Sometimes Ezra Is A Chump
I think he really believed the super committee could do something good:
Right now, every economic forecaster will tell you the same thing: These are dangerous times for the American economy. If Europe doesn’t get its act together — and right now it looks as if it probably won’t — it’s going to be difficult for us to avoid another recession.
The supercommittee was expected to help with that. The expectation was that whatever deal it produced would extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits that were agreed upon in the 2010 tax agreement. Perhaps, if members reached a bigger deal, they would agree to infrastructure investment and further tax cuts. All of that would help the U.S. economy recover, or at least help us absorb any possible shocks from Europe.
How could anyone cut $1.2 trillion, extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, and fund a meaningful infrastructure program? No fucking idea. Particularly since the whole super-committee was the product of neither party having the guts to raise taxes (or fail to extend tax cuts.) Chump.
