Typically, President Obama talks about his tax cut plan as a tax cut for those making under $250,000 and a little bit of an increase for those few Americans who make more. There is a lot wrong with this:
1. Most obviously, it misrepresents the plan. It not a tax cut for families making less than $250k (or less for individuals), it's a tax cut for incomes under that amount. In other words, everybody gets a tax cut on incomes under $250k. Those making more than that pay more than they are now, but not so much more. (Comparisons to rates during the Clinton boom is a good way to illustrate that.)
2. The media, being by and large parrots who just repeat what they hear, promulgate this misrepresentation so the message that is repeated is wrong and misleading.
3. By characterizing the tax cut as he does, Obama makes it a rich vs. poor distinction rather than an income level distinction. An us vs. them kind of argument, while attractive to some, is also off-putting to others. Making an income distinction means the plan is more fair than that.
4. The misrepresentation gives the Repubs ammunition. They can claim it is unfair to raise taxes on the rich only, whereas it is much fairer than that, and they can claim it is a class war, which it is not - if anything, it's an income distinction.
5. It increases the likelihood that the Dems will compromise because they're (misrepresented) position they are wedded to comes off as more extreme than it is.
6. From a sales point of view, Obama apparently is unaware that some people process auditory information (i.e., word) best and others process visual information best. It would be great if he were to hold a press conference on the economy and lead with charts - like Reagan used so effectively, having the press lap them up - showing the plan and its benefits.
Nancy Pelosi characterized the tax cut plan like this:
Yesterday was a great day. The United States Senate voted to give 100 percent of Americans — everyone in this country — a tax cut. We all agree that’s a good idea.
She and the other Dems, including especially Obama, need to go a little further and be more explicit about the actual plan. Unless they do, we're likely to see the effort go nowhere not only with respect to actual legislation, which should be expected, but also in terms of its political impact.