Problem Solved

This afternoon, out of sheer boredom, I did a Google search: mitt romney economic recovery plan. I got a link to his campaign website, and lifted his four-step program. Here's the condensed version (most boilerplate deleted):

• Stop runaway federal spending and debt... reduce federal spending as a share of GDP to 20 percent by 2016

• Reform the tax code... reduce individual marginal income tax rates across the board by 20 percent while keeping current rates on dividends and capital gains... reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent... broaden the tax base to ensure that tax reform is revenue-neutral

• Reform entitlement programs... reduce growth in Social Security and Medicare benefits for more affluent seniors... more choice in Medicare programs and benefits... block grant the Medicaid program to states

• Make growth and cost-benefit analysis important features of regulation... remove regulatory impediments to energy production and innovation... repealing and replacing Dodd–Frank legislation and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act... better financial regulation and market-oriented, patient-centered health-care reform

As a rule, Republicans have the same solutions to every problem that doesn't involve God, guns, gays, and abortion. Their solutions are (a) tax cuts, (b) cuts in federal spending other than defense, (c) massive deregulation, and (d) privatization of government services. This has been the GOP's four-step program for at least as long as I've been keeping track, and probably for much longer. Mitt seems to have included all four to one degree or another.

The way he's been carrying on, I thought he had some radical new innovations that would expedite the process of getting the economy in top-notch shape. Maybe he does, but he's saving them for a special surprise.