Wednesday, 21 November 2012

10 people who led us to the ‘fiscal cliff’

Commentary: From Laffer to Obama, they fed our greed and guilt



http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-people-who-led-us-to-the-fiscal-cliff-2012-11-21?siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts


Nov. 21, 2012, 6:00 a.m. EST

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By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — With our political leaders locked in a fiscal struggle that threatens to throw the economy off a so-called cliff and into recession, you might be wondering how we got to this place.
Remember that this supposed fiscal cliff is the direct result of two contradictory impulses in American life: Greed and guilt. Greed for low taxes, a strong military, a strong safety net and lots of government spending for everyone. And guilt that we weren’t paying our way. Read “Stop calling it a ‘fiscal cliff’”
All of us (or almost all) had a role in this melodrama, either benefiting from the spending or from the lower tax rates. Despite our culpability, it took strong national leaders to foster the heady mix of greed and guilt that brought us to this spot.
Here are the 10 people most responsible for bringing us to the edge of the fiscal cliff: 


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