Not a Done Deal

Dear Friends,

The deal that President Obama cut with the Republicans about the extension of the Bush tax cuts is not a done deal and shouldn't be approved by Congress. 

The deal includes

• a two year extension of the Bush tax cuts for all - clearly much more favorable for the rich than for the middle class and since most of the money goes to the rich not very stimulative of the economy
• a low estate tax and an adjustment to the alternative minimum tax (read another tax cut for high income earners)
• a 13 month extension of unemployment benefits - good for the middle class and good for stimulating the economy but according to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the Senate Democrats could have gotten that through the Senate anyway because there would have been enough Republican Senators who would have been forced by their constituents to vote for it if President Obama and the Democratic leadership had put the pressure on
• an extension of several popular tax cuts, including some for businesses, at least two of which the Republicans had been fighting to preserve - these are somewhat stimulative but who knew it was hard to get Republicans to agree to tax cuts
• a reduction in the employee portion of payroll taxes - good for the middle class and stimulative to the economy - problem is that the Republicans will argue that Social Security and Medicare need to be cut further because there is less funding now

All in all the package is far more beneficial to the rich than the middle class and is not very stimulative to the economy that is to say it will not create jobs, but it will certainly increase the deficit big time.  As far as anybody knows, the cost of this deal somewhere in the $800 billion range is a direct increase to the deficit.  That is not good for the American people and it does not create jobs. 

The Democrats in Congress can stop this deal from happening.  The Democrats in the House have already passed the right bill that extends the tax cuts for incomes under $250,000.  They just need to stick to their guns.  In the Senate, we need enough Democrats to stand up and filibuster so that the deal cannot get passed.  Doing this will not prevent unemployment benefits from being extended or even the tax cuts for the middle class being extended.  It will reset the playing field so that a real compromise that is beneficial to the 98% of the American people with incomes under $250,000, that does not further explode the deficit and that does not continue to increase the vast gap between the very wealthy and the rest of America can be reached.

Please write and call your Representative and Senators.  Make your voice heard.  We can stop this immoral deal.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal