Have I mentioned before how big of a fan I am of Senator Tom Coburn? Honestly, even if he wasn’t from Oklahoma, I would like the man. He’s as straightforward as they come and he is focused on doing the right thing. He isn’t worried about his reelection, since he has already announced this is his last term. Maybe that gives him an edge, since he doesn’t have to worry about ruffling too many feathers in Washington, but that has never stopped him before. After stepping away from the fight over the debt ceiling, budgets, spending, etc., saying he was taking a break from the unproductive talks of the Gang of Six, he is now wading back into the water, announcing a $9 trillion plan to reduce the deficit. From Fox News:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.At a time when President Obama and lawmakers of both parties are struggling to find spending cuts of $2 trillion to $4 trillion, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is offering his colleagues a menu of options for far more ambitious savings.
Coburn is unveiling a plan to reduce deficit spending by a whopping $9 trillion, shrink government by some 20 percent and balance the budget, all within 10 years.
“It’s specific, it’s detailed, it makes hard choices,” Coburn said. “And it’s rough, but it’s necessary.”
Coburn questioned all the agonizing over the search for much smaller savings of some $2 trillion, saying, “$2 trillion doesn’t even pay our interest over the next 10 years. That’s with no increase in interest rates.”
Coburn’s 600-page report lays out hundreds of spending cuts from every nook and cranny of the federal government.
He would save about $1 trillion from the Pentagon, another trillion from discretionary spending and $500 billion more from a range of federal agencies.
“We’re cutting fat, not muscle or bone,” Coburn said. “We can easily take several inches from our waistline.”
Coburn also wades into the tax code, eliminating deductions worth almost $1 trillion.
That brought criticism from Grover Norquist of the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes any revenue increases. A blog post on the Americans for Tax Reform website calls Coburn’s plan “a $1 trillion tax hike plan.”
“It’s not tax reform, it surrenders on spending and it’s outside the conservative mainstream,” the post continues.
No surprises thus far. Coburn is well known for taking no prisoners when it comes to government waste and this time is no exception. Here is his response to Grover Norquist.
“People who call this a tax increase are defending earmarks for ethanol, earmarks for movie producers, stimulus tax breaks, tax breaks … for Eskimo whaling captains and deductions for vacation homes,” he said.
Coburn would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction for vacation homes and phase out deductions for mortgage interest on homes costing more than $500,000 dollars.
He also takes aim at tax breaks for all sorts of projects — everything from auto race tracks to hockey arenas to movie theatres.
And Coburn’s report notes some tax deductions are downright ridiculous — such as an exotic dancer writing off breast enhancements as a business expense. Though he would reduce or eliminate many tax deductions, he would not raise tax rates. The ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases is 7.5 to one.
The senator has no expectation his plan will be adopted as is, but he calls it a menu of well-researched places to cut the federal budget.
Again, these are more reasons I like Senator Coburn. He is nobody’s fool, knowing full well his plan has virtually no chance of being adopted as is by either the House or the Senate, but he is calling the bluff of those who would criticize the plan. Notably, the criticism is coming from both sides of the aisle. On the one hand, you have Grover Norquist, who seems determined to defend the convoluted tax code that allows such ignorant tax deductions as Coburn has outlined, and on the other, you have someone like Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who says the plan goes too far. Good ideas, he says, but no such drastic measures needed. One has to wonder just how badly our country has to be drowning before both sides realize the necessity of abandoning their lines in the sand and coming together to find an agreement to put our country “Back in Black”, as Coburn calls his plan.
I know there are those who will question Dr. Coburn’s conservatism, but I warn you, look at his record before you do. He is staunchly conservative, but he also sees the danger our country is in and this $9 trillion deficit reduction plan is nothing new for him. Time after time, he has called for our government to get it’s house in order or face the consequences. With this plan, he is offering ways of getting said house in order. Is the plan perfect? Probably not, but we would be fools to dismiss it offhand. As draconian as some of the measures may seem, the alternative may be even more unpleasant. The question I would ask us all is this. Do we want to let this situation continue with both sides of the argument digging in their heels, or should we rather take the necessary steps now and control how this plays out? I think I will choose the latter.