If Sen Bernie Sanders (Senate LW Leader) and Jim DeMint (Senate RW Leader) agree on anything...it must be a cold day in hell...
But this is Washington DC and politics make strange bedfellows...
The fact that Bernie and Jim agree that the bill sucks and it should be killed leads me and many others to believe the bill is a good compromise where the LW and RW are pissed but the mushy middle will be happy...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
So lets go through some facts about the bill...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
The bill as compromised between the Whitehouse and Congressional Republicans has a lot of good in it. We all know the stuff we agree is crap...but it could be a lot worse....
•Working families will not lose their tax cut. A typical working family faced a tax increase of over $3,000 on January 1st. That’s avoided under this framework agreement, and working families won’t see their tax cuts go away next year.
Yes we could wait until next year, let the payroll checks roll in for the 80%+ working americans show a cut in their take home pay for 3 months while we battle it out and possibly shut down the government in the process...but in the end House Republicans will control what bills get to the floor...so I garauntee you that any bill they let get to the floor for a vote will be the same or worse...
•Focused on high impact job creation measures. The framework agreement includes some of the best measures for jumpstarting growth and job creation, including a full year of emergency unemployment insurance benefits, an about $120 billion payroll tax cut for working families and a continuation of tax credits for working families. This is on top of growth generated by extension of the middle-class income tax rates.
This is a middle class and lower class tax break that is progressive to the most extent possible and while not being paid for with current general revenues, it is not affecting the SS Trust fund by one dime in the current form proposed.
•Does not worsen the medium- and long-term deficit. These are responsible, temporary measures to support our economy that will not add costs by the middle of the decade. The President does not believe it is affordable to make the high-income tax cuts permanent and will continue to have that debate in the years ahead.
This wins the battle on the permanent extension that Republicans were looking for for the GWB tax rates...Did we win the war...no but the battle has been won and we can debate it again in 2012 as a great campaign issue...
•Extending the 2001/2003 Income-Tax Rates for Two Years. The framework agreement includes a mutually agreed upon solution to the impasse over taxes by extending the 2001/2003 income tax rates for two years and reforming the AMT to ensure that an additional 21 million households will not be hit with a tax increase. These measures will provide relief to more than 100 million middle-class families and prevent a tax increase of over $2,000 for the typical family.
The AMT fix is a great addition for the middle class and to bring back waivering swing voters from the suburbs in high tax Democratic leaning states that are primiarily put into AMT due to the AMT add back for State and Local taxes...this is a huge win for Democrats...
•Additional Provisions Designed to Promote Vigorous Economic Growth. In addition to the 2001/2003 rates, the Administration secured several provisions that are vital for our economy’s growth, which would not have been possible without this framework agreement: $56 billion in unemployment insurance, an about $120 billion payroll tax cut for working families, about $40 billion in tax cuts for our hardest hit families and students; and 100% expensing for businesses next year.
Progressives rejoice....cutting taxes and increasing benefits for the people who are unemployed and who make under $100K per year only...how much more progressive can a tax compromise get???
Even the DKos Hero Nouriel Roubini supported the idea of a Payroll Tax Holiday...
And, as economist Nouriel Roubini wrote earlier this year, a payroll tax cut would spur growth because "for employees, the increased take-home pay would boost much-needed economic consumption and advance the still-crucial process of deleveraging households."
So while everyone is understandably pissed off about the $140 Billion for high income earners over the next 2 years and the estate tax did not go back up to 55% only 35%...(believe me next year that would have been 0%)...that being said...when Bernie Sanders and Jim DeMint agree that the bill sucks...that means we got the compromise just about right...
So I say we won the battle, we may lose the war in 2 years, but lets work on that battle in 2011...