The Senate voted 51-48 today to extend some of the Bush tax cuts, affecting 98 percent of all American taxpayers, for another year. The extended tax cuts would affect citizens making up to $250,000 a year, with the Senate not voting to extend cuts for the 2 percent of Americans making over that amount.
Earlier this month, President Obama called on Congress to extend tax cuts on the bottom 98 percent of earners, while letting those cuts affecting the rich expire. The Republican Party's official position is that all the tax cuts should be extended, though Senate Republicans opted not to filibuster a bill that would only extend some of them. Nonetheless, the legislation is expected to fail in the House, where the Republicans hold the majority.
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To say I'm SHOCKED would be a gross understatement!!!!!
At least we get to see how the House deals with the need to govern. I am not paticularly hopeful, for that, with this group.
I am glad the Senate passed this bill but I think it will lead to nowhere in the GOP House. The GOP is living in a Grover Norquist parallel universe. This bill will put more leverage on Speaker Boehner but I am not sure he can control his Tea Party caucus. The Democrats need to collectively stick together and do what Lawrence O'Donnell suggested on his program a few nights back. Lawrence suggested that the Democrats just stick together and go off the fiscal cliff in January and let all the Bush tax cuts expire. This will put tremendous pressure on the GOP to settle their differences or face dramatic cuts in defense and other programs that would actually drive the economy into recession again. We should pass a new set of tax cuts for the middle class, those earning less than $40K per year should get some help. The Democrats should also pass permanent fixes to the tax code. We also should lift the cap on Social Security and Medicaid up to $250,000 as Senator Sanders suggests.
Democrats need to grow some spine and stand up to the GOP. The Democrats new slogan should be "We can all go down together" after January 1st. There is nothing like political extinction to put the fear of God into right winged radicals who do not want to fund government. If this is the case then Democrats need to push the GOP off the cliff in January so "we can all go down together." The only way to deal with a right winged radical is to have a loaded political gun aimed right at their heads. Democrats need to stick together and if necessary pull that trigger in January. We then will have across the board tax increases for all Americans after January. We can have a civil conversation about our trillion dollar budget deficit problem. We can have a discussion about the role of government in our society. We need to discuss what kinds of investments we need to make as a country for our children's future. These types of conversations can not occur until after we all jump off the political cliff in January.
How long do the teabaggers have to filibuster it? Nevermind, they'll let the house do the dirty work. Just keep letting the American ppl know who you support boner. The grave gets deeper and deeper... Better start learning how to speak Chinese Cantor.