Dec 08 2010
We Got The Tax Cuts, Now Trim Back Government To Bare Essentials
Update: Of course some ideological fool on the right is prepared to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
They expect several defections from the right flank of their party. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) have expressed concern about extending the jobless benefits without paying for them. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), as the first Republican to wage this fight earlier this year, could also go against the deal…
I cannot express how much DeMint is an albatross around the GOP’s neck. One dumb move after another. A pure minority in his private echo chamber. We don’t need to drag everything out in endless grandstanding – do we? DeMint’s unique measurement of ‘perfection’ is definitely the evil of any and all progress. Mr. Moth strikes again. – end update
Some on the left are wondering why the GOP was happy to get all forms of tax cuts out of Obama this week:
If you look at the numbers alone, the tax cut deal looks to have robbed Republicans blind. The GOP got around $95 billion in tax cuts for wealthy Americans and $30 billion in estate tax cuts. Democrats got $120 billion in payroll-tax cuts, $40 billion in refundable tax credits (Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and education tax credits), $56 billion in unemployment insurance, and, depending on how you count it, about $180 billion (two-year cost) or $30 billion (10-year cost) in new tax incentives for businesses to invest.
The only item of any issue to fiscal conservatives on this list is the unemployment extension – which is actually not bad. Instead of allowing people to sit on unemployment for three years, this extension allows those with less than 99 weeks of unemployment under their belts to attain 99 weeks. Apparently all the extensions were scheduled to sunset. So if you were just starting your extended unemployment payments you would not see the 99 weeks so many were able to take advantage of. Fair enough.
The deficit for next year is now going to balloon well beyond its current $1.3 trillion, because none of this was paid for. Which will give the new GOP run House plenty of reason to start cutting back on bloated and useless agencies and programs.
So why are liberals mad? The candy jar was taken away, and soon all the things they bought with the candy jar will be taken away as well.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Clarence Funte's 5th, AJ Strata. AJ Strata said: new: We Got The Tax Cuts, Now Trim Back Government To Bare Essentials http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/15581 […]
I do think this is a good bill – watching the Dem’s scream is proof enough of that. But I say that while acknowledging that the economic arguments against just piling more billions on top of the deficit are quite strong. Economics and politics are so linked, now, that I agree that a pure political victory outweighs any long term economic effects. However, Demint and Coburn’s opposition is actually useful; there have to be people screaming about it on both sides for this bill to have any cred as a compromise bill. If only the left cries about it, then pressure would build to start taking things back in the House – this isn’t a done deal yet. If the House starts to change things around, the Senate Republicans may need to join the position that Demint and Coburn have staked out. Right now we’re probably looking at a 75-25 margin in favor in the Senate, so Demint and Coburn’s opposition is purely symbolic. For the moment.
Just this morning, Harry Reid is already talking about walking this deal back, so this thing could be unraveling. Let me point out the GOP’s fallback position – it’s not that bad a thing if everything falls apart and nothing at all is done in this lame duck session. Why not? Because if that happens, the new Republican House simply passes a very similar bill in 4 weeks, retroactive to Jan 1. Of course a new, more conservative Senate would go along and Obama would sign since he already said he would. Almost certainly the deal for the Dems will *Not* be as good as it is now, which is why they are idiots for torpedoing this deal. But I think they easily could.
Bonus points – if the House Dems torpedo this then the short term market panic after that happens will be blamed on them and Obama, not on the GOP. nice! Not that I hope that happens, of course, but it is a measure of how self-destructive the Dem Party is today.
That brings up another reason for Demint and Coburn to stake out a position consistent with their beliefs – if this deal collapses and it goes into the next Congress, then they have established a position ahead of time from which they can negotiate. For them, this is a high payoff, low risk strategy, and for now it helps McConnell because it demonstrates that he’s compromising, too. It also will help him to go for a harder deal in the new Congress if that’s what it comes to.
Remember that at a fundamental level this is all Kabuki Theatre, and everyone has their role to play. For all we know, McConnell is privately encouraging them to play their part to the hilt. If I was him, I would!
So what happens if this all falls apart today? (more and more, I’m thinking that’s what will happen) Then there is no START treaty for Obama, no DADT, no DREAM act, no 2011 appropriations (meaning that the new House gets to do all next years appropriations from scratch, a huge mistake by the Dems) and, hmm, what else – a yes, a HUGE loss in prestige and standing for Obama, who will have watched his entire left wing turn it’s back on him when he finally tried to lead.
If this is how it goes, this truly will be Obama’s Waterloo – we always knew that would only happen when the Left turned all of it’s hatred on him, which they are doing. He will not recover, and I very much doubt he will even bother to run again.
So this is how Obama’s Presidency ends; not with a bang but a whimper.
Quite frankly, I’d rather see the tax rate extension bill be voted on without trade and bribes. My preference is for the bill to stand on its own and that I don’t want any US president to expect something in return. I’m tired of this class warfare, trades, and bribes. These are among several tactics that led us to the enactment of ObamaCare.
Once voted and passed, then work on the UI extension bill and make it stand on its own.
This is probably too ideological and naive of me to expect them to do it at this time but that’s what I would expect of the GOP in the near future.
That said….
I don’t mind extending the UI benefits as long as the government has the money to pay for these benefits.
We still have around two weeks left for then to do one show vote, then rework the tax deal, then vote on it again. If they finally vote and pass this tax rate / UI extension bill during this lame duck session, then OK. That’s temporary.
And if they don’t, then the Dems will be forced to allow the tax rates to expire and the UI extensions to expire as well. Their class warfare ain’t gonna help them in 2012 as they TRY to paint the GOP as the party of the rich. (this GOP had better be prepared to counter-attack the Dems.)
In either scenario, the next step is the GOP House to do something about it. The question is will they take the step or not?
Reid has been already been rendered weak during this lame duck session. Good.
Pelosi did force this with her “crap game” last week.
And I don’t mind the filibusters. Why? Since the Senate Republicans have made a move to block all legislation other than tax rates and the omnibus budget until the tax rates have been extended and the omnibus budget or CR extension through next fall have been passed.
That’s the way I like it. DREAM act will be on the chopping block. DADT will be on the chopping block. And so on.
Good.
And forgot to mention that the Dems have had four to six years to deal with the issue of tax rate expiration of 2010. They did nothing about it and now they’re screaming. Good grief.
Their actions brought themselves to this point and they’re trying to deflect the blame away from themselves.
I have no sympathy with them except for the likes of Bachman, DeMint, and Coburn because they’re doing it for the right reason.
Sanders? No sympathy for his actions.
As for the UI extensions….blame it on the Democrats for their radically left policies.
I don’t have a problem with this deal and that it be passed but I’d rather see Coburn, Bachman, and DeMint filibuster to get the right bill out or let them expire.
And they’re gonna have to deal with the expiration of the Dec 18th CR….yet, they still want to put DREAM on the floor today?????
www, GMTA!
And I’m betting that the constituents at home of Coburn, Bachman, and DeMint are strongly supporting them. Now we should donate something to them. Will they see an increase in donations after their actions? I bet!
“If this is how it goes, this truly will be Obama’s Waterloo – we always knew that would only happen when the Left turned all of it’s hatred on him, which they are doing. He will not recover, and I very much doubt he will even bother to run again.”
He has demonstrated over and over and over that he cannot lead his left base and doesn’t want to deal with the Republicans. Right now, he’s forced to deal with the Republicans.
This IS RIPE time for the GOP to demonstrate to us…no more compromise. no more bribes. no more backroom deals. no more unfunded liabilities.
As an excellent caller on the Rush Limbaugh said recently,(paraphrasing) “We want bills that are SINGLE ISSUE, ie earmarks are not the issue. Tacking on item after item on each bill is THE PROBLEM.”
Couldn’t agree with him more. Harry Reid is going to tack on a gambling bill onto the tax rate extension.
The interesting part, lurker, is if the Democrats had gone ahead and passed a budget, they could have passed the tax bill without the extension for over $250K via reconciliation. But, they decided they didn’t want to pass a budget and then explain it to the voters. That made reconciliation impossible. Can you say “outsmarted themselves”.
Everyone seems to be avoiding any mention of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t tell for the military. Are these idiots so short sighted that they don’t remember what a similar policy did to the Catholic Church? Are they really willing to set the government up for the number of lawsuits that will be filed by straight guys who feel they are being harrassed into submission or denied promotions because they aren’t gay? Then there’s that sexual orientation hate crime thing. Will Straight recruits be reluctant to file complaints lest they be charged with hate crime discrimination?
THIS IS NOT A VERY SERIOUS PRESIDENT. THIS PRESIDENT HAS NO PLAN FOR AMERICA.
Posted by:
CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry
WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama did not attend a White House meeting Thursday with members of his own debt commission, irking some of the Democrats on the panel who were expecting a high-level push from the commander-in-chief to show that its comprehensive deficit reduction plan is being taken seriously by the White House.
“He should have at least dropped by,” one Democratic member of the debt commission told CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he wanted to speak more freely about the panel’s private meeting.
I read that he did something similar to the meetings with Pentagon, especially regarding Afghanistan.
Instead of trimming back government, this tax bill is starting to look like Porkulus 2.
Yeah, it’s dawning on me…they’re adding junk to the bill when it already has enough junk.
And now Michelle Bachman is changing her spots over earmarks?
Just wait…the Tea Party movement has already started planning for 2012. This thing is going to get bigger.
In the meantime, we’ll see the liberals violently revolt.
Already talks of primarying Obama.
In truth, this bill is part of the old Congress and I would rather see it sink in the form that it is in. DeMind makes a valid point. When does our government quit spending new money without offsets to pay for it? Secretly I hope the Dems sink this bill and the new Congress does it the right way in January.
There is No Tax Deal
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/10/morning-bell-there-is-no-tax-deal/
The tax bill introduced by Reid is not what conservatives promised they would fight for during the elections. And the legislation will only get worse as more and more liberal votes are bought off with more and more deficit spending. Taxes should not be raised on the American people. Congress and the President would do well by the American people to jettison all the other side issues from this debate and focus first and foremost on preventing tax hikes.
There is No Tax Deal
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/10/morning-bell-there-is-no-tax-deal/
Excerpt:
The tax bill introduced by Reid is not what conservatives promised they would fight for during the elections. And the legislation will only get worse as more and more liberal votes are bought off with more and more deficit spending. Taxes should not be raised on the American people. Congress and the President would do well by the American people to jettison all the other side issues from this debate and focus first and foremost on preventing tax hikes.
Charles Krauthammer makes some good points:
Swindle of the Year
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/09/AR2010120904472.html
The more I read about this tax deal the more I don’t like it. They need to just pass a bill that deals with the tax increases and nothing else.
Oh, Christmas Tree! Tax deal larded up with TARP special interest provisions
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/12/oh-christmas-tree-tarp-special-interest-provisions-reappear-bipar
The timing is off for Sanders to filibuster….why so late Friday afternoon. Is he going to filibuster tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday????
Yeah, I want this bill to stand alone with nothing added to it.
This post provides no logic to support its emotional outburst against two very level headed, principled and analytical Senators. DeMint and Coburn are in fact serving as conservative anchors in forcing the Republican leadership to examine the folly of their spinelessness, which Krauthammer (no ideologue) also spotlignts with expected analytical and logical clarity.
Strata, like McConnell and the rest of the GOP RINO’s, also foolishly falls for the Democrat and media bullpoop assertion that there is an agreement for “TAX CUTS”. That is absurd. Taxes have been constant, relatively speaking, for 10 years. The Democrats want to raise them. This deal does not cut anybody’s taxes, it merely postpones further discussion about raising them for two years. That AINT NO TAX CUT.
And for the Democrats agreement to postpone voting on tax increases, which they do not have the numbers to achieve anyway, they get over a half a trillion dollars in new spending for their constituencies. And this is a GOOD DEAL for Republicans? Please! Strata’s shareholders would skin him alive if he brought that kind of deal home for his own company. Why are we supposed to join him in celebrating this as a victory for fiscal sanity. I have far better things to do.