Robert Greenstein at our Youth Leadership Speaker Series

Corey Goldiner is the author and a Summer Fellow at 21st Century Democrats.

Last Friday Robert Greenstein, President of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities spoke at 21st Century Democrats’ Youth Leadership Speaker Series. Refuting the claim that economic prosperity and social justice are mutually exclusive is something the CBPP has strived for since its inception. Listening to Greenstein discuss the faux claim that tax cuts to only the top 1% of Americans bring about greater economic prosperity was refreshing. Perhaps more refreshing, was knowing that a room full of young progressives like myself agreed with him and that most of America now does as well.

Holding back nothing Greenstein ridiculed the Bush Administration’s careless and unprincipled fiscal policy. Recalling that in 2000(only 8 years ago!) Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was testifying before Congress that taxes may need to be cut so the surplus does not get too big; Greenstein described a struggling economy ready for new leadership.

According to Greenstein, renewing the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 will cause our already spiraling deficit, to accumulate at historically woeful rates. Specifically, the CBPP calculated that if the Bush Tax cuts were to be renewed after 2010(which John McCain vows will happen if he becomes President) the United States will accumulate 4.4 trillion dollars in additional debt. Adding a tangible element to this huge figure, Greenstein stated that this additional debt would exceed the combined total expenditure of the following federal departments in 2007 dollars: Education, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans’ Affairs, State, Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Giving the top 1% of our country generous tax breaks is not acceptable at a time when working families are struggling to get by, and our national infrastructure is collapsing. I am looking forward to an Obama presidency and robust Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, so brilliant thinkers like Greenstein and everyone else at the CBPP will be put to good use.