Senate Democrats: We Support Middle Class, Not Tax Breaks For Rich

Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) today called for end to tax breaks for wealthy Americans.

Their pair of Democrats spoke minutes after several House Republican leaders said they would continue to fight for an extension of all the tax cuts, which were originally passed in 2001 and 2003 under the Bush administration. The series of cuts are all set to expire by the end of this year.

Stabenow said the difference between parties is clear; Democrats would like to help the middle class while Republicans care only about helping those who don’t need help.

“We are committed to extending tax cuts for middle class Americans,” she said, adding that Republicans are willing to “hold hostage” middle class Americans until they get tax cut extensions for the millionaires and billionaires of the country.”

“We have had 10 years of tax cuts for the wealthy, my question is ‘Where are the jobs?’” Stabenow asked.

“The extension of the tax cut for our wealthiest… will add $700 billion to the national decifit, we can’t afford to do that,” added Cardin.

Shelby Aims To Permanently Extend Tax Cuts

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said today that he’ll help sponsor legislation aimed at making permanent a series of tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003.

“The only thing worse than raising taxes is doing so under difficult economic conditions, as President Obama proposes,” said Shelby in a statement. “Allowing our existing tax rates to expire will cause the largest tax increase in America’s history, which is why I strongly support this legislation to prevent it.”

In addition to freezing current income tax rates, Shelby’s legislation would prohibit tax hikes on dividends earnings and capital gains. It would also increase the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption amount so that fewer families are subject to it.

You can read more about the Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2010, or S. 3773, by clicking here.

Obama: We've Stopped The Bleeding, More Must Be Done

President Barack Obama spoke Monday in Fairfax, Va. where he told a group of local residents that his economic policies have “stopped the bleeding” from an economy nearing a state similar to that of the Great Depression. 

Obama reiterated to guests that the rate of recovery has not met his expectations and making up for the 8 million total jobs lost is an “enormous challenge.”.

“The fact of the matter is the pace of improvement has not  been where it needs to be and the hole that we had dug ourselves in was enormous,” Obama said. 

The president called on a Congress fresh off its August recess to pass a small business jobs bill that he said would offer businesses more assurance in prospective tax cuts, giving them more incentive to hire new employees. 

“Pass this bill, I will sign it into law the day after it’s passed or the day it is passed,” Obama said. “Right away, I think a lot of small businesses around the country will feel more comfortable about hiring and making investments.”

Obama also told the small group of northern Virginia residents that a Republican backed extension of Bush-era tax cuts is too expensive for the country.  The president said that his administration is still “in this wrestling match with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell” over extending tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans. 

“We just can’t afford it,” Obama said. 

New Poll Shows More Favor Letting Tax Cuts For Top Earners Expire

A new Gallup poll out today reveals that more Americans would support allowing tax cuts for the nation’s most wealthy individuals to expire at the end of the year.

44% of those surveyed said the tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration should be renewed next year for people making less than $250,000 per year, but not for those making more than that. Comparatively, 37% said they would vote to keep the tax cuts in place for all taxpayers. 15% said they would allow all the tax cuts to expire.

The debate in Washington this fall promises to center around the issue of what to do about the tax cuts. President Barack Obama has made it clear that he supports raising taxes on the top two percent of Americans, while keeping in place tax cuts for all other income earners. The Obama administration believes that doing so would generate $700 billion in revenue.

Republicans, however, have unitedly called for extending the cuts for all. According to House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), “this would help ease the uncertainty employers and entrepreneurs are facing so they can get back to creating jobs.”

The Gallup poll indicates that views on what to do about the tax cuts fall generally along partisan lines. Among those who said they would vote to extend the complete package of cuts, 54% identified themselves as Republican, compared to just 18% who said they were Democrats. Meanwhile, 60% of Democrats that were surveyed said they favored eliminating the cuts for the wealthy. 32% of Republicans who responded agreed.

Congress will likely take up the issue when it returns to session next week, but immediate action is not expected. The struggle over what to do could take weeks, especially with most lawmakers looking ahead to the November elections. Though the president will continue to call for swift legislation, the White House seems to be acknowledging the ideological battle that will surely occur on Capitol Hill. Just this week, recently resigned OMB Director Peter Orszag urged lawmakers to extend the entire package of cuts.

“[T]he best approach is a compromise: extend the tax cuts for two years and then end them altogether,” he wrote in an editorial featured in the New York Times. “Ideally only the middle-class tax cuts would be continued for now. Getting a deal in Congress, though, may require keeping the high-income tax cuts, too. And that would still be worth it.”

Boehner Pitches Two-Year Tax Freeze, Reduced Spending

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) proposed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday a two-year tax freeze on current U.S. tax rates, including the Bush tax cuts.

Boehner appeared on the show preluding remarks by President Barack Obama where he is scheduled to speak in the lawmaker’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio pitching a trio of his own economic proposals. 

The Minority Leader called on the White House as being “out of touch” with the American people and proposed a reduction in next year’s spending to 2008 levels to compliment his tax freeze pitch. 

“If we’re able to do this together, I think we’ll show the American people that we understand what’s going on in the country and we’ll be able to get our economy moving again and get jobs growing in America,” Boehner said.

Boehner’s nationally televised remarks come on the heels of a New York Times Op-Ed submitted by Obama’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag. In his article, Orszag endorsed the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans for two years before letting them expire. Orszag said that letting the tax cuts expire too soon could deal a heavy blow to an already struggling jobs market.

“Let’s continue the tax cuts for two years but end them for good in 2013,” Orszag said.