Tax breaks for the rich...

[4nic8em]

We all know that the single most important policy of the Republicans is tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts for the rich. Their ultimate Golden Grail is making these tax cuts forever permanent. Almost as important, is to ensure that President Obama does not serve a second term.

As I understand it, the (inflated) tax cuts were extended for the super rich for two years along with the extension of unemployment compensation for one year. President Obama has stated he did not agree with the tax cuts for the super wealthy but made this deal to preserve the middle class tax cuts and provide relief for the unemployed and the working poor.

Some repubs are now saying this is the trap that will ensnare the President regarding the current rate of high unemployment. If the economy continues to slowly improve (i.e. unemployment rate drops) the repubs will vigorously claim the reason for the improvement is due to the “trickle down” and “job creation” effect from the rich having more money, NOT from any of the stimulus program(s) from the President’s recovery agenda/platform, this would be their justification once again, requiring the absolute need to extend or make the rich tax cuts permanent.
On the other hand, if there is no significant improvement to the economy, the repubs will likewise vigorously claim it is due to the failed recovery policies of the President.

I would hope the President’s response would be contrary by declaring that if the economy is factually recovering, the need to reduce the deficit would require the “tax cuts for the rich” to sunset with no reason to once again extend or make permanent. Likewise, if the economy/unemployment does not substantially improve over the next year or so, the tax cuts for the super rich were a tremendous waste of potential tax revenue that once again should sunset and that tax revenue be applied to help pay down the nation’s debt.

Could this be (at least part) of the reason why President Obama agreed to the extension of unemployment benefits for 1 year versus the wealthy tax breaks for 2 years?

[gmoney]

1. You're attempting to be rational about this.

There's no winning this argument with Republicans. Yes, it's a catch-22 for Obama. If the economy recovers, pukes will say it was the tax cuts, so they should be extended. If the economy tanks, pukes will say it was because there was UNCERTAINTY due to the tax cuts only being for 2 yeas, so they should be made permanent.

Of course, you can't argue that the crap economy and growing deficits during the Bush years were due to the irresponsible tax cuts and outsourcing of the middle class. They can time the collapse to the point where it seemed LIKELY that Obama would be elected, so therefore the markets collapsed due to pending socialism and "the largest tax increase in history."

The only way to win is to not play.

[4nic8em]

2. Thank you for the response...

Perhaps not from the lips of the President...but is there no way/no one/no how to preempt what you describe as the "Catch-22"? I agree it is probably as productive as "pissin in the fan", just seems there should be some way to counter this established repuke choreography, some way to skew this canned response from the robber barons...in advance?

[patrice]

5. Thanks for your analysis above and for asking this question here.

I think it is a very useful thing to ask these kinds of questions and to try to figure out, at least for ourselves, what to do.

I will think about it some more but just off the top of my head, I think it is a good idea to work to explain the situation just as you have done here to as many people as possible. We need to become the media and get the right information out there and help others understand what is going on.

There are a variety of ways to do that, but the one I would like to suggest here is by means of the internet. Any and all forums, such as this one, is a starting point. Comment sections on related articles and blogs and, of course, Facebook. Posting informative links as status updates in your own account and adding comment allows your friends and family to read and comment too. And then there's things such as The White House's FB page and your state level Democratic party FB page and all kinds of political action FB pages, which once you accept them as FB friends you will receive their status updates in which there are often long discussion threads with commenters from all over the country or your state.

I did a lot of FB stuff in the last election cycle and one nice thing about it is that people click Like when they like what you have said. Sometimes people will debate or argue with you in FB comment threads. That's useful too. Even just one person doing this sort of stuff consistently makes things different for others. The more people we can get to do this sort of thing the better.

[avaistheone1]

4. You stole my thoughts on this one.

I do agree.

[Orangepeel]

3. most people don't care why the economy is how it is

Last November, most people voted against the party in power, even though it was republican policies that tanked the economy. Most people don't care enough about politics to intellectualize it and just vote emotionally. If the economy feels like it is better in 2012, Obama will have an easy reelection. If not, he won't.

[Sherman A1]

6. Precisely

the 2010 election was a "throw the bums out" vote and not much more. Certainly there were nuances of this and that, but overall, it was a "we are pissed and the Democrats did not run a very effective campaign election".

They could have had the successes that we have seen in the last 2 weeks to run upon, but they left these issues to the last minute hoping they could deal with them later.

Granted the tax bill was pretty bad (IMO), but they still got something passed and it's not like we didn't know they were to expire.

[ladjf]

7. When lawmakers create laws that cut taxes for the rich when they

are already at historic lows are criminals and they know it. In one way or another,they are on the take.

The most dangerous problem facing life on Earth is the unlawful shifting of wealth to the rich at everyone else's expense. Either that problem is eliminated or life on Earth is destined to an early demise.