Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:06 PM
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BUSH Officials Celebrate TAX CUT ‘ TRAP ’ They LAID Nine Years Ago |
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:smoke: :mad: :smoke: :mad: :smoke: :mad: :puke: < > " As debate rages in Washington over the Bush tax cuts, set to expire at the end of this year, the Bush administration officials who initiated the steep tax cuts are celebrating what they see as an apparent victory, since signs point to a temporary extension of all the cuts. The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz interviewed Dan Bartlett, Bush’s former communications director, and Andy Card, Bush’s former chief of staff, among others, and they were pleased at how the expiration debate has played out:
“We knew that, politically, once you get it into law, it becomes almost impossible to remove it,” says Dan Bartlett, Bush’s former communications director. “That’s not a bad legacy. The fact that we were able to lay the trap does feel pretty good, to tell you the truth.”
“ are definitely on the defensive,” Card says. “The fact that the 10-year clock ran out now had a big impact on the election.”
As Media Matters notes, former Bush senior adviser Karl Rove went on Fox News this week and further laid the proverbial trap, saying “without a hint of self-awareness” that “we’ve known this was going to be happening for a decade,” while lamenting the Democrats’ inaction.
When the tax cuts were enacted, with an expiration date, Republicans and Bush officials understood the political advantages of the “fiscal time bomb” they were setting. As Kurtz puts it: “At some point in the way distant future, Democrats could be accused of raising taxes if they tried to undo the Bush breaks and return to Clinton-era levels of taxation.” Democrats understood this, too: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) told the Washington Post at the time that “ going to be out of office when the roof falls in.”
There was a more sinister motive for sunsetting the tax cuts beyond politics, as well. It allowed the administration to pass the bill with a lower vote count in the Senate than would otherwise be necessary. Card freely admits to Kurtz that the administration wanted “the law to be permanent but couldn’t muster the votes to trump the Byrd Rule,” which would have required a 60-vote margin for a measure that significantly increases the federal deficit more than 10 years in the future. By setting the tax cuts to expire just short of ten years, the measure passed with 58 votes.
The various sunsets also hid the true cost of the bill. As Paul Krugman wrote at the time: “The administration, knowing that its tax cut wouldn’t fit into any responsible budget, pushed through a bill that contains the things it wanted most — big tax cuts for the very, very rich — and used whatever accounting gimmicks it could find to make the overall budget impact seem smaller than it is.”
Such deception and fiscal irresponsibility hardly seem cause for celebration. But because it appears that all of the tax cuts will once again be extended, resetting the fiscal time bomb in spite of public opposition, perhaps these Bush officials are justified in their mirth.
<http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/03/bushies-celebrates-taxes/>
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Sherman A1
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:11 PM
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1. I say let them all expire |
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If the GOP is soooo very worried about the deficit then let them expire. The tax cut's help to screw things up for everyone so now is the time to fix it.
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Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:17 PM
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3. Aah, I agree but who will lead the way? It takes a leader with REAL spine to walk that path. |
democrat_patriot
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:21 PM
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4. Dems cannot afford to be labelled with "raising taxes' which scares them |
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more than any other label.
They are terrified of "Tax and spend" liberal, and have been fighting that for years...
Nope - it's cut's for under 250K, or cuts for all. In their minds there is no other path.
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Jackpine Radical
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:56 PM
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16. Lotta fucking difference it makes |
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when a huge proportion of the country thinks Obama raised their taxes on them.
The Dems can let the tax cuts expire & let the Reptilians accuse them of raising taxes. Or they can pass the tax cuts & have the Reptilians take credit for keeping taxes down.
Anyway, if letting the tax cuts expire helps the deficit, then the Dems could say that their fiscal responsibility is paying off.
A year and a half is a long time. Obama's fortunes are going to ride on things much larger than whether or not he lets the Bush tax cuts expire. Things like jobs & the state of the economy. Not to mention what happens to SocSec.
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niceypoo
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:29 PM
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The CBO says that ending them all will balance the budget by 2014 |
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It's a no brainer. End all the Bush tax cuts, problem solved!
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Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:44 PM
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14. This chart should be Obama's screen saver reminding him that leadership doesn't come easy. |
Angry Dragon
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:16 PM
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2. I am glad they love their country so much |
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that they would put their party before the country.
They sound like traitors to me.
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Vincardog
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:24 PM
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6. It is not their party the put over the country it is their CLASS THEIR PERSONNEL WEALTH |
bluesmail
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:23 PM
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gateley
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:25 PM
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7. It's all a big game to them. nt |
Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:28 PM
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8. The fish stinks from the head first. |
mediaman007
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:29 PM
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Name a piece of their legislation that actually has made a difference to an American family.
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pacalo
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:28 PM
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9. So, according to their ethics, a great legacy consists of traps, sinister motives, |
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Edited on Fri Dec-03-10 04:30 PM by pacalo
gimmicks, & deception before the "roof falls in".
And they're bragging about this? They start an unnecessary "war" that cost this country $3 trillion, then scheme to lock in $700 billion of tax giveaways to the super rich -- to ruin the economy? This country continues to go down the tubes.
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mediaman007
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:30 PM
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11. Are you President Obama? |
pacalo
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:40 PM
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13. That information is classified |
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& if you read anything in the WikiLeak releases insinuating that I'm surfing the 'net under the name "pacalo", please disregard.
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Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:45 PM
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Solly Mack
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Fri Dec-03-10 04:32 PM
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12. So....10 years worth of moves ahead? |
glinda
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Fri Dec-03-10 05:12 PM
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17. Frat immature mentality that Repubs possess is just embarrassing. |
ixion
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Fri Dec-03-10 05:25 PM
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18. “We knew that, politically, once you get it into law, it becomes almost impossible to remove it,” |
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THIS is why you don't make stupid laws, whether temporary, or with the idea of "fixing it later."
This is exactly why.
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Segami
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Fri Dec-03-10 05:36 PM
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19. This is also another reason why they should let this sucker expire. |
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The ongoing tax perks for the rich will NEVER end if they extend the Bush Tax Cuts.
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spanone
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Fri Dec-03-10 05:38 PM
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20. democrats took it hook line & sinker..... |
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you never, ever reinstate a tax... you RAISE TAXES....PERIOD
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ixion
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Fri Dec-03-10 05:43 PM
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21. Under that theory, on a long enough timeline tax goes to 100% |
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so I think your premise is flawed.
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