Ezra Klein of the Washington Post always seems to have a big grin on his face. I cannot remember the number of times I have flipped on MSNBC only to see Klein with that phony smile on his mouth. It is so constant that I decided that Klein must use Botox and have no ability to change his expression. But I do not really believe that. Klein is a young guy and he should have no need for Botox. My current thinking is that Klein's smirk is just his way of trying to appear friendly when he condescendingly announces the "truth" to the world.
The strange thing about Kleins smirk/grin is that based upon what he is saying, it would be reasonable to think that Klein's opponents would be the ones with the smiles on their faces. Take today's latest pronouncement from Klein as an example. Klein is extolling the virtues of reducing "tax earmarks", those portions of the tax code that provide money to a favored few. And what does Klein point out? Simple! Klein thinks that the Democrats should come out against the deduction for home mortgage interest as well as the deduction for employers for healthcare coverage that they provide to workers. I know I am smiling just writing that sentence. Imagine if the Democrats actually came out against just those two deductions that Klein calls "regressive". Almost immediately there would be millions of Americans who could no longer afford their home mortgage payments. The already struggling home building industry would be wiped out completely. All other industries would also take a major hit as the costs of healthcare soared with the new tax treatment. Tens of millions of folks would quickly lose their healthcare coverage. My guess is that by supporting any attempt to carry out Klein's plan, the Democrats would guarantee that they were out of power for at least a generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment