What "Obama tax cuts"?

Symbolism outweighed revenue in estate tax battle
From MSNBC.com's Tom Curry: House Democrats unhappy with the Tax Cut deal negotiated by President Obama managed to tie up the lower chamber with a procedural roadblock for most of the day Thursday but were unable to stop final passage of the bill that will be signed into law Friday afternoon. So what was all the fuss about? In a last gasp of Rhetoric over tax policy, Democratic opponents of the deal were battling over just about one percent of federal revenue in 2011. That's the money that woul...

Scaling back the estate tax hurts middle-class families (Rep. Keith Ellison)
The Estate Tax is an important part of our progressive tax code. I’m disappointed that Congressional Republicans fought for Estate Tax cuts when the real focus should be on how to support middle-class families still looking for work and struggling to make ends meet. The Estate Tax reduction in the Legislation now going to President Obama is an unnecessary give-away to the ultra-wealthy. It was one of the reasons I voted against the hold-the-middle-class-hostage tax package orchestrated by Co...

It is not a tax cut, Krauthammer
Move over Bill Clinton. President Obama is the new comebback kid. From Charles Krauthammer: If Barack Obama wins Reelection in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010. Obama had a bad November. Self-confessedly shellacked in the Midterm Election, he fled the scene to Asia and various unsuccessful meetings, only to return to a sad-sack lame-duck Congress with ghostly dozens of defeated Democrats wa...

Obamas bounce
Now that Congress passed the Trillion-dollar bill, Krauthammer sees Obama as The new comeback kid Obama had a bad November. Self-confessedly shellacked in the Midterm Election, he fled the scene to Asia and various unsuccessful meetings, only to return to a sad-sack lame-duck Congress with ghostly dozens of defeated Democrats wandering the halls. Now, with his stunning tax deal, Obama is back. Holding no high cards, he nonetheless managed to resurface suddenly not just as a player but as orche...

Everything Remains Raw.
Is the tax deal a sign of new cooperation between the GOP and Barack Obama ? The short answer is no. And the longer answer? As long as Obama is president and Democrats control one chamber of Congress, the incentives that drove Republican behavior over the last two years remain in place. It's still the case that poor economic performance will harm Obama and the Democratic Party, and it's still the case that Republicans can force many concessions by holding the government hostage to their whim. I...

House Passes Extension of Bush Tax Cuts
Thursday night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend the Bush-era Tax Cuts for two years. However, many Democrats aren't happy with the Compromise. It took months of fierce negotiation and contentious compromises and many Democrats fought up to the last minute. "What this bill represents is a complete surrender of Democratic principles," said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. "This bill will kill our Children with very little benefit at the moment," said Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass. In...

AP gets it
The Associated Press headline cut through the crap: “Bill preventing big tax hikes heads to Obama Fri.” Amen. This is not a Tax Cut. The top marginal Tax Rate will remain at 35% and all the other tax rates are unchanged. Now I write that with two caveats. One the Estate Tax jumps from 0% to 35% on January 1. Any multimillionaires planning on dying real soon should do so before New Year’s. Social Security taxes will drop from 12.4% to 10.4% for the 2011 year only. (It is 6.2% ...

House passes temporary extension of Bush-era tax cuts, 277-148
Naturally: The House late Thursday gave final approval to a temporary extension of the George W. Bush-era Tax Rates, delivering a significant but politically bruising victory to President Obama. The $858 billion Legislation now heads to the president’s desk for his signature. It extends the Bush Tax Cuts across the board for two years, slashes the employee Payroll Tax by 2 percent for one year, renews the Estate Tax and extends Unemployment Insurance benefits for 13 months. The vote was 277-...

You Call It A Bush Tax Cut...
A bill is headed to President Obama's desk Friday that will keep taxes at bay for millions of Americans, but whether you call them the "Bush Tax Cuts" or "Obama's tax deal" depends on how you feel about them. It all began in 2001 when President George W. Bush pushed temporary tax cuts through Congress. Without the two-thirds majority needed to make them permanent, those cuts were due to expire at the end of this year. The debate over extending them became an exercise in strategic labeling. Democ...

What will the big new tax law mean for you?
It's the most significant new tax law in a decade, but what does it mean for you? Big savings for millions of Taxpayers, more if you have young Children or attend college, a lot more if you're wealthy. The package, being signed Friday by President Barack Obama, will save Taxpayers, on average, nearly $3,000 next year. But many families will be able to save much more by taking advantage of Tax Breaks for being married, having children, paying for child care, going to college or investing in secur...

White House Spins the Tax Bill
If you look at the White House schedule today you'll see this item at 3:50 pm: The President signs the middle-class Tax Cut bill South Court AuditoriumHow many things are wrong with those few words? This is not a Tax Cut bill. No one's taxes will be cut. Income Tax rates will remain in 2011 right where they were in 2010. Estate Tax rates will skyrocket from 0% to 35%. Rich people - you still have a few days left to die and leave your assets to your heirs instead of the government. It doesn't j...

House votes to keep current tax rate
Dear media, the House vote last night - which sends the bill to President Obama for his signature - wasn’t an $801 billion Tax Cut bill, as the NYT headline blares. Certainly there are tax cuts in it, but not to the tune of $801 billion. Nor did "Millionaires" get a “tax cut. “ All that happened is the House voted to maintain the current Income Tax rate for everyone. Nothing changes. No one gets "more" in terms of tax savings than they do right n...

Liberals cut down to size
Enough! You can have your own politics, my liberal friends, you aren’t entitled to your own facts. And your claims about the Obama/GOP tax deal are pure, fact-free fantasy. Yesterday morning I endured watching a Fertilizer-filled conversation on Fox 25 with Rep. Stephen Lynch, who hit every Pelosi talking point: The bill is full of “Tax Cuts,” in particular “Tax Breaks for the top 2 percent” of income earners. “We’re borrowing $855 billion from the ...

What does the tax deal mean to you?
Millions of Taxpayers — including those who earn $250,000 or more — won't have to worry about a Tax Increase next year if a measure the House debated on Thursday passes without changes. MEASURE: House votes on tax deal changes THE UNEMPLOYED: Jobless benefits SENIORS: Individual Retirement accounts Other groups that stand to benefit: Average Americans A cut in Social Security Payroll taxes The Compromise would decrease Social Security Payroll taxes to 4.2% from 6.2% for one year. Th...

The Young Pharaoh and the Hipocritic Oath
Time marches on, even for the immature. Barack Obama will turn 50 next year. Do not expect an older, wiser (or, still less, a chastened) version of the Young Pharaoh in the new year. With the help of his Billionaire friends, some of whom were prancing about on public display in the White House this week, he plans to make class warfare the centerpiece of his domestic policies in the time remaining before the next General Election. Let us hope that the Republicans are able to deal with this weird ...

A bipartisan pro-growth, pro-jobs plan for Congress
The deal cut between President Obama and Republicans may make sense in the short term; but it is expensive and will expand the Deficit without adding many jobs or fueling The Economy. A divided Congress must now focus on pro-growth policies, other than Tax Cuts. To that end, here are five ideas which both parties could embrace as short-term economic measures, without adding much to the Debt. Reduce the Corporate Tax rate on companies proportional to their 2011 U.S. jobs growth If the corporate...

NY Delegation Split On Tax Cut Vote
Members of the New York delegation were sharply divided on last night’s 277-148 vote to pass the Tax Cut deal President Obama brokered with the Republicans, with the more liberal members making good on pledges to oppose the measure. Not surprisingly, the three lone Republicans - Chris Lee, Pete King and the newest House member, Tom Reed - voted “yes.” (They’ll soon be joined by five GOP freshmen, a number of whom have said they would have voted in the affirma...

Obama Gets the Tax Bill
There's something strangely satisfying about seeing more Democrats than Republicans voting for an extension of the Bush Tax Rates: A massive Bipartisan tax package preventing a big New Year's Day tax hike for millions of Americans is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature. The measure would extend Tax Cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every w...

Why Did Illinois's Defeated Democrats Vote to Extend the Tax Cuts?
An Illinois Republican observes: Interesting to see that all four of the ousted House Democrats from Illinois voted “yes” on the extension of the Tax Cuts. Rumors are going around that all four — Melissa Bean, Bill Foster, Debbie Halvorson and Phil Hare — are looking to get back into Congress after redistricting. Voting “no” probably would have better gone along with their ideology, but could be politically damaging (imagine the commercials “So and So ...

Bill preventing big tax hikes heads to Obama Fri. (AP)
WASHINGTON – A massive Bipartisan tax package preventing a big New Year's Day tax hike for millions of Americans is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature Friday. The measure would extend Tax Cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage. The president is expected to sign the bill Friday afternoon. In a remarkable sho...

Cox Knocks Gillibrand on Tax Cut Vote
State G.O.P. chairman Ed Cox sent out a statement this afternoon knocking Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for her "no" vote yesterday on extending the Bush-era Tax Cuts. "In aligning herself with the radical Left Wing in the Senate, Gillibrand has demonstrated clearly that she is out of touch with the needs of New Yorkers already buckling under the heaviest tax burden in the nation," Cox said. "Gillibrand is trying to explain away her vote for higher taxes by sounding like a Deficit hawk, but her stat...

House Does the Deal
A massive Bipartisan tax package preventing a big New Year's Day tax hike for millions of Americans is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature. The measure would extend Tax Cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage. In a remarkable show of Bipartisanship, the House gave final approval to the measure just before midnight Th...

House honors Norman Mineta
Rep. Mike Honda, a San Jose Democrat, won passage today of a bill honoring his predecessor, former Rep. Norm Mineta, the long time representative for San Jose who also served as the lone Democrat in former President George W. Bush's cabinet as Transportation Secretary. It is a rare tribute to a living former member, agreed to by both Democrats and Republicans. Mineta was the first Asian American mayor of a large city, San Jose, a member of the House from 1975 to 1995, chairman of the transpor...

the new comeback kid?
Charles Krauthammer, as we already knew, is furious with the Republicans for cutting a deal with the White House that bloats the Deficit further and - in his view - gives a big boost to Obama's Reelection chances. The Krauthammer rage fuels another coruscating column this week: Obama had a bad November. Self-confessedly shellacked in the Midterm Election, he fled the scene to Asia and various unsuccessful meetings, only to return to a sad-sack lame-duck Congress with ghostly dozens of defe...

House Passes Bush Tax Cut Rate Extension 277-148 in Late-Night Vote Raw Video 12/16/10
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the bill extending the Bush Tax Cut Rates by a 277-148 vote. The vote came around midnight last night, and sends the bill on to President Obama where he will sign it into law. The bill leaves the current Tax Rate in place on all income levels, and also provides a one-year Social Security “tax holiday” - with virtually all U.S. workers paying 2% less in Payroll taxes in 2011. ...