Romney’s Fiscal Fantasy Plan

Larry Summers:

Romney’s fiscal fantasy plan, by By Lawrence Summers, Commentary, Washington Post: Political arithmetic is always suspect...

This principle was aptly illustrated by the “budget analysis” Mitt Romney’s chief economic adviser, Glenn Hubbard, recently put forward. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week, Hubbard constructs a budget plan that he imagines President Obama might propose someday, engages in a set of his own extrapolations and then makes assertions about it. He does not discuss the actual Obama plan or how it has been evaluated by the CBO. ...

The independent CBO confirms that the Obama budget would stabilize the debt as a share of the economy... Rather than criticize this approach, Hubbard ignores it — and instead chooses to invent assumptions that bear no relationship to the president’s actual policies. ...

Hubbard should perhaps address some of the many gaps in Romney’s plans. ... The Romney campaign has been very clear about what the former governor is promising: $5 trillion in tax cuts on top of extending the Bush tax cuts,... heavily weighted toward the country’s wealthiest taxpayers. Romney himself has acknowledged the lack of details... Romney has also proposed a massive defense buildup, even while he says he will cut spending deeply enough to balance the budget. ...

This is a consequential presidential election. As the country continues to recover from the largest economic crisis in generations, we need to strengthen the job market, address big fiscal challenges and build an economy that is based on sustainable, shared economic growth. ... Obama — consistent with his obligations as president — has laid out a multiyear budget embodying his vision for the future, and it has been evaluated by independent experts. It is time for Romney to do the same.