Bucking the leadership

Yesterday, as expected, the U.S. House passed Majority Leader Cantor’s bill that would cut a small business owner’s tax on profits by 20% for 2012 only.  The bill’s intent, according to the supporters, is to spur job creation.  In my blog on Wednesday I explained why this would be a $46 billion debt-increasing failure in promoting hiring.

While the legislation passed mostly along party lines, Ten GOP House members did buck their leadership.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) argued that the bill would not “promote economic growth because it does little to reward new productivity at the margin.”  “At best it produces a one-year ‘sugar-high’ until the bills come due,” he said on the House floor.

And South Carolina Representative Mick Mulvaney also voted against this bill.  Lately Mr. Mulvaney has had considerable publicity in expressing his dissatisfaction with his GOP House leadership over financial issues using words like “embarrassment” and “disingenuous”.    

On this vote, Mr. Mulvaney got it right.