How much money do you want to bet the Cap Times will soon have an editorial out denouncing Scott Walker as a phony and touting James James as the "principled conservative" in the race, as they did with "orange alert" Dave Westlake? The man with the "uncommon name but common sense leadership," actually has a lot in common with Scott Walker. Here's James James' take on funding state government:
Revenue can be raised by the lowering of taxes, NOT raising them. Lower taxes mean more disposable income for families and more money for reinvestment in business, which leads to more jobs and more people paying taxes. This is a simple solution that has worked previously (see the results of tax cuts in the 1960s and 1980s).
Could it work? Sure. But "simple solution" ? Not so much. It depends on how much investment cash James James (it's not the same with just the last name) is willing to dole out to Sconnie families, as well as a whole rack of other factors that determine economic growth. The damage done to state services in exchange for a minute tax cut is not a good deal.
Granted, understanding of economic policy may be the least of James James' problems. I'm not certain, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn't know that Wisconsin's constitution requires a balanced budget every biennium. This is what he wrote right before the passage I quoted above:
My plan of action is very simple. First, no longer allow the spending of money that we don't have, but rather run the state like you run your business or your household budget. I will approve no legislation until the budget is balanced. The budget can be balanced with a simple combination of cutting out all the pork spending and raising revenues.
Governments should run like we run our families and businesses? I believe they already do that. They take out massive amounts of debt to finance goodies they can't afford. From whence comes this myth of the thrifty American? Epic Systems may have built some massive eco-friendly corporate campus on cash-flow, but most companies take out loans. And Randy Moss may be the only American in history to buy a house with straight cash.
Does nobody else see the irony in candidates pleading with the government to respond to an economic crisis caused largely by sub-prime mortgages by acting like Americans?