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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 10/30/13

Instead of Paul Ryan's "Robin Hood in Reverse," Why Not a Robin Hood Tax?

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Source: The Nation

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For House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan and the Republican Party's unofficial austerity caucus, the shutdown and debt-ceiling fights did not end in defeat. As part of the deal to end reopen the government and avert a "full-faith-and-credit" crisis, they got an agreement to establish a House and Senate conference committee that is charged with pulling together a bipartisan budget plan.

Ryan makes little secret of his agenda. The Wisconsin Republican is already talking about implementing the "entitlement reforms" he's been pitching for years. So no one should rule out the prospect that the committee will entertain proposals for roll-the-dice experiments with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid voucher schemes, hiking retirement ages, establishing means tests and reducing protections against inflation. At the same time, Ryan would reduce the corporate tax rate and eliminate the alternative minimum tax -- completing the "Robin Hood-in-reverse" scenario that so appeals to austerity advocates.

But what are the prospects that the committee will discuss proposals that might attract the resources needed to avoid cuts to essential programs and steer the US economy toward job creation and growth? The Democrats make a bow in the right direction. In addition to investing in job creation, transportation infrastructure and worker training programs, Senate Budget Committee chair Patty Murray, D-Washington, includes proposals to close tax loopholes and eliminate tax breaks for corporations that offshore operations.

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John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Online Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.

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