. But if you don’t see how the Tea Party was co-opted, then you’re missing a valuable lesson, and are going to get fooled again.
When ALL THREE SIDES, meaning CNN, FOX, and MSNBC are against your candidate, then you know that he is the one who threatens their little crap game.
Jefferson
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 10:23am@BS61
Report Post »Notice the CONSISTENCY of the warnings and the message over the last few decades. No flip flopping. No pandering. Just straight following the rules and instructions that were set forth by the founders.
3 minutes of your time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLtdFtSAmLw
KSherrell
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:20amHow about you spend spend spend freaks who want to “take care of” (buy votes) everyone, try cutting back on freebies to everyone, then we wouldn’t have to raise taxes. Also, bring our boys home, that would save about 1 trillion.
Report Post »APPAULED
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 8:22pmI consider the tax discounts of the upper 1% as “freebies” also. Yes it was a good incentive to help these companies grow and become who they are today but the 99% middleclass picked up what these companies did not have to pay. . The 99% (middle class) who purchase their products and made them who they are today can not do it anymoe due to the high unemployment rate of the middleclass. Where then do we turn ro have enough money to run our country and pay our debt? There is no place else to turn. We have all had to make cutbacks due to the fact that everything has gone up in price and we have not seen the raises that we used to see. In fact many have had no raise at all for years. They need to give up their tax discounts rather than expect the middle class to eat it. How will the middle class buy their products if we can get from one payday to the other? If they give up their discounts maybe we can continue to support their companys and get them thru this as they help us get thru it also. Some are in a better position to pay a little extra while their supporters recover. This should not be an attack on anybody. Lets just all do what we can to make a difference and get our country thru this. No need to beat each other up.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:12amGreenspan.. you are either on board or off??? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm is this like a Arlen Specter thing.. this is not a popularity contest Mr. Greenspan.. cause if your thinking that.. your on the wrong side of the fence now!
Report Post »chicago76
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:38pmHe’s a senile old coot, who should take his huge retirement and hope his policies don’t leave him a paper pauper.
Report Post »bmwrider
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:59pmThat Ayn Rand guy is one ugly fella!
Report Post »chicago76
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:36pmOf course he does. People should be taxed more so the Fed and the government can spend more. Can anyone be more clueless than a head of the fed? He want to be God but really is just a senile old man.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:13amHe was part of the meltdown during the Bush years… you know housing etc… He really needs to retire, cause no one is listening to him anymore!!!
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:17pmBlackmail… You can bet our Government is ruling through intimidation.. It doesn’t even have to be true, just as long as you rip a reputation apart. Say anything!
Report Post »The10thAmendment
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:23pmAyn Rand while writing a cute little book called “Atlas Shrugs” was in fact an entitlement moron. You worked harder staying on entitlements than she did writing a book.
Not surprised that Greenspan is a brainless follower of a 2 faced idiot, but I am surprised that Beck promoted her (posthumously).
Report Post »JMorcan
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:23pmDon‘t blame Ayn Rand’s philopsophy of honest capitalism for Greenspan’s decades-long misbehaviour. Rand never said government should leave the market free to indulge in theft and fraud. That’s exactly what Greenspan and his cronies sponsored and supported, and that’s why the system became increasingly corrupt.
Report Post »Buck Shane
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 1:51pm@ The10thAmendment
Ayn Rand was the opposite of a moron.
I would like you to:
A. Look up the definition of a moron and show why you believe it applies to Ayn Rand.
B. Support your entitlement claim.
C. Look up the definition of an idiot. You can’t be an idiot and a moron.
Did you ever notice how liberals call names instead of arguing with facts?
Report Post »Canada_Goose
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:17pmAgree or disagree with his policies while heading the Fed, Mr. Greenspan is a very intelligent man. He therefore is cognizant of his and the banking systems culpability in the 2008 financial meltdown and subsequent recession.
Although the Bush tax cuts did not directly cause the meltdown they have made the recovery much more painful by becoming a political and ideological hurdle to any budget or deficit reduction deal.
I never did understand how a character like Mr. Greenspan, could be a protégé of a psychopathic atheist who thought she actually understood (anything) about entrepreneurship or economics.
Report Post »Larry Sheldon
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:04pmDoes Beck believe this?
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:49pmWTF… go back to retirement Alan… no one wants to hear from you. Your connections to Wall Street together with your monetary and interest policies created the housing and credit bubble which are a huge part of the problems our country currently faces.
You could take all the money from everyone who pays taxes and you could take the entire economic output of this country for the next 5-6 years and that would not solve our problems. Between the stated budget deficits which are now close to $15T; the unfunded liabilities of social security, medicare, medicaid & pensions of $60T+; the known $16T FED bailout of the domestic and foreign banks & corporations (FYI the FED is levereged 50 to1); the recent untold amount of current bailout $$ to the EU and foreign banks, billions in losses at Fannie & Freddie, billions lost to green energy scams and auto company bailouts, the $600+ Trillion (yes, $600T) in outstanding derivative risk to banks across the globe, not even taking into consideration the shortfalls at the state and local levels and your answer is taking away charitable and mortgage interest deductions for the middle class and raising taxes on the productive citizens.
Please take this to the bank Alan… F….U…..we the 53% can not continue to foot the never ending cesspool of government spending and bailouts for those who pay nothing and the TBTF.
Report Post »jmmjr49er
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:47pmPresident Obama had all the power for 2 years with White House, House of Reps and Senate. Large majorities in both buildings. What did he do? Stimulus and Healthcare got the time and money. Obama thought he had done his job like all other presidents had done.
Funny, he did not notice that leadership is needed, too. Greenspan is on an apology tour now. Simpson/Bowles were used by Obama and were to old and stupid to realize it.
Report Post »A Conservatarian
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:34pmGreenspan may have started out an Objectivist but he most certainly did not end up that way. I don’t think Rand ever spoke out against central banking, but she did speak out against fractional reserve banking and inflation. She thought both immoral and part of the looter mindset. How Greenspan managed to get from being an intellectual and bold economist – almost a philosopher – to become the spokesmen for one of the antithetical organizations to all his previous teachings, I’ll never know. Traitor doesn’t describe him well enough, the guy is plain evil from any objectivist’s view.
Report Post »Bene Lucrum
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:16pmA Rand follower would never hold a Fed position.
Report Post »FNG
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:46pmI agree! Judge a man by his actions, not the books on his coffee table.
Report Post »This_Individual
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:26pmAyn Rand disciple? Maybe a Judas type of disciple.
Report Post »OllieK
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:49pmHe’s no Ayn Rand disciple. He is a liberal…has been since he started porking Andrea Mitchell. Concealed it well when he testified as Fed Chairman, but he did not reveal his political views in that forum.
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:58pmDamn right, Greenspan is no conservative at all, in fact, it was his actions, followed-on by Bernanke (being a “greenspan-on-steroids”), that created the bubble that popped and CAUSED all this mess!
Only in America do we look to the people that created a problem to solve the problem. Greenspan is a panty-waste.
Only one man in Washington PREDICTED this outcome, and only one man in Washington is DESPISED for his views. And the entire Washington elite power structure ignores to this day his advice on how to solve our problems.
Anyone wanna guess who I am talking about?
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:00pmIf you told me Greenspan was married to Pelosi, I would believe you. Look at these two, they are the ugliest human beings to have ever walked the planet, lol!
Report Post »jzs
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 10:30pmWell duh. You‘d be hard pressed to find a legitmate economist who doesn’t believe we should get rid of the Bush tax cuts. I know that people who stand to gain financially from keeping them in place disagree, and the politicians who stay in office by campaign donations from the zillionairs, and the AM talk show hosts you guys look to for your science and economics, you know, the ones who never got out of college.
But economists? Different story.
Report Post »ThoreauHD
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:29pmI don’t recall Ayn Rand ever supporting a Centralize Banking system. I‘m pretty sure that’s part of the Communist system she ran away from. Why is she in this article? Rather, why is her picture in this article?
Report Post »mrbuff1959
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:45pmI have read a,s 3 times. greenspand is aneything but a objectivist.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 4:27pmGreenspan was an associate of Ayn Rand. He and a few others met with her frequently in NYC. They had a cute/ironic name for thier informal club: “The Collective” It might have helped if the story had something about that history. As it is, the title is perplexing unless you independently know some more background.
Report Post »AshleyTK
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:29pmHe hasn’t been an Objectivist for decades.
Report Post »JMorcan
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 8:44amMaybe he never really was. I don’t think someone who actually understands the foundations of Objectivism can ever change their mind.
Report Post »rdk
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:26pmHe got old, whatever.
Report Post »MUDFLAPS
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 8:41pmgo sit in the corner you old raisin. Shut your pie hole. You are the reason we are in the shape we are, along with ovamit.
Report Post »neidermeyer
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:29pmGreenspan is one of the major architects of the current depression , he was instrumental in gutting Glas Steagall … Mr. Greenspan ,, please STFU ,, we know who you are..
Report Post »Delete the Elite
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:28pmAudit the Fed.
Report Post »Stop_Your_Lying_Libs
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 7:14pmThe tax cuts in effect now are the Obama tax cuts.
Report Post »mcpbob
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 6:46pmGreenspan caused the burst of the Tech Bubble back in the early 2000′s, he raised interest rates claiming there was inflation making it too hard for all those start up companies to borrow money and they all went belly up like dominos falling
Report Post »AOL_REFUGEE
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 6:14pmMe: I stand with allowing Alan Greenspan and his freaky wife Andrea Bitchell to expire.
Report Post »Sirfoldallot
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 5:29pmIsn’t Alan retired & senile ?
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 5:11pmThat is a very big number,” he said, referring to how much the U.S. government could save from letting income taxes go back up to levels last seen under former President Bill Clinton,
Another idiot liberal who thinks all money belongs to the Government and they just let us that work and earn it keep a little. BTW I thought this old fool was dead.
Report Post »Nlitend1
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 7:44pmhe’s not a liberal…never was and never will be. Stop being an idiot
Report Post »dadsrootbeer
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 9:44pmNo he wasn’t a liberal when he was in office. But like many elitists they slowly loose their mind and want to save the world. And of course, do it with taxpayer money.
Report Post »Rajabear1
Posted on October 11, 2011 at 9:43amOk, @Nlitend1, he’s a progressive NWO freak, like yourself. Is that better? More specific?
Report Post »affinnity
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 5:10pmIf the damn rich Liberals want to pay taxes so badly let’s just take their money, possessions and give the rich idiots a free shopping buggy and dumpster to live in. I’m sick of arguing with and on behalf of rich people.
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