This isn’t 2010, President Obama’s no means no
This has got to have John Boehner perplexed.
According to David Corn of Mother Jones and Greg Sargent of The Washington Post, President Obama won’t give in to Republican ransom demands over tax cuts for the wealthy—even if that means going over the so-called fiscal cliff on Jan. 1, 2013. Writes Corn:
According to senior administration officials, Obama is not eager to go over the cliff, but he is willing. If no deal is reached by the end of the month, all the Bush tax cuts — for the rich and not-rich — will evaporate. Obama would then demand in early January that the new Congress immediately pass legislation to reinstate the lower tax rates for the bottom 98 percent.
To his right Boehner will have teaparty caucus screaming for an economic Kamikaze dive into austerity oblivion, to his other right he’ll have the GOP’s big defense contractor money screaming for him to raise the white flag. It should get interesting if this holds.
29 days to find out for sure. The cliff is the best deal out there right now.
Howard Dean agrees… getting more attention from right wing media than anyone else:
Howard Dean: Let’s Go Over the Fiscal Cliff
Let’s start by cutting the tax deduction loophole from the wealthy “progressive” taxpayers mentioned in the Washington Times:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-the-best-deduction-to-chop/2012/11/19/38e28dc2-326a-11e2-bb9b-288a310849ee_story.html
When you are are no longer mooching off the fiscally responsible taxpayers, you can add a measly $67 billion in extra “revenue”-which will do nothing to solve the fiscal crisis,but at least you “progressives” can feel good about yourselves.
Awesome. Neither Charles Lane OR occam get the AMT. Or Income.
OR that this scheme will definitely make Mitt Romney and those like him that the GOP are circling the wagons on pay more too.
@occam–
You cite the Washington Times, yet you link to the Washington Post. What gives?
And fuck you and your characterization of anyone other than the very rich as “fiscally irresponsible”. Progressives pay taxes too. Many are quite fiscally responsible.
I think that Occam meant the Washington Post. I don’t think it’s about who is “fiscally responsible”, but there are going to have to be some serious deficit reductions- simply taxing the wealthy and cutting Defense spending isn’t going to be enough. The question is, what should be cut? I do personally think Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security have to be means-tested (eliminating the wealthiest from obtaining services), fraud needs to be eliminated, and yes they probably ought to consider “privatization”. The status quo is not working out anymore.
Call it what you want a Cliff,Curb or a Slope going over it has it’s advantages first the Repuks will have to decide weather to cut taxes on the 98% who just saw their taxes raised and defend the rich 2% if they fail to act. President Obama should tell Boehner that there will be no discussion on the automatic cuts until this part of the problem is resolved.
President Obama should also tell Boehner that he will not allow the Repuk’s to threaten this country’s credit by holding up the Debt limit extension or else he will invoke the 14Th amendment
Now that’s playing hardball something that was lacking in the first term.
Obama should just get up and make this speech:
“We have studied the GOP’s latest offer and have decided that the fiscal cliff is a far better deal for the American people. Since the proposal from the GOP is so much worse than the effects of the cliff, we have decided to embrace the cliff, despite its deficiencies. At the moment, this is clearly the best deal I can achieve for America. When the new congress is sworn in, in January, we will see if we can do better. In the mean time, I’m off to Hawaii for Christmas and the New Years.”