A Golden Opportunity - Let the Bush Tax Cuts Expire

We, as a country, are being offered a golden opportunity. We can reduce our massive budget deficit by an estimated $300 billion per year, and we can do this by doing virtually nothing. All we need to do is let the Bush tax cuts expire.

The simple fact is that all the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable. According to the Congressional Budget Office, they contributed more to the mounting deficit in the last 8 years than either post- 9/11 security spending (including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) or the prescription-drug bill.

Some say that this is not a good time to raise taxes as it might stifle the growth we need to pull out of the recession. I consider this argument weak as recent history has shown that the impact on economic growth caused by marginal shifts in tax rates is pretty unclear. Clinton raised taxes in 1992 and ushered in a period of extraordinarily robust growth. Bush cut taxes massively in 2001 and got meager growth in return.

We have in front of us a simple, easy way to bring America's fiscal house more in order, reduce our dependence on foreign borrowing, restore U.S. credibility and power, and give us a stable revenue base from which to make key investments for future growth. Let's grab it.