Deficit Hawks Transformed by Scheduled End of Certain Tax Provisions Season Miracle

[Donnachaidh]

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/12/10/deficit-hawks-transformed-by-scheduled-end-of-certain-tax-provisions-season-miracle/

For most of the year, Washington is overrun with deficit hysteria, but right now is that special, magical time of the year. No I’m not talking about Christmas! I’m talking about the joyous season of the January 1 scheduled end of temporary tax provisions that would increase rates for the ultra wealthy and end select corporate welfare programs!

Joyous for lobbyists, at least.

With Republicans desperate to keep taxes low for the very wealthy and Obama adding a temporary extension of unemployment benefits as just enough sugar to convince Democrats they need to swallow it, we suddenly have a massive deficit-increasing bill, and none of the so-called “deficit hawks” seem to care about the price tag. As a result, it appears they are taking this moment to load the bill with as many deficit-enhancing “temporary” tax credit extensions as possible.

Truly, it is a Christmas scheduled-end-of-certain-tax-provisions season miracle! All year, the deficit hawks rejected worthy programs to help people in this horrible economy because we supposedly couldn’t afford them, but with rich people about to pay more and corporate welfare programs set to expire, the deficit hawks’ icy hearts were melted by the sad, puppy-dog look on the faces of corporate CEOs about to see a four percent marginal rate increase.

Magically, all the deficit hawks were transformed by the scheduled-end-of-certain-tax-provisions season spirit. Now their deficit-spending generosity knows no bounds with this $857 billion piece of legislation. The mantra that everything must be paid for, which all year they applied to programs meant to help the working class, has instantly changed to “if you are going to spend, spend big!” Let no tax extension provision be left out.

MORE at the link ---

[gratuitous]

1. "Just enough sugar to convince Democrats"

I gotta say, if this package is such a wonderful dealio, each individual part of it should be wonderful, too. Break it into nice, definable, discrete chunks, and let's have a vote on each piece. Find out who is in favor of an extension of unemployment benefits and who is in favor of boosting the tax rate for the wealthy back to where it was when we were running budget surpluses.

No sense muddying the waters by throwing it all together, is there? A series of those chewy delicious up-or-down votes that everyone loves so much. The more, the merrier, right?