Republicans weigh swallowing tax hike on the wealthy

[TomCADem]

Source: Reuters

While Republican leaders in the House of Representatives insist that raising tax rates on the rich is an impossibility, some Republican lawmakers now see it as inevitable to avoiding the "fiscal cliff" of severe tax hikes and spending cuts set to start January 1.

Congressional aides, who asked not to be identified, said Republicans are losing the public relations battle over keeping low tax rates for the rich and are getting battered by President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats in Congress following their November 6 election victories.

On Capitol Hill aides often play an important role of communicating what members are thinking but cannot say themselves. In recent days, increasing numbers are putting out word through news organizations that Republicans now feel they cannot win on tax cuts for the wealthy, at least not now.

Without a deal by December 31, $600 billion in across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases, which are so severe that they likely would shove the economy into recession, are scheduled to begin.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-usa-fiscal-republicans-idUSBRE8B218T20121205

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The amazing thing is that House Republicans still continue to publicly take the stand that tax increases to the rich are off the table and that it is preferrable to cut Medicare. And, this is a political winner?

[Volaris]

1. It's a political winner if your talking to idiots...

which is the definition of the GOP "base".

[elleng]

2. Think they're taking time off to go home

and find out IF this is a 'winner???'

[Iliyah]

3. Taking time off? Shit they are re-grouping with more crazy.

Batshit crazy as a matter of fact.

[chazunit]

4. I think, as well as several of my proudly liberal friends,

that it is not a "cliff" as the MSM is making it out to be, but as an opportunity to regain political power with the newly elected behind us for the next session. At which point we exercise that power and fix the bump in the road and then continue to correct the rest of it.

Don't let MSM types change your mind about what you voted for. Don't let MSM goons tell you things different than what you already know. Don't believe that crap! EVER! Stand true to your convictions!

[yurbud]

5. usually they only swallow with the wealthy

[wilt the stilt]

7. you are on the wrong site

go back to freerepublic. This problem has been a long time in the making. This is one of the steps to correction. Your party has been nothing but obstructionists.

[goclark]

8. Bingo!

Bye Bye to the unwelcomed visitor.

[Coyotl]

14. The R word in the title was too much to resist

Like moths to a flame, lemmings to the sea, unable to resist those base urges, unreasoning, ...

[groundloop]

9. So let's get this straight : big tax cuts for the rich = more jobs ???

That's been tried, it was a dismal failure. The super wealthy are not "job creators" as they claim. Yeah, sure, maybe a few jobs taking care of their yard, doing their laundry, and watching their kids. But money in Swiss bank accounts doesn't create jobs, money stashed in the Cayman Islands doesn't create jobs. On the other hand tax money which will be wisely spent to repair infrastructure (the roads and bridges that we all drive on, for example) creates jobs.

WAKE UP John, you're being used !!!!!!

[Coyotl]

10. What, ax4john the mathematician? I'll take the trillion dollars and ask for more later!

Actually, "absolutely nothing" looks like this: $0.00.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-20/top-2-not-job-creators-or-millionaires-in-tax-debate.html

In terms of revenue for the Treasury, the Democrats would raise about $68 billion more from a one-year extension than Republicans would, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. Over 10 years, the parties are about $966 billion apart.

Taxing the rich is good for the economy
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/commentary/taxing-rich-good-economy

Bill Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy in the 1990s, and the economy produced faster job growth and higher wages than it did after George W. Bush slashed taxes on the rich in his first term.

If you need more evidence, consider modern Germany, where taxes on the wealthy are much higher

[nolabels]

11. Pruning the rose bush makes lovely flowers

Some of us people with lesser means can even afford higher taxes. I would gladly pay a couple thousand more in taxes if it will mean that 2% will have to pay millions more. I just think that 2% needs the capital gains needs to jump back up to 25% like it will if we fall over the cliff.

[Xolodno]

12. Painted into a corner....

...Obama could easily introduce a bill to reduce taxes on the middle class in the next session of congress but keep them high for the wealthy. The dog gone pledge they signed forces them to approve it.

[sofa king]

13. ... and with time to think, they like the color.

In point of fact we already did introduce a bill to extend the middle class tax cuts ONLY, back in August, and Republicans voted that down. Turns out that in practice their interests extended only to rich taxpayers. What a surprise!

If only two in a hundred voters knew that--and it looks like that's how many did know it since the television press avoided the issue like it was a dirty diaper--that spelled the margin of victory in the Democrats' 28-5 rout in the Senate elections this year.

So, building on that spectacular success, I fully expect Democrats to take this right to the wire, introduce the same bill at the start of the next Congress in January, and laugh as the House votes it down again.

Then, thanks to Citizens United, we can run a bunch of fake Tea Party loons against all House Republicans in the primaries of '014, double their costs of being reelected at the very least, and flip the House Democratic at the very best. Either Grover's protection racket gets dismantled, or the Republican Party does.

This is how you lead some very unreasonable, selfish, and incompetent people to the right decisions--by patiently gaming the board until only the correct ethical decisions pay off for the greedy fools, while their normal behavior uniformly harms them.