Posted on 12/20/2012 9:38:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Taxes are set to go up by $4.6 trillion on January 1st. That is the law of the land. Yesterday, the official tax scorekeeper of Congress, the Joint Committee on Taxation, released their analysis of Speaker John Boehner’s, R-Ohio, Plan B. According to the JTC, Plan B would cut taxes by $4.1 trillion over ten years.
It should come as no surprise that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whose entire political career has been devoted to enlarging the size and scope of the federal government, is whipping hard against Plan B. “I haven’t seen her work a vote this hard since health care” in 2010, one top Democratic aide told Politico. Pelosi is expected to get every member of her Democratic Caucus to vote against the bill.
To address Republican concerns that Plan B does not undo the scheduled $500 billion cuts to Defense spending, Boehner has also scheduled a vote on a bill from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Ryan’s bill not only replaces the Defense spending cuts with other cuts to domestic spending, but also shrinks government even more. “This bill replaces the sequester for one year with responsible spending cuts, that protect our national security, and provides an additional $200 billion in savings over ten years, Majority Whip Eric Cantor spokesman Rory Cooper told Politico. “This is yet another step House Republicans have taken this year to address the real fiscal problem in Washington, which is spending.”
So not only does Plan B cut taxes by $4.1 trillion, but it also now preserves the $1.2 trillion in cuts Republicans fought for last year. And it cuts another $200 billion in spending. “The speaker’s plan is the best we are going to do and I think people recognize that,” Rep. Bob Turner, R-N.Y., told National Review.
If the House passes Plan B, Senate Democrats will then be forced to either amend the bill, thus putting what were previously back room negotiations out into the open, or they will have to own the $4.6 trillion tax hike on the American people. If Plan B fails, then House Republicans will own the tax hike. Why would any conservative want that?
One thing has become clear to me in the past few months. One of the reasons that Democrats and Liberals are doing so well in advancing their agendas is this: Even in their lunacy, they are united.
During the Presidential campaign you could choose any major network, including FOX, and the main theme was always the same, criticizing Republicans. Even Republican pundits spent their air time pontificating about what the GOP was doing wrong and very little if any of it praising and encouraging them to hold forth on their basic principles.
Nothing has changed. Loopy Liberals devote their efforts almost entirely to the protection and promotion of their figurehead and his Communist/Marxist agenda.
I don’t have any illusions that the GOP will survive this Socialist leaning population. But I would at least like to see the historical record reflect that they held to their principles right to the end. It looks as if they’re going to breathe their last in a food fight of their own. We got to this sorry state by “compromising” with bad actors. Since the retreat has already been made by offering tax increases on the rich; why not stand together, pass a bill, send it to the Senate and go home. Republicans could offer Obama everything he has asked and he would push for even more at the last second. Stop pretending we’re dealing with a rational human being.
It isn’t a tax cut. These are tax rates we’ve had in place for 11-years. They’re no longer the “Bush Tax Cuts” ... they’re just “current tax rates”. Avoiding a $4.6 trillion tax hike with a $4.1 trillion “tax cut” is a 500 billion dollar tax hike.
I don’t see why they ever needed an expiration date.
SnakeDoc
The had to have an expiration date because Bush could only get them through reconciliation which required them to be temporary.
The senate has already passed a tax bill keeping cut for under 250k. Why would Reid vote on a bill that is worse for his side? That is silly. Of course it will not get to a vote. Hell not sure Boehner has the votes yet in the house.
Whip count me 60 senate vote regardless. Again stupid Kabuki that will not help our side. Once again on top of all that it is a bad bill.
A failure of leadership.
SnakeDoc
And we had a deal for about 10-1 spending vs revenue that we turned down last year betting on a Romney win. Now lucky to get 1-1.
We bet on Romney. Let that sink in.
Without a vision the people perish.
It doesn’t take a genius to see at this point that the Republicans have no vision whatsoever.
The Bush tax cuts got us huge growth. Don't think that was failure.
Reid will bring his numbers up from 250K especially since Obama proposed 400K.
yep aanything “over 10 years” is a lie. They have absolutely no control over what the next session of Congress does
Yes, really. A better leader doesn’t set an expiration date for a good idea. He set the table for us to re-fight the same war on weaker footing.
SnakeDoc
Think he could have gotten enough Dems on board? Laughable.
Its been done before. I don’t remember expiration dates on any prior tax cuts. Certainly not on any tax hikes.
SnakeDoc
Of course. When we've had larger majorities or more Democrats agreeing to it.
You have to look at congressional makeup. If you don't have enough support you must go with reconciliation.
Or no tax cut at all.
Dude, a lot more to the bills than just the tax code. Not sure why you think it will get a vote in the senate when Reid said no and Obama said veto. No reconciliation the Dems are not going to put it up. End of story. Also to have a conference would take amendments. Let me say it again NOT going to happen.
But, to be fair, there was an excise tax on the Vietnam war that was ended. I suppose I'm one of the few old enough on FR to have actually paid that.
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