There still are fighters for working people, progressives who won't make self-serving "compromises" on the backs of American workers, people who put doing what is right over some bizzarre sense of political expediency (a political expendiency that does not exist, since people don't want these tax cuts extended).
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, is one of the good guys:
It is absolutely insane that in these tough economic times some people want to continue George W. Bush's tax give aways to millionaires. Working families are losing their jobs, their benefits and their homes. They are the ones who need help.
Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on The Bush Tax Cuts for Millionaires
Absolutely insane.
That is leadership. Not "let me compromise." Not "bipartisanship." Not "I failed to set a tone."
Sometimes, a leader must lead and do what is right. You cannot compromise right and wrong on this. Either you are a Democrat or you are not, even if there is a D by your name. We will fight this.
The full Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on The Bush Tax Cuts for Millionaires is here:
November 12, 2010
It is absolutely insane that in these tough economic times some people want to continue George W. Bush's tax give aways to millionaires. Working families are losing their jobs, their benefits and their homes. They are the ones who need help.
We need to focus on creating jobs by giving tax breaks only to middle class families and investing in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and green technologies. Millionaires and Wall Street already had their party, which tanked our economy and left Main Street stuck paying the bill.
Speaker Pelosi is exactly right that there should not be a so-called compromise on this issue. Working families will fight by her side to prevent another give away to millionaires. The election is over and now it's time for politicians to show courage and stand and fight on these issues for working families. Let the millionaires fend for themselves for a change.
We need to expose the rank hypocrisy of those calling for these millionaire tax cuts -- which would add hundreds of billions to the deficit. These are the same elected officials who say we can't afford to maintain benefits for the jobless -- and should cut Social Security and Medicare for working families and seniors in the name of so-called deficit reduction.
Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on The Bush Tax Cuts for Millionaires
More leaders. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Lynn Woolsey, who are the chairs of the House Progressive Caucus, asked Speaker Pelosi to have a Democratic Caucus discussion before any proposal is brought to the Floor. They want a vote only on President Obama' s middle-class tax proposal.
Grijalva and Wollsey letter
Dear Madam Speaker:
As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, we would like to reiterate our support for President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal that would extend the Bush tax rates for the middle class, but permit the tax levels to return to previous levels for single taxpayers making more than $200,000 or married couples making more than $250,000. We respectfully request that we have a Caucus discussion regarding our position before any proposal is brought to the Floor.
The Treasury Department estimates that President Obama's tax proposal will collect $41 billion in additional revenue in Fiscal Year 2012 and $680 billion over the next ten years. If we are serious about cutting our budget deficit, we must allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest to expire. Before President Bush's tax cuts were enacted, the federal budget had a steadily rising surplus that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated would hit 5.3 percent of GDP by 2011. Within a few years of the enactment of the Bush tax cuts, these projections turned to deficits.
Therefore, we believe extending the Bush tax cuts would be a giveaway to the nation's wealthiest people and would significantly increase government debt. This debt, in turn, will be paid by the lower and middle classes through increased interest payments and decreased social services for generations to come. This astronomical sum could instead be used to close our budget deficit. It is critical that we pass President Obama' s middle-class tax proposal without providing an even greater lift for the wealthiest Americans who don't need it.
Thank you for your leadership on this issue. We are here to work with you.
Sincerely,
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Leadership. Some people are willing to fight for what is right. They deserve our support.
And Speaker Pelosi last week:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not give ground on her opposition to extending the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, even as the White House and other Democrats have signaled that it might be time to compromise.
"It's too costly. It's $700 billion," Pelosi told NPR this morning. "One year would be around $70 billion. That's a lot of money to give a tax cut at the high end. And I remind you that those tax cuts have been in effect for a very long time, they did not create jobs."
Speaker Pelosi: No Compromise on Bush Tax Cuts For the Rich
We will fight on this.
Sometimes you have to fight for what is right.
Greg Sargent is right on this:
It's also worth pausing to appreciate the description of this proposal employed above by Grijalva and Woolsey: "President Obama's middle class tax proposal." Obama orginally proposed it. It's his. Holding a vote on it would drive this home. It would force Republicans to vote for Obama's proposal, or against a middle class tax cut. By contrast, a phony "compromise" on a temporary extension of all the cuts would only muddy all these waters further. A temporary extension of all the cuts would merely telegraph Dem weakness, singaling clearly that Dems will cheerfully give the GOP their way as long as everyone agrees to call it a "compromise."
Will it happen? Probably not. Like I said, a rerun of a bad movie. But it's still benefical if Obama and Dem leaders get an earful from the left on it
Greg Sargent, WaPO, The Plum Line
Betrayal on this would be a betrayal of all the Democratic Party has stood for since 1933 and FDR. Dems who won't fight on this never will fight on any thing. And if they won't fight for us, we won't fight for them.