I’ve mentioned before that if the GOP was really serious about lowering the budget deficit, they would match dollar for dollar Democratic spending cuts for the poor with increases in tax collecting from the rich.

But the only revenue-connected part of the new budget ceiling deal pushed through by the GOP extortionists was to put in writing that funding for the IRS bureaucrats who audit tax returns would be slashed. IOW, the agencies that review tax returns for errors and fraud would NOT be restored to their pre-Trump levels any more than taxation would be restored to its pre-Trump levels. Less and less people who cheat on their taxes will be caught, and those who are will, of course, be mostly the working class. The rich have lawyers and paperwork and red tape and accountants to protect them (not to mention the law itself). Its easier and cheaper to go after the poor than the rich.

The fact Biden went along with this tells me that not only is he sympathetic to that goal, but that his Republican opponents are much more interested in the revenue side than the spending side. I think Biden could have stopped this if he had just publicized this hidden demand in the Republican blackmail. He could have made clear just what was at stake, this is not just a spending cut, its a tax cut in disguise.

Its hidden in the fine print, but this is the most troubling aspect of this “compromise”. Not only are we negotiating with terrorists, we are paying them tribute as well.