Remember that payroll tax cut President Obama signed into law at the end of last year...that same deal where we got the Bush Tax Cuts as well that are creating TONS of new jobs as we speak?
Remember how we were told this would be a 1-year "stimulus" tax cut, that is boosting economic growth across the board?
Well, low and behold:
“One thing I do think is important is we are keeping our eye on the need to accelerate the recovery as part of the overall package that we agree to,” Obama said. “I’ve long believed that coming out as bad of a recession as we’ve been in it’s important for us to focus on what the real drivers are of our debt and deficit problems. And that’s not the day-to-day spending. It’s the structural problems that we’ve had between spending too much money and not bringing enough money in.”
The cuts would go into effect over the next two decades, Obama said, so “that gives us a little bit of room to continue to do some smart things like the payroll tax cut that we initiated in December while still keeping our eye on the ball in terms of the long term.
Ummm no. The deficit problem is not, and never has been too much spending. The problem is that tax cuts were not and are not accompanied with reductions in spending. It's a shame to hear a Democratic president speak of this, but there it is. We have to live with it.
So...not only will we get an extension on the current payroll tax cut, that isn't doing jack shit for consumer markets, we're also looking at cutting the employer end of it as well.
More and more, this is looking like another tax cut that is going to become permanent, with no results in economic growth to show for it, and weakened Social Security program in the bargain. The President calls this policy "smart."