Dems to Extend Bush's Middle Class Tax Cuts

Dems to Extend Bush's Middle Class Tax Cuts

Posted by Jay Newton-Small Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 8:24 am

Just when you thought Congress was spent -- literally -- and done for the year they'll turn around and surprise you. No money left to do anything? United Republican opposition? Democrats are planning to take on the great white whale of spending: extending President Bush's middle class tax cuts. The cost is estimated from $1.6 trillion to extend them to as much as $2.7 trillion to make them permanent. According to Senate Democratic sources, the latter is what they're going to go for -- and they're planning to do it before the midterm elections.

As I write in a time.com story this morning, Dems are hoping to box the GOP in with this move. Republicans have balked at renewing Bush's tax cuts unless those for the wealthiest are included. The questions are: will Republicans protest at a) such huge amounts of deficit spending, and/or b) extending the middle class cuts without those for the top two tiers?

Republicans argue that letting the top cuts lapse will hurt small businesses -- the engine of job growth -- at exactly the wrong time. Dems argue back that very few small businesses make more than $200,000 a year. But having this fight is exactly what Democrats want as they try to paint Republicans as defending the rich at the expense of the little guy ahead of the elections and, having been stymied in passing additional stimulus all year, Dems believe that the move is necessary to prevent a double dip recession.



Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/07/21/dems-to-extend-bushs-middle-class-tax-cuts/#ixzz0uKF8vuwh

Not as good as single payer would have been to small businesses (or genuine financial reform) but still good for stimulating business on main street.

The wealth in this economy has been hoovered up into the top brackets, this will start to reverse that massive transfer.

edit for clarity

That $68 billion a year could go a long way toward paying for the cost of providing healthcare to millions of working families--low and middle income alike.

(The actual percentage of small businesses that would be affected by rolling back the tax rate on the top 2% would be about 1.9%)

Why the hell would the Ds want to reinstitute any part of the Bush economic diseaster?!

Did you even really read the OP?

I pay enough as it is. I'm middle class. Keep your fucking hands off my taxes. They are good where they are. Put the burden on the wealthy.

Also, my hands have nothing to do with it. It would be the lawful authority of Congress pursuant to the 16th Amendment.

I'm glad you are doing well, especially in this economy. I hope you continue to do well. Middle class Americans like us certainly are not rich by modern standards, but compared to most of the people in this world we are rich.

My own feeling is that wars are expensive. You didn't approve of them and neither did I. Nevertheless, the bill has been due for awhile. Same with corporate subsidies. I'm against them and my guess is you are too. Schools are expensive too. By cutting them we have eaten our seed corn. Roads, evironmental and labor regulations, healthcare for the poor etc. etc. are all expensive.

I'm all for complete exemptions for the working poor. I'd love to have a big capital gains, upper income and estate tax hike. But this is the only thing that will happen automatically.

I also seriously doubt that consumables that most people will buy with the Bush tax cuts will do anything for the economy. What that needs is massive government spending.

The GOP is going to paint this as the largest tax increase in history if Dem's do not reinstate the tax cuts. Chris was amazed that the GOP would hit on this issue for the November races. Let 'em. Let everyone see just how low these people are. That should get the people on unemployment up in arms and vote GOP - tax cuts for the rich!

There are so many other things they can attack the repugs on without a 1.6 trillion price tag. I worry that with the state of the finances, and with the appearance of them getting worse, it will allow the repugs to win back power sooner rather than later.

I would be happy with no more tax breaks. They do not work.

you and some others are apparently concerned about making the tax code more progressive?

This is one of the major Democratic 2008 campaign planks coming to fruition.

The deficit will be addressed once we are clearly adding jobs, right now there is weak consumer demand because the middle class/lower class has no money to spend.

The rich and middle class will not spend much money in this current climate. They will more than likely save it.

It is the poor who would spend it, more in necessity than choice. Tax cuts will do nothing for them as they pay little tax as it is.

I agree with your last sentence, but this is such a waste to add to the debt. Imagine using that 1.6 billion to create jobs, akin to the stimulus bill, though without the tax cuts.

you follow Krugman's blog and lets see what he an other economists have to say.

Tax cutting got us where we are today

not the economy, which was brought to its current state by deregulation.

There are those who argue that deficits don't matter in a time of economic crisis. We know cutting taxes on the wealthy isn't stimulative, but what about tax cuts for the middle class based on this chart:

Clinton cut taxes on the lower classes and 90% of small businesses while raising them on the top 2%, which brought predictions of doom from the right.

...continuing the tax cuts for the lower classes while letting the cuts for the top 2% expire, resulting in their taxes going up.

That letting tax cuts expire is a tax hike.

If the rich have spent nearly a decade paying X% for their taxes and then a tax decrease expires, X% becomes larger, and thus they are now paying more for their taxes then they were for the past decade. Any normal person would feel like thats a tax increase. That isn't a "talking point". Its MATH.

We shouldn't pretend like it isn't a tax increase on the rich. Instead we should whole heartedly defend the notion that rich should pay more.

Let's see $2.7 trillion for 99 percent of Americans vs. $678 billion for one percent of Americans, hmmm? That's roughly a $900 average per year for each person in the former category vs. $22,000 for those in the latter.

Do it, put the Republicans on the spot and let them vote their interests.

rich before it is over with. This is no time to be lowering taxes on anyone with a 13 trillion dollar debt.

tax cuts for the wealthy to expire.

decade where all the expenses have increased but people's incomes have either stagnated or decreased for everyone EXCEPT the wealthy.

Sounds like right winger bullshit to me.

Quit making up shit.

Do you even read the articles before you start hooking off on Obama.

Jesus.

I hope they call out the hypocrisy of whoever is doing this. When I get more details I'm going to make some noise to my reps.

Well, deficit hawks will be against it because it isn't paid for.

Still, why not let it come to a vote? Republicans will certainly vote against it.

we can't freaking AFFORD this.

So you agree with the President's deficit reduction plan?

I believe it is a spending reduction plan. I don't believe tax increases will be on the table.

We need to increase taxes and increase spending.

if you know how to do it. Right wingers want a massive military, which eats up about 1/3 of the budget, but they don't want to pay for it.


How many more "advanced" bombs do we need?

all the Bush tax cuts expire. The debt just has to be reduced it is going to kill this country, we need to both raise taxes and cut spending. If you want to keep either tax cut in place pay for it. We just can't keep going like this blaming Bush for running up the debt while continuing to run it up ourselves. Eventually we are going to get hit with inflation like we had in late 70's, that was worse than any tax. The price of a car doubled from 1973 to 1977.

Extend middle class tax relief while allowing it to be raised on the top 2%. This is progressive. Did you even really read the OP?

That makes sense.

And the same people are criticizing Vilsack for overreacting to an uncontexted video, yet they can't even do their own due diligence to read a fucking post on an internet message board before running their mouths.

Economics is not well covered in High School and many avoid it in College. Sometimes it is difficult to "refudiate" the obvious. Before anyone votes for a GOP candidate they should take a course in remedial Economics. Unfortunately they would also have to read the text with comprehension.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/26062.html

Who would this hurt if allowed to expire?

•The 10% tax bracket will expire, reverting to 15%
•The child tax credit will fall from $1,000 to $500

extending the middle class tax cuts is unequivocally a good thing.