David Brooks Sees the Light

It is genius when walking through a tunnel wondering if there is a train coming the other way, then look up and "see the light"! David Brooks in an opinion piece in the NY Times has seen the light... of a train barreling at him and the American nation. It is the fanaticism of the Tea Party and the obeisant Republican party that is willing to play chicken with the "debt limit" in order to win an ideological debating point:

If the Republican Party were a normal party, it would take advantage of this amazing moment. It is being offered the deal of the century: trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for a few hundred million dollars of revenue increases.

A normal Republican Party would seize the opportunity to put a long-term limit on the growth of government. It would seize the opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing. It would seize the opportunity to do these things without putting any real crimp in economic growth.

The party is not being asked to raise marginal tax rates in a way that might pervert incentives. On the contrary, Republicans are merely being asked to close loopholes and eliminate tax expenditures that are themselves distortionary.

This, as I say, is the mother of all no-brainers.

But we can have no confidence that the Republicans will seize this opportunity. That’s because the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative.

The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no.

The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor.

The members of this movement have no economic theory worthy of the name. Economists have identified many factors that contribute to economic growth, ranging from the productivity of the work force to the share of private savings that is available for private investment. Tax levels matter, but they are far from the only or even the most important factor.

But to members of this movement, tax levels are everything.

Read the whole article. And while you are at it, read this post by Paul Krugman pointing out that this element of fanaticism was clear a decade ago but "normal conservatives" like David Brook were willing to look away. Just like the DNVP in Germany in 1933 enabled Hitler's rise to Chancellorship of Germany, Brooks and other "normal conservatives" are giving the keys of the kingdom to the Tea Party (and the even more fanatical and right wing crazy billionaires and millionaires who lurk behind the scenes with visions of power and grandeur). Germany played with fire and got badly burned. The US is playing with fire by repudiating its debt. When you give power to fanatics, you get tragedy.