Dem senator floats compromise on tax cuts

[Enrique]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/08/05/dems-mull-year-extension-bush-tax-cuts/

Senate Democrats are considering extending the Bush tax cuts for high-income families by one year, potentially avoiding raising taxes on wealthy Americans amid the fragile economic recovery.

A spokesperson for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told FOX Business’s Rich Edson that Democrats are mulling extending the tax cuts on families making more than $250,000. Democrats haven’t made any decisions on the matter and plan to continue to discuss it until it’s brought up in the Senate in September, the spokesperson said.

“There’s still a question” over what will happen to those families earnings more than $250,000 a year, the spokesperson said.

The Obama Administration says it’s sticking to its plan. “We believe the best way to do that is by allowing the tax rate for the top 2 percent to go back to levels seen at the end of the 1990s, a time of remarkable growth and economic strength,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

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[no_hypocrisy]

1. Unacceptable. If the republicans get the majority in either House post-November,

that's the end of the end of the tax cuts. They will be indefinite.

[Enrique]

2. it's possible

I don't see Obama vetoing any tax cuts.

[sandnsea]

6. And if this stops it?

Is it worth it to put the tax issue off for a year to take it out of the election cycle?

[no_hypocrisy]

7. It's a gamble.

Could just as easily end up with both extended tax cuts AND republican majorities.

[sandnsea]

10. We aren't going to get any republican majorities

That is such crap. But if putting this off helps us get 60 back in the Senate, then it's a good gamble.

If we can get small business loans, a new mortgage program, a jobs bill, without having to go to this well, wow that is double plus good because then we still have the tax cuts for later spending battles.

The so-called "liberals" on this board are way too black and white about everything.

[Vincardog]

3. How about this compromise? We let Bush the Lesser's tax cuts expire NOW and we pass a bill to end

RayGun's tax cuts for the top 2% next year?

[global1]

4. They Are Caving Again To Repug Pressure.......

they better not cave on this. This would be the last straw if they did.

[sandnsea]

5. Did you look at the Missouri election?

Do you see what is going on in some of these swing states? I don't even like Robin Carnahan, but I'd rather have her than Senator Roy Blunt. Put this off for a year and keep the Senate? Good enough, and it's not about Repug Pressure, it's about these dumbass red state "Democrats".

[TheKentuckian]

13. The thing is you can only be sure of one side of your imagined bargain

Being too cute by half could not just possibly but even plausibly could end up with the tax cuts in effect and Republican control.

Further, there is no evidence that allowing the tax cuts to expire would have any significant cost politically or that extending them would pay any dividends.

Is there some case for this other than another chance to knuckle under at a fairly high cost?

This tax rate sucks for revenue and certainly appears to be a net negative to the broad economy.

Of course, I favor nixing the entire item and redirecting the what 2.5 trillion or so over the next ten years into direct investment into the this crumbling and quickly sliding behind country and as a result into our people.

The last thing we should be considering is finding some way to funnel another nearly a 100 billion (if all goes as planed) to the wealthiest 2% in some hair brained plan to maintain power by placating some unknown segment of the population that will burn down the house this year but will be more accepting in twelve months or some such thing.

[Jefferson23]

8. Fucking bullshit. n/t

[EC]

9. This is one Obama should stand at

and veto if sent to him any other way...

[derby378]

11. No freakin' way

Time for the rich to cough up their share instead of enjoying a free ride on the backs of the working class.

[bigdarryl]

12. If these no back bone democrats do this I predict a 50 seat lost in November

with people out of work there going to compromise on 2% of the wealthiest people in this country to continue to get wealthy.

[denimgirly]

14. Nice to see the WH (and Time Geitner of all people) finally fighting for the people...

I really was expecting Obama and the WH to stay quiet and look to extending the tax cuts....big surprise to me. Let's hope the democrats dont buckle again and we end up extending these useless cuts.

[jefferson_dem]

15. We need to bust this bogus trial balloon pronto. No compromise on this issue.

Period. Obama campaigned on letting those tax cuts expire and it looks like they are sticking with that. Besides, it's a winner at the polls.

[craigmatic]

16. Fuck a compromise we got a surplus before those damn tax cuts. Let them die and don't worry about

what repubs say either way they're try to brand the administration as tax and spend. all a compromise will do is embolden them to ask for more and they'll still not be satisfied.

[Cosmocat]

17. Why, for christs sakes, put it off?

Like, they aren't going to scream like stuck pigs next year?

If the economy is still stuck, they will scream you can't have it because it will be bad ...
If the economy is rebounding, they will scream you can't have it because it is working, a recovery is not time to tax them there rich people ...

There will be a reason they scream about it, regardless ...

Do it now, when it is THEIR cuts expiring ... You extend them, they become YOUR tax cuts expiring ...

It is simply the right god darned thing to do ... It has fed up the federal budget, and to not think THAT isn't part of the wingers plan here, to continue to have the income cripple to scream about the size of the deficit ... AND, it HURTS the economy ... Let the rates go up to "incentivize" them to do something other than invest it into speculative markets - maybe they actually put into businesses to write off the expenses ...