The Budgetary Fix We're In
Extenders are the perfect obscure corner for bipartisan consensus: so mind-numbing that no regular voter will take notice, so important that legions of lobbyists, and cascades of campaign checks, are deployed on behalf of the various provisions
The correct way to handle extenders is to decide which ones are worth keeping and make them permanent, which is what House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp commendably did in his ignored-on-arrival tax reform plan.
But with tax reform shelved at least until after the election -- and isn't there always one around the corner? -- the imperative arises to deal with the expiring tax provisions on their own. And with it, the twin temptations now facing Camp and his new Senate Finance Committee counterpart Ron Wyden of Oregon: Option one, extend, but just tack the cost onto the deficit tab. Option two, same, but make the extension permanent.
The second approach is expensive but appealing, because it would make it easier for lawmakers to achieve the elusive nirvana of revenue-neutral tax reform. If extenders are built into the baseline -- that is, you start by assuming tax revenue will be that much less -- it's easier to figure out how to make rates lower and still bring in enough money not to add to the deficit.
Think about it like starting a diet by setting the scale to read 10 pounds lighter. It's a lot easier, but you still end up 10 pounds too fat -- or in this case, hundreds of billions more in debt.
They say the scale doesn't lie. Washington budgets do.
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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.
Copyright 2014 Washington Post Writers Group
