Dec 22nd, 2011
"There are only two possible reasons for House Republicans to behave the way they did. Maybe they are so blinded by ideology that they no longer care about the impact their actions might have on struggling American families. Or maybe their only guiding principle is that anything Obama supports, they oppose."
-- Eugene Robinson on the GOP's payroll tax cut fiasco. We covered it HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE
Showing posts with label payroll tax cut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label payroll tax cut. Show all posts
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Payroll Tax Cut Fiasco, cont...
Dec 22nd, 2011
No matter how Boehner tries to spin this latest development, the shenanigans detailed HERE, HERE and HERE amount to tremedous damage to the GOP brand.
Video via MSNBC
Via the NY Times:
"Bowing under intense pressure from members of their own party to end the politically damaging impasse over a payroll tax holiday, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the tax cut, beating a hasty retreat from a showdown that Republicans increasingly saw as a threat to their election opportunities next year."
The sheer recklessness of the fringe freshmen in the GOP controlled house makes this an issue for the next November even if congress does pass the full year extension when they return from their exceedingly long, taxpayer-funded vacations.
ABC reports:
"House Republican leaders have decided to accept a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, preventing a hike in taxes just nine days before the tax break expires for 160 million Americans.
House GOP leaders appeared to be adopting a compromise suggested by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass the two-month extension in exchange for the Senate appointing members to a conference committee, which will negotiate a longer-term solution. The proposal won a nod of approval from President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid."
Earlier this year, I predicted the GOP was going to attempt to kill the cut. They really don't want it. That they have positioned themselves in this manner precisely as Obama's approval ratings have begun to rise dramatically is a portrait of not only extremism, but also profound ineptitude.
No matter how Boehner tries to spin this latest development, the shenanigans detailed HERE, HERE and HERE amount to tremedous damage to the GOP brand.
Video via MSNBC
Via the NY Times:
"Bowing under intense pressure from members of their own party to end the politically damaging impasse over a payroll tax holiday, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the tax cut, beating a hasty retreat from a showdown that Republicans increasingly saw as a threat to their election opportunities next year."
The sheer recklessness of the fringe freshmen in the GOP controlled house makes this an issue for the next November even if congress does pass the full year extension when they return from their exceedingly long, taxpayer-funded vacations.
ABC reports:
"House Republican leaders have decided to accept a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, preventing a hike in taxes just nine days before the tax break expires for 160 million Americans.
House GOP leaders appeared to be adopting a compromise suggested by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass the two-month extension in exchange for the Senate appointing members to a conference committee, which will negotiate a longer-term solution. The proposal won a nod of approval from President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid."
Earlier this year, I predicted the GOP was going to attempt to kill the cut. They really don't want it. That they have positioned themselves in this manner precisely as Obama's approval ratings have begun to rise dramatically is a portrait of not only extremism, but also profound ineptitude.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Payroll Tax Cut Fiasco, cont...
Dec 21st, 2011
Frum lashes out at the WSJ op-ed everyone is talking about:
"But if anyone is to scold on this score, it should not be the Journal – which is as responsible as any of the House members for the GOP’s payroll-tax predicament.
The GOP is in trouble because deep down, Republicans do not want to do the payroll tax holiday. They ignored the idea when it was first floated back in 2009 by conservative economists as an alternative to a spending-side fiscal stimulus. Not until President Obama adopted the idea as his own in 2010 did congressional Republicans grudgingly join in support. In the year-plus since then, Republican talkers have denigrated the holiday as ineffective and worse."
Jennifer Steinhauer reminds us:
"By turning down a bill that was overwhelmingly supported by both parties in the Senate as well as the White House, the conservative House majority that has spent the year inciting combative legislative showdowns is now staring over the brink, standing fast against legislation with significant financial consequences for nearly every American household."
We are watching the total implosion of the modern GOP. I don't think it can be overstated. The shutdown nightmare of the Gingrich years pales in comparison. It's worth remembering that particular act of petulance had more to do with the Clinton re-election than the economy did. Where do they go from here?
Frum lashes out at the WSJ op-ed everyone is talking about:
"But if anyone is to scold on this score, it should not be the Journal – which is as responsible as any of the House members for the GOP’s payroll-tax predicament.
The GOP is in trouble because deep down, Republicans do not want to do the payroll tax holiday. They ignored the idea when it was first floated back in 2009 by conservative economists as an alternative to a spending-side fiscal stimulus. Not until President Obama adopted the idea as his own in 2010 did congressional Republicans grudgingly join in support. In the year-plus since then, Republican talkers have denigrated the holiday as ineffective and worse."
Jennifer Steinhauer reminds us:
"By turning down a bill that was overwhelmingly supported by both parties in the Senate as well as the White House, the conservative House majority that has spent the year inciting combative legislative showdowns is now staring over the brink, standing fast against legislation with significant financial consequences for nearly every American household."
We are watching the total implosion of the modern GOP. I don't think it can be overstated. The shutdown nightmare of the Gingrich years pales in comparison. It's worth remembering that particular act of petulance had more to do with the Clinton re-election than the economy did. Where do they go from here?
The Payroll Tax Cut Fiasco...
Dec 21st, 2011
First, a startlingly hostile reaction from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal:
"GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest."
AP reports:
"Some say they’ll spend less on groceries. Others expect to cut back on travel. For many, there would be fewer meals out.
Across the country, Americans are bracing for another financial hardship: smaller paychecks starting in January, if Congress doesn’t break a deadlock and renew a Social Security tax cut."
Sullivan observes:
"The House Republicans have now all but guaranteed that taxes will go up on middle-class Americans because of what they themselves have called "high stakes poker." And this moment may as well sum up why Americans despise this Congress as deeply as they do:"
"Yep, he is literally walking away - giving Hoyer a perfect moment for the rhetorical slam-dunk.
For the GOP to vote down sustaining a tax cut - after a huge majority in the Senate and president had both signed off - and to stalk off into the Christmas vacation leaving a struggling workforce in the lurch ... well, it's a novel form of politicking, don't you think? I understand why this two-month extension is a joke, but again, that simply reveals the poker game attitude of the House GOP, refusing to do what they wouldn't even think twice about of a Republican president asked. They hate Obama so much they are willing to raise taxes! Think how deep the derangement must then go."
Perhaps the DNC should start paying the GOP for their assistance in the President's re-election.
Marin Cogan paints a picture of the GOP Freshmen as suffering from what I would describe as 'Mr. Smith Syndrome:'
"You could be forgiven for thinking that, with 10 days left before a middle class tax increase, the House GOP freshmen would be starting to sweat the political implications this game of chicken over the payroll tax holiday.
But you’d be wrong.
As they have for so many of the major legislative battles of the year, the freshmen framed the showdown with the Senate as a time to fight on principle, a prime example of why they were sent to Washington in the first place—the D.C. establishment be damned if they don’t see it similarly."
Along with 160 million citizens.
First, a startlingly hostile reaction from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal:
"GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest."
AP reports:
"Some say they’ll spend less on groceries. Others expect to cut back on travel. For many, there would be fewer meals out.
Across the country, Americans are bracing for another financial hardship: smaller paychecks starting in January, if Congress doesn’t break a deadlock and renew a Social Security tax cut."
Sullivan observes:
"The House Republicans have now all but guaranteed that taxes will go up on middle-class Americans because of what they themselves have called "high stakes poker." And this moment may as well sum up why Americans despise this Congress as deeply as they do:"
"Yep, he is literally walking away - giving Hoyer a perfect moment for the rhetorical slam-dunk.
For the GOP to vote down sustaining a tax cut - after a huge majority in the Senate and president had both signed off - and to stalk off into the Christmas vacation leaving a struggling workforce in the lurch ... well, it's a novel form of politicking, don't you think? I understand why this two-month extension is a joke, but again, that simply reveals the poker game attitude of the House GOP, refusing to do what they wouldn't even think twice about of a Republican president asked. They hate Obama so much they are willing to raise taxes! Think how deep the derangement must then go."
Perhaps the DNC should start paying the GOP for their assistance in the President's re-election.
Marin Cogan paints a picture of the GOP Freshmen as suffering from what I would describe as 'Mr. Smith Syndrome:'
"You could be forgiven for thinking that, with 10 days left before a middle class tax increase, the House GOP freshmen would be starting to sweat the political implications this game of chicken over the payroll tax holiday.
But you’d be wrong.
As they have for so many of the major legislative battles of the year, the freshmen framed the showdown with the Senate as a time to fight on principle, a prime example of why they were sent to Washington in the first place—the D.C. establishment be damned if they don’t see it similarly."
Along with 160 million citizens.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
What Today's Payroll Tax Vote Means
Dec 20th, 2011
Allow me to register my total lack of surprise. AP reports:
"The House Tuesday rejected legislation to extend a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for two months, drawing a swift rebuke from President Barack Obama that Republicans were threatening higher taxes on 160 million American workers on Jan. 1.
Obama said the two-month compromise is the only way to stop payroll taxes from going up by two percentage points.
"Now let's be clear," Obama said in a surprise appearance in theWhite House briefing room after the House vote. "The bipartisan compromise that was reached on Saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on January 1st. The only one."
First of all, this was a case of hostage taking. It's plain and simple. If the GOP had wanted to keep the payroll rate in place, all they had to do was vote for it. They insisted that it "had to be paid for." How does this square with their 30 year mantra that "tax cuts" pay for themselves by magically expanding growth? It doesn't and an obedient media is largely obliging them by not asking about that. More predictably and repulsively, they not only insisted that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline was somehow related to the payroll tax rate, but they uniformly parroted each and every proven falsehood regarding that project.
What does it mean for you? The chart below shows it clearly.
Allow me to register my total lack of surprise. AP reports:
"The House Tuesday rejected legislation to extend a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for two months, drawing a swift rebuke from President Barack Obama that Republicans were threatening higher taxes on 160 million American workers on Jan. 1.
Obama said the two-month compromise is the only way to stop payroll taxes from going up by two percentage points.
"Now let's be clear," Obama said in a surprise appearance in theWhite House briefing room after the House vote. "The bipartisan compromise that was reached on Saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on January 1st. The only one."
First of all, this was a case of hostage taking. It's plain and simple. If the GOP had wanted to keep the payroll rate in place, all they had to do was vote for it. They insisted that it "had to be paid for." How does this square with their 30 year mantra that "tax cuts" pay for themselves by magically expanding growth? It doesn't and an obedient media is largely obliging them by not asking about that. More predictably and repulsively, they not only insisted that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline was somehow related to the payroll tax rate, but they uniformly parroted each and every proven falsehood regarding that project.
What does it mean for you? The chart below shows it clearly.
 |
| Graphic via CNN |
Thursday, December 8, 2011
What Not Extending The Payroll Cut Looks Like
Dec 8th, 2011
Again, the impact of removing as much as $150 billion from the already weak consumer economy seem to be lost on opponents of the extension. Or, they just want to screw the President.
SOURCE
Again, the impact of removing as much as $150 billion from the already weak consumer economy seem to be lost on opponents of the extension. Or, they just want to screw the President.
SOURCE
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Coming Republican Tax Increase
Sept 8th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
One of President Obama's central talking points in this evening's "jobs speech" was the call to extend the current "payroll tax cut." I think we, the people, can expect the Republicans not to do so.
Really. They are planning to raise taxes. Disproportionately on the poor. That's their plan.
Sara Murray writes today in the WSJ:
"The tax cut reduced an employee's share of the Social Security payroll tax to 4.2% from 6.2% for 2011, at a cost to the government of $111.7 billion."
As a regular reader of the Journal, this is very telling. It is not often that the editors of this particular outlet allow a tax cut to be referred to as a "cost to the government." In fairness, Murray's piece is not overtly participatory in the War on the Poor. She points to one factor that may have mitigated the policy's benefit:
by F. Grey Parker
Really. They are planning to raise taxes. Disproportionately on the poor. That's their plan.
Sara Murray writes today in the WSJ:
"The tax cut reduced an employee's share of the Social Security payroll tax to 4.2% from 6.2% for 2011, at a cost to the government of $111.7 billion."
As a regular reader of the Journal, this is very telling. It is not often that the editors of this particular outlet allow a tax cut to be referred to as a "cost to the government." In fairness, Murray's piece is not overtly participatory in the War on the Poor. She points to one factor that may have mitigated the policy's benefit:
Saturday, August 6, 2011
What We Need
August 4th, 2011
The Economist, that once staid and altogether traditionally conservative bastion of reasonable economic thought, tells it like it is while issuing a common sense call for action... again.
"Extension of the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits would improve confidence, reduce projected fiscal tightening over the next year, and ease the suffering of the unemployed. The double-dip is at the door. Only quick action can send it packing now."
This isn't about entitlements. It's about the government not actively increasing the crisis of demand.
The Economist, that once staid and altogether traditionally conservative bastion of reasonable economic thought, tells it like it is while issuing a common sense call for action... again.
"Extension of the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits would improve confidence, reduce projected fiscal tightening over the next year, and ease the suffering of the unemployed. The double-dip is at the door. Only quick action can send it packing now."
This isn't about entitlements. It's about the government not actively increasing the crisis of demand.
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