IMO, the best option BY FAR would be to let ALL Bush tax cuts & other Obama payroll tax cuts expire!

[Change Happens]

It is really the best thing we can do for our country at this time.

The political argument is simple: the pukes insisted that their millionaires and billionaires supporters should not pay more in taxes, therefore, they are making all Americans pay more in taxes.

Result, for Obama and the country, real money coming into the coffers, more likely lower deficits and overall debt, that's it.

The tax structure is unchanged, the lower income people still pay lower taxes, the people at the top pay more taxes.

Do nothing, let all tax cuts expire on schedule.

For Obama, letting taxes go back to Clinton's tax rates is a win win! He has enough wins LOWERING taxes for the past 2-3 years! He lowered taxes when the economy needed it, now we can let taxes go back to normalized levels because the government needs the money to pay bills...Very simple :)

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. I don't think letting Bush's tax cuts expire is an option for this year.

[Change Happens]

3. We are talking about a 10 year (or maybe 12 year) budget...Nothing they agree to is going

to take effect right now...Let them expire at the end 2012.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. oh. ok

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I have thought the same thing, although

I am not sure that it is a good political move. Political moves are often counter to sensible moves. In a second term, I think it would be something to look at. I do believe that the move that Obama has been talking about, getting rid of all the loopholes, is the win/win at this point in time. There are damned few Americans of all political affiliations who are in favor of very profitable businesses paying no taxes and millionaires and billionaires paying less percent taxes than they do.

We do know that the debt has to be dealt with, and we do know that the revenue side has to increase for that to happen.

[Change Happens]

5. I thought that's we are already, no? Obama asked for what you described, pukes already said

no, they do want ZERO taxes, they want to have this whole argument and not touch taxes.

Cantor said, they are offering to raise the debt ceiling, Obama agrees to $1, $2, $3, or $4 trillions in cuts. That's where we are now.

Am I missing anything?

[Curmudgeoness]

11. No, you aren't missing anything, at least

not from the last time I heard---it seems to change minute by minute. But what I said was that this would be the political win/win. I am not saying whether it will happen or not. The GOP bastards know it is a win/win for Obama, and they intend to do everything in their power to keep him from scoring any points. But it isn't over until the fat lady sings, and she has not tuned up yet. There are enough people hot under the collar (even the Reps) about tax inequity that the GOPers have been getting an earful from them. They will have to blink.

[JoePhilly]

4. He proimised to not raise taxes on those making under 250k.

No one seems to remember that.

That's 95% of the country. It would be his "read my lips" moment. And the media would make sure of it.

He broke that promise, he loses in 2012, period. And then a GOP President, and GOP House and GOP senate simply reinstates the Bush tax breaks.

After Obama wins in 2012, then he can let them all expire. But he could not let those middle class tax cuts expire, and the Dem congress was too cowardly to put forward a bill that extended only those for the middle class.

That's the reality.

[customerserviceguy]

6. He'll have no control over that

The Republicons who are in the House right now will be the same ones who are in there all the way to the 2012 election. They will never vote for a package that taxes the rich while sparing those making under 250K.

[JoePhilly]

13. The tax cuts are set to expire in Dec 2012 ... the make up of the House

won't matter. They don't get to vote on it.

[customerserviceguy]

15. Yes, the tax cuts will expire then

But for everybody, not just the well-off. If the promise of no tax increases for the under $250K folks is to be taken literally, then there will be pressure on the President to have a vote on an extension of the cuts before the 2012 election. He couldn't get a rich-persons-tax-only with a lame duck Democratic Congress, how can he do any better with the Congress he has now?

[JoePhilly]

19. There is no pressure before the election to do any such thing.

The GOP House can try to write a bill to extend them all, but the Senate won't pass it. Reid doesn't even need to bring it to the floor, and he won't.

Meanwhile, Obama can tell congress, and the American people, that he would sign an extension for the middle class only.

By doing so, he keeps his campaign promise to the 95%.

After the 2012 election, if the congress doesn't give him a clean bill, he can break the promise to the 95% and let them all expire.

And DU will explode because "he raised taxes on the middle class". Bookmark it.

[customerserviceguy]

20. I predict it will become an election issue next year

There will be pressure from the GOP candidate, and the Rethugs in the House to extend all of the Bush tax cuts for another two years. You'll be seeing a lot of very uncomfortable Democratic Senators going along with that, because if they don't, they'll lose seats in what are fairly red states.

Obama's never had to run for a re-election for anything outside of his Illinois state senate seat in a reliably blue district, my guess is that he's probably not terribly skilled at it.

[JoePhilly]

21. Reid won't let it come to the floor.

As majority leader, he gets to pick what the Senate votes on. There will be no Senate vote on extending all of the cuts.

Terrified Dem Senators can go home and say they supported an extension, but because others in the Senate would not bring it to a vote, they could not vote for it. And the issue becomes moot.

Moreover ... let's pretend that Reid DOES bring such a bill to the floor. There will be more than 41 Dems who filabuster it ... there are only about 6 bluedogs.

The GOP has no way to get to 60 votes on any such bill. But again, its not going to get that far. I suspect that the GOP House will pass something, the Senate won't touch it.

As for Obama's reelection ... try to recall that 1.5 years before the 2008 election ... he had "no chance" of winning, too green. He did ok.

And in 2012, the GOP has the craziest group of candidates ever.

[Change Happens]

8. He is not, all he is doing letting certain law passed by CONGRESS expire, just like it was designed.

Easy simple argument...

[JoePhilly]

14. Not how the press would spin it prior to the 2012 election.

After he is reelected in 2012, he can let them all expire.

[Autumn]

23. He kept only part of that promise.

A single working person making below 20,000 or a married couple making under 40,000 a year saw their taxes go up. That's the reality.

[aquart]

9. The middle class doesn't need tax cuts as much as it needs to exist.

[phleshdef]

10. Upsetting monthly middle class budgets while unemployment is 9.2% would be very stupid.

If unemployment was below 7% or better, I'd completely agree with you.

[TheKentuckian]

12. Then you can't worry about deficit reduction under the same conditions either.

If it is stupid to raise taxes then it is stupid to create additional unemployment and reduce demand by cutting spending.

Hell, reducing demand and increasing unemployment is far dumber than a penny or two or three on the dollar. Which option reduces demand more?

[JoePhilly]

22. You have to sell the middle class on this ...

When this was all being polled back in Dec, the middle class supported letting the tax cuts for the rich expire by around 70%, BUT, their support dropped below 50% if that was coupled with letting their own tax cuts expire as well. They are FINE with letting the cuts for the rich expire, but not at the cost of their own tax cut.

Back in Dec 2010, here on DU, there were two "Obama Bad" memes being put forward.

Meme 1) If Obama let's the middle class tax cuts expire, during a fragile recovery, right when they need the money most ... THAT proves he doesn't care about the middle class.

Meme 2) If Obama doesn't let the tax cuts for the rich expire ... THAT proves he only cares about helping the rich.

Lose Lose for Obama either way.

Regardless ... if he raised the taxes on those under 250k, it would be his "read my lips" moment.

The video of Obama making the "no tax increase on those under 250k" promise, would run 24/7, preceded by the video of Bush #1 saying "read my lips" ... and then augmented with "and that's why Bush was a one-term President."

[TheKentuckian]

24. You've missed the argument for deficit reduction in a downturn

You have completely forgot to touch which is actually worse for the economy, regardless of politics.

It makes no sense to reduce demand that much while using an axiom to set the pattern for governing based on similar logic regarding taxes.

If you don't raise taxes, then it is much more insane to kill off the purchaser of last resort.

You don't shrink the economy during a recession and it is more real world foolish to do so than it is to raise all earners taxes a fraction.

Shedding more jobs and handcuffing government spending below what it is in normal times is fucking insane and no tin ear political analysis is going to make it rational nor does a reflexive pointing to the polls create cover for doing things that are plainly stupid and counter-productive for our broad economy.

I grant you a tax increase would be tough politically but you want to ignore the real world ramifications and the eventual political ones for cutting spending when there is already a huge hole in demand is not worse for our economy than doing nothing or a small rate increase.

If you can't take the political hit from raising taxes then you have to accept the hit for not being serious about deficit reduction because refusing to take either means you are willfully scuttling the economy for political considerations putting you somewhere between reckless asshole and traitor.

Now you have the drag on investment that encouraging hoarding (aka the tax cuts) and a foolish reduction in demand when it is most needed.

I also have little pity for the stupidity of making such an idiotic claim when you took even the top 20% off the table for tax increases when the financial house was burning down.

[fivepennies]

16. What good will any change in the tax rate be

if the tax loopholes aren't closed? An increase the percentage will just be another opportunity to use the escape clauses already in the code for the uber wealthy to avoid paying more than they do now.

Obama has talked about closing those loopholes, but I wonder if that's any part of the behind closed doors negotiations.

[The Big Vetolski]

17. To be fair, Obama HAS proposed eliminating subsidies to the oil

companies. I know this because I can't turn on the TV without seeing some American Petroleum Institute commercial with paid "ordinary people" proclaiming "raising taxes on the energy industry" is a bad idea that will destroy jobs.

I think that qualifies as closing a loophole. It would certainly generate more revenue. I'm not happy with Obama overall, but I agree with him on this one and hope he sticks to his guns, debt ceiling be damned.

[fivepennies]

18. Absolutely, he has talked about the oil companies.

and that's good, but its a LOT bigger than that.

U.S. tax loopholes save the rich billions
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/485344