TIME: Why Barack Obama Compromised On Tax Cuts

[Renew Deal]

Long before the midterm ballots had been counted, White House aides had begun to mull the coming agony of divided government. As the Obama team worked out its options, one priority kept coming to the top: However, the next two years shook out, they told themselves, Barack Obama needed to convince the great middle of the American electorate once again that he was fighting for them.
<snip>

In exchange, Obama said he had secured an extension of unemployment benefits for 13 months and a number of tax cuts, for education expenses, families with children and the low income from the 2009 Recovery Act that were set to expire. One of those tax cuts, which had long been criticized by Republicans, the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, would be traded for a similarly generous 2 percent decrease in the payroll tax for workers. There was also a deal to extend certain business incentives.

A cynic could read the deal, which still needs to be accepted by rank and file members of Congress, as a classic Washington giveaway. In order to gain acceptance for budget-busting benefits that Republicans wanted, Obama had negotiated budget-busting benefits that Democrats wanted. The White House offered no estimates for the costs of the two-year deal Monday night, but it is likely to cost as much as $200 or $300 billion $900 billion (it's hard to know without a proper score of the proposal), money that will simply be borrowed with expectation that another generation can foot the bill.

But at the White House, where there is much anxiety about the staggering performance of the economy, this is considered a victory. In crafting the compromise, Obama may be able to effectively able to sneak another stimulus bill through Congress, by capitalizing on the Republican habit of refusing to acknowledge the deficit impact of tax cuts.
<snip>

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/12/06/why-barack-obama-compromised-on-tax-cuts

[RandomThoughts]

1. I figure it is tactical, not strategic, and have not thought much on it.

Except what I would do, then again what they do is not my choice. I only choose what I do, and how I chose to see it.

:shrug:

[patrice]

9. +1~

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. "In crafting the compromise, Obama may be able to effectively able to sneak another stimulus bill"

Would anyone like to take bets?

:eyes:

[Renew Deal]

3. The point is that this is the stimulus.

That's what people are saying.

[rfranklin]

5. And it will not do shit...

because we have already seen that tax cuts create zero jobs.

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. If that's really what people are saying, they're being delusional.

The vast majority of the money in this bill goes towards the tax cuts for the rich which have been shown time and again to not stimulate the economy.

[emulatorloo]

10. Pretty sure the majority of money goes to middle class and below tax cuts and breaks.

At least that is how it was broken down on Lawrence O'Donnell show last night.

[NNN0LHI]

4. I don't care if he had to promise ...

... he was going to pass out hundred dollar bills and free turkeys to everyone on the street corner to assure that McCain/Palin did not get elected.

If that is what it took to accomplish that it was fine with me. Fair trade off.

At least I am not losing sleep at night worrying about one of those fucking rapture ready nuts being in charge of our nuclear arsenal. Its worth it. Here, let me say that again in case anyone missed it. It was fucking worth it!

Thank you President Obama. You keep doing or saying whatever you have to do or say to keep those nuts away from our nuclear arsenal. That is your number one job.

Don

[GOTV]

11. Did you notice he was "shellacked" during the last election. So he is NOT doing what's needed to ..

... keep those nuts away from the nuclear arsenal. He plays with the GOP and beats on the Dems so much that the Dems can't get people to vote for them. In 2010 Obama lost us the house and he's not changing course so in 2012 it will probably be the Senate and the White House

[FLyellowdog]

7. Is it possible that Obama knows what he's doing

and that all this will in the long run benefit the country?

Maybe he's just simply not a party-line man and is truly looking for ways to help us all regardless of its political cost.

Not to sound like a Pollyanna but why else would he have cut this deal? He's alienating his base, knows that he'll never get the right-wing vote, and mayb very well be a one term president...could it be that he's more interested in doing what's best for the most people and to hell with what his supporters think?

I guess I'm trying to keep idolizing him. I don't want to believe that he'd sell out his party without good reason. Just call me Naive Nellie.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. "But at the White House......this is considered a victory"

Kinda like a shirtless gambler walking away from the table bragging about the jockey shorts he didn't lose