House Revisits the “Deal”
There was definitely a lot to dislike about the compromise President Obama struck with Republican leadership on tax cuts (big ones for rich people, smaller ones for middle class people) and unemployment insurance (an extension for ½ as long as the tax cuts last). But some very smart, knowledgeable people thought it was the best deal possible.
Apparently the House Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi disagree. According to a statement from Pelosi:
House Democrats share the President’s commitment to providing the middle class with a tax cut to grow the economy and create jobs. The House passed a bill last week to provide tax cuts for all Americans but not a bonus tax cut to millionaires and billionaires. The extra tax cut for the top 3 percent does not create jobs and increases the deficit. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans blocked the bill from being approved by the Senate.
In the Caucus today, House Democrats supported a resolution to reject the Senate Republican tax provisions as currently written. We will continue discussions with the President and our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the days ahead to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote.
Democratic priorities remain clear: to provide a tax cut for working families, to create jobs and economic growth, to assist millions of our fellow Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and to do this in a fiscally sound way.”
It sounds like the estate tax is a key concern among House Democrats, who feel that a 35% estate tax that applies only to estates larger than $5 million is yet another excessive giveaway to the wealthiest people.
In 2009, estates over $3.5 million were taxed—affecting just one in 400 households. So when Republicans start squealing about applying the tax to estates under $5 million, remember that. The richest one in 400 is who this fight is all about.
Tags: taxes
I am a 99er in CO and am stunned by Obamas willingness to leave the 99ers to fend for themselves. Thank you Ed, Ketih and Rachel for all of your great work! I want to also give Rachel a special thank you for putting Austan Goolsbee o…n the spot in her interview on Thursday night when she asked “What about the 99ers”. It was amazing! Watch Goolsbee squirm in this short 1-minute video clip – and then send Rachel a huge thank you!
http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-denver/maddow-boldly-moves-the-99er-issue-to-the-forefront-join-the-99ers-new-effort
Also, if I may be so bold, please read my ‘open letter’ to my congressional Representatives, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Pelosi on the tax cut ‘compromise’ – and then, PLEASE get involved!
http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-denver/open-letter-to-my-congressional-representatives-senator-reid-and-speaker-pelosi
Kelly, Denver Unemployment Examiner
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The provisions related to the estate tax in the President’s ‘deal’ are outlandish and provide NO economic return. Conversely, according to the government’s own economists, giving 8 million unemployed workers money which they will spend immediately, provides the absolute best ROI – return on investment; a fundamental theory of finance. Giving money to 8 million unemployed workers will create demand for goods and services; a fundamental theory of economic growth.
Put another way: rich dead people get more out of this deal than the long-term unemployed are getting. The long-term unemployed are getting nothing out of this deal.
Denver Unemployment Examiner
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