Deficit commission Dems start talking about “pro-growth tax hikes”

Obama says no new taxes and cost control, but his reps say "pro-growth" tax hikes, an oxymoron. VAT here we come.

Excerpt: Two immovable facts face Democrats on President Obama’s fiscal commission: They don’t see any way to alleviate the country’s debt without raising taxes, and they know most voters hate the thought of any tax increase.

Leading Democrats on the commission tried during the first week of meetings to finesse their way toward a discussion of what they consider inevitable — by arguing that any tax hikes would be “pro-growth.”

“If we can put forward some practical proposals that control the rate of spending in the future and that raise revenues in a pro-growth way, I think we’ll get a hearing in the Congress,” said Alice Rivlin, a former White House budget director for President Jimmy Carter, who is one of 18 commission members. …

Commission co-chair Erskine Bowles made clear last week that any recommendations he puts forth or supports by the Dec. 1 due date will include higher taxes. The three working groups that he set up to meet weekly over the next several months are focused on mandatory spending, discretionary spending and revenue reform.

Any solution is “going to involve revenue, and we have to face up to that,” he said. Bowles, a former White House chief of staff to President Clinton, also followed Rivlin’s tack, arguing that any tax increase would have to be good for the economy, business, job creation, etc.

Recall last week when Barack Obama said that he wouldn’t “play that game” when asked about possible commission recommendations for tax hikes, preferring to wait for the final report from the panel instead? Apparently, the Democrats on the panel have no such scruples. They’re attempting to plow the ground for tax hikes already, after just one meeting. Did they already go through the $1.1 trillion in new annual spending Democrats have added to the budget since FY2007? Couldn’t find anything to cut there? Maybe they should look again. Read Hot Air article here.