Excerpts from Interview with Bob Kerrey

Former two-term Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey was recently interviewed by Tax Analysts (TA), and offered some interesting insights into the state of the recent Fiscal Commission established by President Obama.

"TA: What do you think the chances are that the current commission achieves its goals?

Kerrey: I think the president selected two really good people (subscription required). He started it off absolutely the way it needs to be started off, with a strong Republican [former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson] and a strong Democrat [former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles] on the commission cochairing it."

Seriously, with a couple of has-been's or never-were's running it, this commission is dead before it even meets for the first time. The best that can be said about former Senator Alan Simpson is that he is now irrelevant. The best that can be said about former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles is that he has never been relevant.

Next up, the interviewer from Tax Analysts attempts to gauge whether the commission will ultimately recommend tax hikes.

TA: A lot of people wonder whether Republicans on the commission would be able to accept the more Democratic view of how to solve the problem, perhaps through the tax code. Is Alan Simpson someone who you think could accept that?

Kerrey: I think the facts show that this is a problem that wasn't created by Republicans or Democrats. It's a demographic problem, and you can't blame the size of the baby-boom generation on Republicans or Democrats. It's their claim on Medicare and Social Security that's the challenge. You could say the Republican view is, well, no tax increases under any circumstances. But that was not their position in '83 when they participated in solving the cash flow problem of Social Security. So I don't know in this particular case whether there is a Democratic or Republican point of view when it comes to at least agreeing on the nature of the problem.

Kerrey's response is simply ridiculous.

First of all, the fact that the elected politicians in Washington DC are blowing the doors out with spending has nothing to do with demographics, and everything to do with a lack of fiscal discipline, and completely irrational overspending in hopes of winning the favor of various voter blocks.

Secondly, tax increases will not be supported by any Republican that has any hopes of staying in office beyond their current term.

Therefore, this commission is destined to ultimately split on party lines (Democratic "solution" = tax hikes, Republican "solution" = no tax hikes), with no realistic, growth-oriented solution recommended.