Finally, some common sense and good news from a Republican, reported in Dan Burton On Tax Cuts: GOP Would Swallow Democratic Tax Plan After December. Representative Burton says if a deal is not reached in the fiscal cliff negotiations before the end of the year, the Republicans will have to accept the Democratic plan for lowering taxes for those making under $250,000. This prospect led Rep. Jeff Flake, incoming Republican Senator from Arizona, to say he'd accept this deal today.
Burton explained why he'll be voting for House Speaker's "Plan B" because doing nothing will look much worse for Republicans.
"Let's say that we don't do anything," said Burton, gaming it out in conversation with reporters off the House floor. "He lets us go over the fiscal cliff. They're going to blame Republicans. And then the president's going to be the savior."
If the Republicans do not comply with the Democrat's tax plan immediately in Janaury, Burton expects President Obama to pound the stuffings out of them, obtaining an "even worse deal" for Republicans than they can obtain now, exactly what Howard Dean and many progressives have been asserting all along.
"If we go over the fiscal cliff, the president just comes back and says, 'OK, we're going to give tax cuts to everybody under $250,000.' Who's going to vote against that? Everybody'll vote for that. Everybody. Because it will be just a fait accompli. You won't be voting on whether you're going to do away with a tax cut, you're going to be reimposing tax cuts for everybody under $250,000. So the Republicans are in an untenable situation."
If the economy takes a hit before the State of the Union, he added, Obama could hammer them in that speech. "The president just says, 'Well, those guys, those Republicans are just killing everything. They're gonna make taxes go up on 98 percent of people,' and then he comes back in three or four weeks when he gives his State of the Union message and says, 'I'm going to reimpose those tax cuts,' and then if the economy goes to hell, everyone's going to say, 'It's those Republicans.'"
This is pretty much what Howard Dean has been saying for over three weeks. Notice that in this scenario Burton says the Republicans will agree to the tax cuts for the middle class for everyone below $250,000, which produces more revenue than the current compromise President Obama has proposed moving "down in revenues" to raising the threshold to $450,000.
And, with the automatic sequestration balancing cuts equally between military spending and social spending, already enacted, Democrats would still have room to offer some of these back to independently bargain for the extension of unemployment benefits, and debt ceiling extension.
We also would have the option of adding in an additional transitional tax cuts for those under $250,000, in our proposal, even greater than the Bush tax cut extensions to make up for the loss of the stimulus from the expiring Social Security tax withholding holiday. Democrats need not make any further concessions on social spending, and may be able to more successfully achieve our negotiating goals over the cliff without having to agree to chained CPI cuts, if we are willing to play "hardball." How would Republicans vote against a large tax cut on the middle class, when so many will be screaming daily on the media, about the increased withholding from their paychecks?
A Democratic "Hardball" plan is looking like a better alternative than the "grand bargain" with each passing day, and each additional painful concession we make, and the GOP rejects.
Perhaps, the President should make clear the deal with $450,000 expires this year. If we go over the cliff, he should announce he will demand that it return down to $250,000, and, perhaps, even make it greater for an additional year, to make up for lost FICA tax withholding stimulus. We need to let Republicans know that infinite delay is not just an opportunity to see what else they can squeeze out of the Democrats.
The President's current bill is the best deal they are going to get. And, I'm increasingly thinking we may be ultimately be better off if they reject it, despite the great pain and uncertainty that this will cause in the short term. But, perhaps, this is one of those worse before better situations?
3:57 PM PT: The caption on the elephant photo should read "Republican elephants that can't reach their butts, put their head in the snow, instead, to look for insight on fiscal cliff negotiations."
But, I'd be glad to have a caption context on this one, if someone can think of something funnier. I usually don't start getting this silly until Friday night, or much latter, but I need some comic relief in my life right now.
Also, any kind soul that can tell me how to center such a caption in an aligned left photo will be much appreciated. Whenever I reduce and use the align spec to wrap around text, my captions show up in random inconvenient locations.
4:47 PM PT: If you enjoyed this post please check out my other post from today and last night. Thanks.
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Tonight's GOP 'Plan B' vote may include AMT, and reduced defense spending cuts in sequestration
Explore Mount Everest in this amazing 2 billion pixel interactive composite photo - website
If reports are true, the chained CPI could lead to $1,400 cuts in Social Security in 30 years