Friday, December 23, 2011

Betsy's Page: Legislation to seem rather than to be

Betsy's Page: Legislation to seem rather than to be:
The agreement on extending the payroll tax holiday is the perfect example of how our nation's solons would prefer to pass something that they can pretend helps the economy and the blessed middle class than the tough legislating that would actually do something of real benefit.

There is no one who seriously believes that a two-month extension, or even a 12-month extension would affect economic growth. Honest economists realize that people don't make decisions based on temporary tax cuts. We need some assurance that those tax cuts will remain in place for the long term before we change our economic behavior.