Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Yesterday, Senate Democrats introduced legislation to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, set to expire at the end of this year, and
set up another showdown with Republicans because the extension would be paid for with a small millionaires' surtax.
The bill, which could be voted on as early as Friday, would reduce the Social Security payroll tax paid by employees and the self-employed by half, to 3.1. percent of wages from 6.2 percent, for 2012. Those taxes were reduced to 4.2 percent of wages this year under a law set to expire at the end of the year. Under the Senate measure, the average working family would have close to $1,500 a year more to spend, according to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader. [...]
Republicans—who have adamantly defended a renewal of the so-called Bush tax cuts, which also expire at the end of 2012—have been lukewarm on extending the payroll tax holiday, arguing that it would not stimulate the economy. They are particularly displeased with the Senate proposal to pay for it: the bill calls for a 3.25 percent tax on gross income over $1 million for single filers and married couples filing jointly.
“Republicans have said that extending the payroll tax break is a potential area of common ground,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for the House speaker, John A. Boehner, “but coupling it with a job-killing tax hike on small businesses makes no sense whatsoever.”
So if you've been trying to keep track, Republicans are totally opposed to tax hikes, unless those tax hikes hit the middle class (those slackers who don't create any jobs, as opposed to the rich people who could conceivably create jobs if they felt like it, they're just more interested in hanging on to their money at the moment). Republicans are also obsessed with reducing the deficit, unless that means making those rich people who might just decide to create jobs any time now kick in some revenue.
Republican opposition to this bill will make it remarkably clear to anyone who wants to pay attention that the Republicans are the party of the 1 percent.