sabbadoo32

More on 'Buffett Pie' and Paying For Tax Cuts

Good points. Points lost in the current shuffle. I would say let the Bush tax cuts expire. It's very evident that after 7 and 5 years of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, the theory of supply side economics as primary economic driver has been proven false. It helped, but spending borne of consumer debt did the heavy lifting.

So let's allow the tax cuts to expire. I'm also with you in letting them expire on a staggered basis. However, I would shift them to households that make up to $250k/year. These are the households that will inject the money into the economy faster than their richer counterparts. The money won't sit in a bank or investment account. It will be spent locally and at national chains. It will help reduce household debt either directly, or by allowing other money to be put to pay down debt. As household balance sheets stabilize, the extra money will again start going into savings and investment accounts, because the middle class will need retirement money as well.

So shift the Bush tax cuts and let them expire in a staggered manner, perhaps with the last of the benefits ending in 2016. We need a burst of consumer spending at the middle class level right now that's not connected to a HELOC, or a credit card.