Dear Commons Community,

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman broadsides the four Republican presidential nominees, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Raul and Newt Gingrich, with an analysis of their fiscal plans.  In essence, Krugman concludes that the proposals of each of these candidates is top-down class warfare that favors the rich.  Here is an excerpt:

“all four significant Republican presidential candidates still standing are fiscal phonies. They issue apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of government debt and, in the name of deficit reduction, demand savage cuts in programs that protect the middle class and the poor. But then they propose squandering all the money thereby saved — and much, much more — on tax cuts for the rich.

And nobody should be surprised. It has been obvious all along, to anyone paying attention, that the politicians shouting loudest about deficits are actually using deficit hysteria as a cover story for their real agenda, which is top-down class warfare. To put it in Romneyesque terms, it’s all about finding an excuse to slash programs that help people who like to watch Nascar events, even while lavishing tax cuts on people who like to own Nascar teams. ”

Krugman anaylzes several of their proposals, all of which illustrate his position.

His last line is the best:

“The question now is whether someone offering this toxic combination of irresponsibility, class warfare, and hypocrisy can actually be elected president.”

Tony