Free Republic

-Anyone who follows politics will recall the hue and cry that greeted President Bush’s 2005 proposal to allow workers to save a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes in personal accounts. But even many who follow politics today could be forgiven for failing to realize that the incoming Barack Obama administration is, in its stimulus proposal, suggesting something far more radical for Social Security.-

The Obama economic proposal includes $500 tax cuts for many workers and $1,000 for couples, as well as more than $100 billion for businesses, an Obama transition official told the Associated Press. The proposed tax cuts, which would make up about 40 percent of the economic stimulus package, may make it easier to attract Republican support for an economic-stimulus package, as many Republicans have said that economic initiatives should rely more heavily on tax cuts rather than spending, according to the Wall Street Journal.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama, commencing face to face consultations with congressional leaders Monday, is embracing an unexpectedly large tax cut of up to $300 billion. Obama said the country faces an "extraordinary economic challenge." Besides $500 tax cuts for most workers and $1,000 for couples, the Obama proposal includes more than $100 billion for businesses, an Obama transition official said. The total value of the tax cuts would be significantly higher than had been signaled earlier.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer about $300 billion in tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs. The size of the proposed tax cuts -- which would account for about 40% of a stimulus package that could reach $775 billion over two years -- is greater than many on both sides of the aisle in Congress had anticipated, and may make it easier to win over Republicans who have stressed that any initiative should rely relatively...

President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer as much as $310 billion of tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs. The size of the proposed tax cuts -- which would account for about 40% of a stimulus package that could reach $775 billion over two years -- is greater than many on both sides of the aisle in Congress had anticipated, and may make it easier to win over Republicans who have stressed that any initiative should rely relatively...

President-elect Barack Obama put out the word this past weekend that his economic stimulus package would include "immediate" tax relief for middle-class families. That's the best part of his stimulus plan so far. Obama has been copying from FDR's playbook so fast it appeared as if he would never look up and see that the 1930s ended 69 years ago. His plan to boost the economy with massive federal spending on infrastructure is, at best, optimistic. At worst, it's a blind squandering of billions of dollars on a new monument to an old and disproven economic theory. But tax cuts?...

Advisors David Axelrod and Lawrence Summers also make the case for a new stimulus package that could exceed $775 billion and that would include a portion of a middle-class tax cut. Reporting from Washington -- President-elect Barack Obama's top advisors said Sunday that they wouldn't back away from a promise to cut taxes on the middle class and raise them for the wealthiest Americans, as they made the case for a massive new stimulus package geared toward reviving the slumping economy.