Dec 16 2010
Matt Taibbi and Bernie Sanders on Obama’s Tax Cut Deal With GOP
The Senate yesterday passed the Middle Class Tax Relief Act by an 81 to 19 vote. The bill passed by a wide margin despite resistance from the left and right—including a nine-hour rebuke last week from Independent Vermont senator, Bernie Sanders. The controversial legislation was then quickly ushered into the House for consideration within hours where it is expected to be voted on today. Championed by President Obama and the Republican leadership as a compromise, the deal contains, among other things, a two year extension on the Bush-era tax rates for all, including the super-rich, a 13-month extension on unemployed benefits, and a temporary reduction to the Social-Security-funding payroll tax. Two Republican Senators offered amendments to the bill: Oklahoma’s Tom Colburn wanted to cut spending to pay for extending unemployment benefits, while South Carolina’s Jim DeMint even attempted to permanently extend the Bush tax cuts and do away with the Estate Tax altogether. The Senate voted down both amendments. Independent senator Bernie Sanders tried to amend the bill to make it more progressive: extending tax cuts for the bottom 98% of Americans, reforming the Estate Tax, preserving the payroll tax, and more. But his amendment was also voted down before the bill ultimately passed. However the Senate version accidentally omitted a low income housing tax credit for Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors. Disgruntled Democrats, wanting to alter the current estate tax provision and fiscally conservative Republicans who vowed not to accept any changes to the Senate’s version could use the omission to derail the bill from its fast-tracked course to the White House.
GUEST: Matt Taibbi, contributing editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, author of The Great Derangement, Spanking the Donkey, and Smells Like Dead Elephants. His latest book is Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con that is Breaking America
3 Responses to “Matt Taibbi and Bernie Sanders on Obama’s Tax Cut Deal With GOP”
I would like to thank you for your stand on the middle class tax relief issue and for your 9 hour speach last Friday. Thank you. I wish we could clone you.
from Ventura County California Democrats
VENTURA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Resolution
Ventura County Democrats (aka Ventura County Democratic Central Committee) want to lend their voice in support of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton’s position against President Obama’s proposed Congressional deal to extend the Bush tax cuts for the next two years to the richest Americans:
Whereas Bush era tax breaks that President Obama proposes to remain for the next two years will compound fiscal damage to California in a time of severe budget and revenue crises where California consumers will not and cannot spend because they have no trust in the economy to recover and the result will be to perpetuate double-digit unemployment for many years to come
Whereas the federal government’s necessity to borrow from other nations, like China, to pay the immediate shortfall in revenues that gives generous tax breaks to the richest Americans in a time of fiscal crises will only exacerbate the national deficit saddling our children with this unjust burden
Whereas there has been no verifiable demonstration that tax cuts to the very rich in the past ten years have resulted in the creation of more jobs with sustainable wages for Americans, rather conversely corporate and private investment capital has moved to follow cheap labor markets oversees or, as in the case of the banking industry, has created barriers to middle class borrowers and home owners while hoarding a windfall of federal bailout dollars
Therefore Be It Resolved that Ventura County Democrats call upon our United States Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and Congressional Representatives Lois Capps, 23rd District and Elton Gallegly 24th District to vote against any legislation that reaches the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives and publically state their opposition to the two year continuation of the Bush era tax cuts as proposed by President Obama and consider legislation allowing relief for the middle class American while asking the rich to contribute their fair share to the country in a time of need.
December 14, 2010
The U.S. tax code is not a good candidate for muckraking journalism unless you really know the subject. As vivid a writer as Matt Taibbi is, he is not a good candidate for clarifying the tax cut story. Clue number one is his assertion that the cuts reduce revenue by $900 billion a year – that number is closer to the 5-10 year estimate. See the Joint Taxation Committee table (http://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=3715) for estimates.
Overall, a better exposition of the tax deal comes from Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, on the Tax Cut-Unemployment Insurance Deal — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3340