The Budget Speech

I didn't watch the speech live and am traveling soon so I'll be pretty quiet til next week. Still, Krugman liked The Budget Speech. "Overall, way better than the rumors and trial balloons. I can live with this. And whatever the pundits may say, it was much, much more serious than the Ryan ‘plan’."

"Substance: Much better than many of us feared. Hardly any Bowles-Simpson — yay! The actual plan relies on some discretionary spending cuts, this time including defense — good, although I think too much is being cut from domestic spending. It relies on letting the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire — finally! — plus unspecified reductions in tax expenditures. The main thing, though, is the strengthened role of and target for the Independent Payment Advisory Board. This can sound like hocus-pocus — but it’s not."