Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) called Obama's plan a "non-starter."
The White House says President Obama's
new tax plan would raise $320 billion from the wealthiest 1/10 of one percent of the population in order to give tax cuts to the rest of Americans. But Republicans say that's a bad deal for the country.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) was on CNN's State of the Union yesterday already trashing the proposal as a "non-starter."
"We're not just one good tax increase away from prosperity in this nation," Chaffetz said. "More government, a 300-plus billion dollar tax bill from Barack Obama is not the formula for this country to succeed."
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House's tax writing committee, sounded a similar note when his spokesperson dismissed the proposal as "not a serious plan."
"We lift families up and grow the economy with a simpler, flatter tax code, not big tax increases to pay for more Washington spending," said spokesman Brendan Buck.
But here's how Edward Kleinbard, a professor of tax law at USC, described the plan to NPR's Tamara Keith.
"What the president is doing is making a very large investment in working and middle class Americans and the source of the funds for the investment are coming from the most affluent Americans."
The plan also has protections built in for small businesses, homes, and surviving spouses.
Meanwhile, the Republican formula for prosperity is apparently to make cuts to programs like disability benefits.
So what say you, dear readers—do you prefer Obama's plan or should we just slash the heck out of the safety net for America's most vulnerable populations?