Taxes and Corporate Jets, Deficit Reduction Ideas Reaches New Level of Absurdism

A
 Level of Moronic Discussion Only Dreamed of in Prior Years

As everyone who has even a passing interest in politics and economics knows, the Obama Administration and the Republicans in Congress are in heated discussions on how to reduce the deficit.  One idea being floated by the Administration is to change the way corporate jet aircraft expenses are treated for tax purposes.

Another proposal on the table would reduce a tax break for corporate jets, stretching the depreciation period to seven years from the current five years and raising about $3 billion over the next decade, according to unofficial congressional estimates,

To put this in perspective, note that the $3 billion is over ten years.  This is an average of $300 million per year.  The defict is currently at $1.6 trillion and could total $10 to $15 trillion over the ten year period.  The $300 million per year is about one zillionth of one percent of the deficit, and yet

Mr. Obama and his team spent a lot of time talking up the idea last week.

Exactly what team would that be, the Class D minor league baseball team in East Oblivion, Montana?

The truly amazing thing is not just this total waste of time on an insignificant issue, but the fact that the Republicans have not been able to go to Mr. Obama with a straight face and say ok, we’ll give you this idiocy, you give us hundreds of billions in cuts in vital social programs, Medicare and Social Security.  Mr. Obama would surely accept such a deal, and go the country saying bi-partisanship worked and he got a tax increase on the rich.

So who is more moronic,

A.     the Obama “brain?” trust for spending more than 20 seconds on this idea,

or

B.      the Republican leadership that cannot accept this stupidity and say they have compromised and get their massive cuts in spending? 

No answer here, there are some questions even The Dismal Political Economist cannot answer.