海角大神

Tuesday鈥檚 vote in the Senate on Tom Coburn鈥檚 proposal to end the ethanol tax credit was significant even though it failed to get the filibuster-proof 60 votes. It just barely fell short, receiving 59 votes. And as the , the fact that it got 59 votes means that at least some Republicans supported the revenue-gaining measure:

The measure, offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster threat. But it had the support of 34 of 47 Republicans, most of whom have signed an by any means but economic growth.

Coburn has argued forcefully that Republicans must abandon that pledge if they are serious about tackling the spiraling national debt. Though the Senate turned back his measure, he said the vote nonetheless marks the beginning of the end of GOP tolerance for wasteful giveaways through the tax code.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got 34 Republicans that say they鈥檙e willing to end this, regardless of what Grover says,鈥� Coburn said, referring to pledge creator Grover G. Norquist, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 34 Republicans that say this is more important than a signed pledge to ATR.鈥�

Lori suggests that cutting the ethanol tax credit鈥揳long with other tax expenditures, perhaps鈥搈ight actually become part of the bipartisan deficit-reduction deal that would come out of the 鈥淏iden talks.鈥� But some key Republican leaders still seem to be 鈥渉ypnotized and mesmerized鈥� by the Norquist mindset (emphasis added):

It was unclear Tuesday whether the ethanol vote has any direct implications for the Biden talks. Though he was among the 34 Republicans who voted to advance the measure, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that ending tax breaks is 鈥渢he kind of thing you would typically do in a broad tax reform bill,鈥� not in debt-reduction talks.

For his part, Norquist claimed victory, saying he had prevented Coburn from tricking his colleagues into voting for a tax increase. At a Capitol Hill meeting Tuesday morning with more than 100 GOP staffers, Norquist said he authorized senators to advance the Coburn measure so long as they also supported a bill by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) to cut the estate tax.

This strategy, Norquist said, 鈥渞obbed鈥� Coburn of the opportunity to persuade his Senate colleagues to vote for higher taxes.

鈥淲e won, he lost; he can try again, but he鈥檚 not going to get his tax increase,鈥� Norquist said. 鈥淏ecause the House won鈥檛 let him have his tax increase, even if he thinks he can get it through the Senate.鈥�

McConnell actually has it backwards, by the way. Ending tax breaks in a way that raises revenue is not typically what you鈥檇 do in a pure 鈥渢ax reform鈥� bill with a primary goal of simply improving the efficiency and fairness of the tax system; you鈥檇 typically look at reforming the tax system to collect the same amount of revenue more efficiently and fairly. It鈥檚 precisely because we are in fact trying to reduce the deficit by cutting spending and/or raising revenue that policymakers like Coburn are proposing to cut tax expenditures and actually raise revenue. It鈥檚 precisely what makes cutting tax expenditures such the perfect policy for deficit reduction鈥揵ecause it actually reduces spending and raises revenue at the same time.

--------------------------

海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.