Let me recall a little tale about something called "The Sunset Provision."
It was a "sweetener" tossed into the historic revenue-draining Republican Bill, that somehow made it palatable to the Democratic Leaders, who at the time, should have known better. Better than to have believed, the sunset-part of the law would actually be followed.
Promises, promises. Where is the Republican follow-through?
It's nowhere to be found across the land ... as per usual.
sun·set (snst)
n.
1. The event or time of the daily disappearance of the sun below the western horizon.
2. A decline or final phase: the sunset of an empire.
re·vert (r-vûrt)
intr.v. re·vert·ed, re·vert·ing, re·verts
1. To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief.
2. Law To return to the former owner or to the former owner's heirs. Used of money or property.
Sunset Provision -- wikipedia.org
One of the most notable characteristics of EGTRRA [The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001] is that its provisions were designed to sunset, or revert to the provisions that were in effect before it was passed, on January 1, 2011. These provisions were extended for two years under the 2010 Tax Act. The sunset provision allowed EGTRRA to sidestep the Byrd Rule, a Senate rule that amends the Congressional Budget Act to allow Senators to block a piece of legislation if it purports a significant increase in the federal deficit beyond ten years. The sunset allowed the bill to stay within the letter of the PAYGO law while removing nearly $700 billion from amounts that would have triggered PAYGO sequestration.[4]
Tax rebate
In addition to the tax cuts implemented by the EGTRRA, it initiated a series of rebates for all taxpayers that filed a tax return for 2000. The rebate was up to a maximum of $300 for single filers with no dependents, $500 for single parents, and $600 for married couples.
President George Bush Tax Cuts
The Facts About the Tax Cuts and Why They Were Extended
by Kimberly Amadeo, About.com Guide
Tax cuts are always an easy and quick way to stimulate the economy by putting more money directly into taxpayers' hands. President Bush gave tax cuts to families in 2001, and to businesses in 2003. These were due to expire in 2011. He mailed out a one-time tax rebate to unsuccessfully ward off the financial crisis of 2008. Instead of expiring in 2011, the Bush tax cuts were extended in 2010 for two years. Debate over whether the cuts should be extended for those making $250,000 or more is an important factor in the 2012 Presidential campaign.
[...]
Promises, promises. The GOP knows how to make them -- they just don't know how to
keep them.
Don't bother asking them, "what good they do?" ... they are too busy plotting and scheming, their future talking points.
The GOP's Fiscal Time Bomb
by Howard Kurtz, thedailybeast.com -- Dec 2, 2010
George W. Bush set the trap just over nine years ago, and the Democrats are still trying to extricate themselves.
[...]
But in Washington, where anything beyond last week’s news cycle is considered ancient history, the jury-rigged nature of the Bush plan -- and the fiscal sleight-of-hand involved -- have been all but forgotten.
[...]
As an added bonus, the “sunset” provision, in Beltway-speak, was a political time bomb: At some point in the way distant future, Democrats could be accused of raising taxes if they tried to undo the Bush breaks and return to Clinton-era levels of taxation.
[...]
Sunset!? What Sunset? You didn't really
believe that, did you?
Fast Forward a decade: And this is what Republican Denial continues to looks like:
George W. Bush: I Wish They Weren't Called The Bush Tax Cuts
by Steve Schaefer, Forbes Staff -- 4/10/2012
[...]
Growing the public sector is easy, Bush said, “just raise taxes.” Supporting private-sector growth is more challenging the former commander-in-chief said, and requires leaving more capital in the hands of job creators.
“I wish they weren’t called the ‘Bush tax cuts’,” he said, surmising that they would be less likely to be raised if someone else’s name was attached.
“Much of the public debate is about our balance sheet…or entitlements,” Bush said, but the solution in his view is to focus on private sector growth. ”The pie grows, the debt relative to the pie shrinks and with fiscal discipline you can solve your deficits,” Bush said.
[...]
Just file those unproven economic theories and vague GOP promises under:
"Is our Children Learning?" ... yet?
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"Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."
--
Garrison Keillor
... and I would quietly add, "where the sun never sets ...
and ancient history (from 2001) is all but soon forgotten ..."
And all our Revenue problems are trivial -- and our "earned benefits" are just there for the financial finagling. Post Haste, the GOP-created cliff is looming.