I agree 100% on the tax problems in this bill. That said, if the economy still stinks this doesn’t help Obama one bit. The tax cuts do expire at the end of 2012, but a new congress and president can put them right back into place during the month of January when we win. If Obama gets reelection, yes, the taxes are going up, but everyone on both sides are on record that taxes going up in a recession are bad...and unless we see substantial growth in the next 15 months, the economy and jobs will still be poor...the looming tax hikes are going to further hold the economy down. In the ivy league towers this may seem like a great plan, but like everything else in liberalism, the reality is a suppressed economy. Business now has a new 60 pound weight on their shoulders because their fiscal year 2012 and 2013 budgets are now weighted down. The lack of spending cuts, deficit reduction, and any progress on debt control are going to further impact an already ailing economy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I would vote this bill down in a second because it is a piece of garbage, but I don’t think it is much of a help to Obama’s reelection nor going to help improve the economy to benefit their party. I am sorely sickened by the inclusion of this idiotic super committee and the ramifications may be very bad for our country. That said, I don’t think this does a damn thing to help the Democrats in 2012....assuming our side doesn’t screw it up.
Here's what I expect to hear:
We were on the right path. The economy was getting better in the summer of 2012 -- "everybody agreed on that".
Then the Republican extremists threatened to push us into default.
Through adroit leadership, Obama was able to reach a compromise with some really unreasonable people.
Unfortunately, the compromise pushed the country off the right path, and moved us in a bad direction.
Which is why the economy of 2012 is so terrible.
So re-elect Baraqck Obama so he can undo the damage done by the Republicans.
It’s hard for me to believe that Obama would let the Bush tax cuts expire simply because the Bush tax cuts created a MORE progressive tax system than was in effect under the Clinton taxes. Yes, everyone got a tax break. BUT the biggest tax breaks (in terms of percentages) occurred for those at the bottom — that’s why we have about half the country paying nothing and a good portion of those even receive transfer payments under the “Earned Income Tax Credit,” i.e., they actually have a negative tax.
The Earned Income Tax Credit program was in effect before the Bush tax cut but I believe it was increased pretty heftily under the Bush tax cuts.
I think this is why Obama always just wanted to raise taxes on the so-called “rich” but caved when it came to letting the Bush tax cuts expire. He was unwilling to let the Bush tax cuts expire because it clearly would have been a tax increase on those he’d absolutely promised wouldn’t have their taxes increased. He doesn’t have the ability to veto a portion of a bill, so either all the tax cuts expire or he has to accept or reject the totality of a bill that would revise the taxes.