Bush tax cuts were the number one concern for Monday’s Congress conversation. Congress had just come back from five weeks of vacation. No one expects Congress to get much done before lawmakers drop anything in about four weeks to campaign for the mid-term election. Democrats suggested the Bush tax cuts be repealed unless one is making over $250,000 a year. Unless the Tax cuts by Bush can be there for everyone, Republicans will refuse to vote for it. This seems like it is about to by a typical Congressional stalemate. There was some controversy as House Minority Leader John Boehner said he’d surely vote to cut tax breaks on the rich if that was the only way he’d be able to get his own taxes cut.
Boehner surprises with Bush tax cuts
At the end of the year, the Tax cuts by Bush should expire. These cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003 and applied to all people. The Obama administration would like to extend the Tax cuts by Bush. This comes with the exception of giving it to the wealthy. CNN reports that Republicans and some Democrats oppose the plan, calling it a tax increase in a weak economy. Unless tax cuts go to everybody, Republicans will create a filibuster allowing them to end totally. Democrats have accused Republicans of holding middle class tax breaks hostage in order to get tax breaks for the rich. Then Boehner’s recommendation that he might compromise on the Bush tax cuts surprised everyone.
Democrats scared enough to start hanging with Republicans
Boehner dropped his bomb even as a growing number of Democrats fearful of the mid-term election have said they might prefer to extend all the Bush tax cuts for one more couple of years as the economy recovers. The Washington Post reports that half a dozen Democratic senators and Senate candidates have suggests such a temporary extension of tax cuts for the rich. There are increasingly more incumbents taking the House positions. A 3rd way that is getting attention proposes raising the $250,000 tax break threshold to $1 million per household, to compensate for regions of the country with higher costs of living.
Boehner focused on power over middle class
When Boehner made his comment on the Bush tax cuts issue, Democrats seemed to boast. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Boehner may just be trying to get Speaker of the House if Republicans start to control the government after mid-term elections. There is a difference between the opposition leader and also the speaker. This speaker gets to get bills passed, says the Monitor . Boehner may be trying to make a tax break deal that he could take credit for by suggesting . Republicans might show how much better they think they are than Democrats at getting results by simply passing a tax bill before mid-term elections come. Whether or not Boehner has the good of the middle class in mind with his strategy, the Monitor did not say.
CNN
cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/12/tax.cuts/index.html?npt=NP1
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/12/AR2010091204308_2.html?wpisrc=nl_headline and sid=ST2010091204277
Christian Science Monitor
csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/0913/Why-did-John-Boehner-change-his-mind-now-on-Bush-tax-cuts
