Big Business and The Republicans
May 1, 2011 by Mike · Leave a Comment
Two days ago a Republican staffer argued to me that we needed to protect the oil and gas industry from attempts to change its tax situation.
To my mind, that singular comment sums up everything that is wrong and dangerous with the thinking of Republicans about the relationship between them and big business in general, and, more specifically, the thinking of Republicans with respect to the question of taxes and subsidies.
For some years now, I have labored under the idea that the right side of the political spectrum in this Nation is about smaller government, more personal autonomy, less federal interference in what Tom Wolfe called the “macaroni of life.” But it has become clear to me that some on the right have a fetish with business. They are fully prepared to defend businesses, irrespective of whether the businesses in question even support the nominal policies of the Republican Party.
Take the oil and gas industry. More than half supported cap and trade last Congress; the National Petrochemical Refiners Association went so far as to construct a gasoline tax. Even the most routinely reactionary company (Humble Refining) favors a gasoline tax to address global warming. Even now, Boone Pickens wants another 9 billion dollars to spend on natural gas vehicles (which, coincidentally, will help him add more billions to his personal wealth).
Does it surprise anyone that more than 100 Republicans have already signed onto the Pickens boondoggle? It shouldn’t. The Republicans are in the grip of an unrequited love with big business in general and the oil and gas industry. This crush undermines the core message of the right, and damages its ability to speak coherently across a wide range of topics. If you doubt this, watch the debate on the debt ceiling and the deficit. The business community is already working to undermine Republican and Tea Party efforts to use the debt ceiling increase to leverage reductions. Similarly, they are working to undermine Republican and Tea Party efforts to reduce subsidies.
On the Destruction of the Republican Party
February 8, 2011 by Mike · Leave a Comment
It might be worthwhile to take a moment to reflect upon something that happened last week that could be one of those moments that in retrospect seems incredibly important.
Occasionally, in politics the preferences of leaders and the preferences of followers collide. One of those collisions occurred last week. After two years of complaining about deficits and spending gone crazy, and after campaign promises to cut $100 billion from the budget (a modest figure to begin with), the Republican leadership in Congress offered up $32 billion in cuts (here) for the remainder of the fiscal year (which has 8 months left). For purposes of comparison, the deficit in January alone was more than $105 billion, the deficit for the fiscal year will be more than $1.5 trillion, and total budget outlays will be closer to $4 trillion (here). My math is always shaky, but $32 billion is about 2% of the deficit.