" Lets NOT Make A DEAL " With " Republican TAX CUT BLACKMAILERS "

[Segami]

:smoke:



"...Back in 2001, former President George W. Bush pulled a fast one. He wanted to enact an irresponsible tax cut, largely for the benefit of the wealthiest Americans. But there were Senate rules in place designed to prevent that kind of irresponsibility. So Mr. Bush evaded the rules by making the tax cut temporary, with the whole thing scheduled to expire on the last day of 2010.


The plan, of course, was to come back later and make the thing permanent, never mind the impact on the deficit. But that never happened. And so here we are, with 2010 almost over and nothing resolved.


Democrats have tried to push a compromise: let tax cuts for the wealthy expire, but extend tax cuts for the middle class. Republicans, however, are having none of it. They have been filibustering Democratic attempts to separate tax cuts that mainly benefit a tiny group of wealthy Americans from those that mainly help the middle class. It’s all or nothing, they say: all the Bush tax cuts must be extended. What should Democrats do?


The answer is that they should just say no. If G.O.P. intransigence means that taxes rise at the end of this month, so be it.


Think about the logic of the situation.


Right now, the Republicans see themselves as successful blackmailers, holding a clear upper hand. President Obama, they believe, wouldn’t dare preside over a broad tax increase while the economy is depressed. And they therefore believe that he will give in to their demands.


But while raising taxes when unemployment is high is a bad thing, there are worse things. And a cold, hard look at the consequences of giving in to the G.O.P. now suggests that saying no, and letting the Bush tax cuts expire on schedule, is the lesser of two evils.


Bear in mind that Republicans want to make those tax cuts permanent. They might agree to a two- or three-year extension — but only because they believe that this would set up the conditions for a permanent extension later. And they may well be right: if tax-cut blackmail works now, why shouldn’t it work again later?


America, however, cannot afford to make those cuts permanent. We’re talking about almost $4 trillion in lost revenue just over the next decade; over the next 75 years, the revenue loss would be more than three times the entire projected Social Security shortfall. So giving in to Republican demands would mean risking a major fiscal crisis — a crisis that could be resolved only by making savage cuts in federal spending.


cont'

<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/opinion/06krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>


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[Frustratedlady]

1. Let them expire.

If they repeal the healthcare bill, stop taxpayer subsidies to Congress for their health insurance.

It's called tough love...feel our pain...stop your bawling or I'll give you something to bawl about. If they are going to throw tantrums, treat them like the spoiled brats they are.

I've had it!

[Segami]

4. Such an approach is called ' leadership & smart governing ' . Something they've failed to comprehend

[Poboy]

2. recommend.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Too late. This info should have been yelled from rooftops by the Dems BEFORE the midterms...

[Poboy]

5. You're right. It was, we did...and they are going to do it anyway.

traitors and sellouts, or coconspirators. Corporate pieces of shit!

[BrklynLiberal]

7. No onein THIS administration uttered anything about these consequences...

Only the far-left "extremists" had anything to say about this...and they were marginalized by the administration as well as most of the media. Two that come to mind..Feingold and Grayson...lost their seats, in no small part due to a total lack of commitment by the White House

[Segami]

11. If the Dems follow through with extending the BUSH Tax Cuts for the top 2% rich earners,

support for them will dwindle in 2012.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. and Medicare, SS, and anything else the repukes don't like will also be cut..in the name of

that same deficit that these tax cuts will make larger.....
I would be willing to bet that the the repukes will do whatever they can to ensure these cuts are permanent, unlike the unemployment insurance, which they will end as soon as they can.

So TRILLIONS of possible tax dollars are being given away in order to get several hundred million dollars in unemployment extensions...
so exactly who is it that is being a "fiscal conservative"????

That makes "penny wise and pound foolish" look like a brilliant scheme by comparison.

AND THE KICKER: The public is not even supportive of tax extensions for the uber wealthy...so exactly who is this administration listening to?? It sure as hell is not the people who voted them into office...but that appears to have been the policy since
January 21, 2009

[Hannah Bell]

6. kr

[KharmaTrain]

8. Here's Your Shit Sandwich...

Take your pick....

Either no deal and the tax "cuts" expire...the GOTB immediately takes to the airwaves screaming about how "Obama raised your taxes" ad hominem for the next two years. No deal to help those on unemployment...meaning not only 2 million will be cut loose on January 1 but thousands of more every month thereafter.

Or...they strike a deal to extend the current rates another two years (so the GOTB can use it as a punching bag in '12) and there's an extension on unemployment benefits. Maybe 6 months at the most, but that's better than nothing.

So take your pick. Bon appetite...

[malaise]

9. Let them expire

The truth is that this should have been the first act of the Obama administration.

[DrDan]

10. too late - done deal

[budkin]

12. GOP wins again... this thing will continue to be extended for years with the same blackmail

[Segami]

15. And for years, the deficit will balloon even deeper on the backs of the ' poor & middle class '.

[JustAnotherGen]

13. I wouldn't want to be

President Obama in 2012 - when unemployment has not gone down AND the deficit has continued to rise.


All we heard from the Teaps this last election were:
We need jobs.
The deficit is too hight.


Once again - theu do a better job of positioning, messaging, and beating the public up with their 'brilliant' ideas - so we lose.

I think this President, current Democratic House and Senate members need to say - the other side lies. So which lie do we want them to tell? The lie that we raised taxes or the lie that we've done nothing to create jobs and lower the deficit?

[BonnieJW]

14. The bad news is

if a another Dem gets the nod in 2010, the pukes will take the White House. Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be the next retiree on the SCOTUS. Do any of us want a puke appointing another Scalia or Alito to the SC? Right now, that is the ONLY reason for re-electing BO. I have had it with him and all the sad-ass dems.

[JustAnotherGen]

16. Amen

And I think he's done a pretty good job of SC appointments thus far. :wink:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

17. K&R

[Poboy]

19. .

[hankthecrank]

20. let them expire

The tax cuts are in effect now and have not helped.

I'm also getting tired of repugs thinking they are the only ones who know anything about small business. Dem's need to stop letting them get away with making statements where they are giving us a lecture on how things work.