[speaker001:] All right, well.
[speaker002:] Um, short term, I don't think anything's going to be done about it
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] or probably should be done about it.
[speaker001:] Uh, are you saying you don't think anything should be done in the short term?
[speaker002:] Uh, the short term, the recession is getting, getting top attention.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I, I think that you're absolutely right there. The other thing is, is that we've got these, um, these, all these bank defaults going on, and, and savings and loan defaults, and, and, uh, uh,
[speaker002:] And that effectively adds to whether it's officially on the books or not.
[speaker001:] Right. Exactly. Um,
[speaker002:] And that's got to be paid.
[speaker001:] Exactly, and, and, uh, so this creates a pretty serious problem that's going to continue to be with us for a while to come. Um, I'm not really, uh, sure that I even understand why the administration is proposing, for instance, tax reductions, because it seems to me that if, if, if they're talking about reducing, uh, the tax that needs to be paid, or the tax that's currently being paid, then that can't, it seems to me it can't possibly, you know, help with the, the deficit picture.
[speaker002:] It can only hurt the deficit picture.
[speaker001:] Yeah, exactly.
[speaker002:] Um, and the, the severity of the deficit picture already limits the options available or limits the degree of tax cutting you can do without, uh, bringing on, on serious problems for the longer term.
[speaker001:] Yeah, exactly.
[speaker002:] So that, that, that's the current predicament.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it see-, seems like it's, it's a kind of a Catch Twenty-two. I mean, it's, it's the, um, my understanding is what they're try-, what, what supposedly they're trying to do by reducing taxes is to kind of jump start the economy, the idea being that if people have to pay less money in taxes, they'll have more money to spend, uh, and if they have more money to spend, then that will be a spur to productivity, particularly commercial productivity, uh, which in turn will generate revenue. But it, it seems like, like, uh, it's sort of a, uh, a sp-, an unending spiral, and it, it, it, uh, I'm, I'm not sure that there's any real genuine truth to the, uh, the idea that, that, uh, that decreasing taxes, particularly the kinds that are being recommended bye-bye the Bush administration and things like capital gains taxes and so forth is going to, uh, result in substantial amounts of money, you know, for consumers to spend. And, uh,
[speaker002:] Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about paying on the quest, the long term quests that tax cuts are worth at this point. It's probably a judgment of how bad the recession is.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it, uh, it would seem to me that there are other things that the administration could do.
[speaker002:] Well, well, first of all you look to the Fed to fight the recession
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] as indeed it has, with interest rates.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. I think that's been a positive development. I think what that's done is it's, it's, it's help keep inflation from, um, uh,
[speaker002:] Well, at the moment we're doing very well on inflation.
[speaker001:] Yeah, exactly.
[speaker002:] That's the sort of upside to the deficit.
[speaker001:] It's a sort of a piece of luck.
[speaker002:] That's the upside to the recession.
[speaker001:] Yeah, um. I don't know, what kind of things do you think can be done in, in, uh, in the long term?
[speaker002:] Well, can be done or will be done are two different things. Um, at various places to look for, for cutting the budget, first of all I consider more defense cuts than are already planned
[speaker001:] Sure.
[speaker002:] depending on the world situation. But there are various other areas such as, as farm subsidies that ought to be slashed. Uh, a lot of entitlement programs, like education aid, I think, uh, they should put a, in the Reagan administration took all such entitlements to the poor
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but left them for the middle class, uh, in the longer term, uh, we, we, we'd do well, I think to make, to make, uh, reductions there. Also somewhat is to collect owed to the government from various loan programs that people have borrowed.
[speaker001:] Right. I think that, I think that, that I agree with you certainly in the second situation, and I think certain entitlements I, I'm inclined to agree with you, too. Education happens to be one place where I think that we would foolish to um, uh,
[speaker002:] A lot of education aid has gone to so-called trade schools
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] which are sort of not colleges but schools that teach you trades, you know, beautician
[speaker001:] Oh, I see, I see what you're saying.
[speaker002:] well, and often exists only because of the federal programs that they can take people and tell them they can get loans for their full tuition, uh, and the school gets paid off immediately, uh
[speaker001:] And then they
[speaker002:] and then they don't provide very much education.
[speaker001:] and then the people default
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] on the loans. Well, I would have to agree with you if there are circumstances like that, uh, around, uh, and I, I, I can't confess to having any substantial knowledge of that sort of thing, but, but taking what you're saying at face value, then I would have to agree with completely.
[speaker002:] Yeah.