[fve]http://youtu.be/2O6RQSUoSwA[/fve]
The Congressional Progressive Caucus "Better Off Budget," which was released last week, is a more "mainstream" or even "small 'c' conservative" budget than some commentators might suggest, economist Joshua Smith of the Economic Policy Institute says in this interview this past weekend on "The Zero Hour."
The Better Off Budget provides significant short-term investment in jobs and growth, along with additional taxes on the wealthy and other common-sense measures. Smith analyzed the budget in detail and found that it would have "significant, positive impacts."
But, as Smith explains, over a 10-year period federal revenue and spending numbers would not be significantly higher than they would be otherwise. Smith argues that from this perspective the Better Off Budget "is just sort of a correction, and it shows how far our politics have tiled to the right, how far every extra dollar of spending is looked askance at by members of both parties. So this is not outside of the historic mainstream, outside of the policy mainstream, and in some respects ... it does hew to some small 'c' conservative ideas."
There is no reason why this moderate and reasonable budget should not be supported by representatives from both parties. (You can sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of the Better Off Budget here.)
