Remember, Reid will make sure the lowest bracket tax cut (from 15% to 10%) remains in place. But the AMT fix is unlikely to be renewed, and they will not only let the other tax cuts expire, they will let bracket creep come into play.
But the first hammer to fall is going to be health insurance open enrollment this fall. Everybody's rates will have to go up to support the costs of the early requirements of Obamacare, to include the elimination of pre-existing conditions and the mandate to cover 26-year old infants still living with their parents.
Some of these costs will be passed on to the employee, which, along with the tax changes, means the middle class will get hammered.
The effect on take-home pay will likely be similar to that of a variable mortgage reset. We may see a second wave of financial problems strike the middle class as 10% of their take home pay disappears due to tax increases and health insurance cost increases.
And the health insurance rate increase will be misrepresented.
It will described as a greedy move by evil health insurance companies to make obscene profits while they can.
It will used as an example as to why we need to accelerate Obamacare - and they will promise that rates will decrease when that happens. And then they won’t of course.
And stupid people everywhere will believe it.