EVENT
House GOP to reject stopgap payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Senate adjourned for the holidays, House Republicans are moving to shelve a bipartisan two-month extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut that cleared the Senate over the weekend and are demanding instead that their fellow lawmakers return to the Capitol for negotiations.
After a spate of bipartisanship last week, the combatants are back in full-throated warfare over President Barack Obama’s payroll tax initiative and other expiring measures, including jobless benefits for almost 1.8 million people who will lose them next month if Congress doesn’t act.
The Senate’s short-term, lowest-common-denominator approach would renew a 2 percentage point cut in the Social Security payroll tax, plus jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, and would prevent a huge cut in Medicare payments to doctors.
“With millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, it would be unconscionable for Speaker (John) Boehner to block a bipartisan agreement that would protect middle-class families from the thousand-dollar tax increase looming on January 1st,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who negotiated the two-month extension with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The 2 percentage point tax cut provides about a $1,000 annual tax cut for a typical earner making about $50,000 a year.
VENT
True to their solemn vow to abide by the demands of Grover Norquist (a lobbyist holding no elected office, and the most powerful man in government), the Republicans have threatened filibuster every bill the Democrats have put forth to help reduce the deficit that includes letting the Bush era tax cuts expire for just millionaires. So against raising taxes of any kind are they, that they are willing to shut down the government if any one dare whisper such a suggestion as closing corporate tax loopholes. This is because their first priority (besides making Obama a one term president) is to not raise taxes.
So why then have the House Republicans decided to play Scrooge this holiday season and not even let the bill passed by the Democratically controlled Senate which would extend the payroll tax cuts for another two months even come up for a vote? Could it be that they know that if the bill isn’t passed, the economic recovery will have stalled, making their first priority (the afore mentioned one term Obama presidency) more likely? But isn’t it hypocritical for a party that vows to not raise taxes? If this bill isn’t passed, middle class families making $50,000 would have to pay an additional tax of $1,000 a year. Maybe their sentiment just needs an asterisk. They are the party that stands firm against tax increases (*for the wealthy.) See? Now it all makes sense. After all, somebody has to sacrifice. You can bet your bottom dollar (and that may be all your left with) that if there were a bill that would prevent the raising of capitol gains tax, estate tax or any tax that would put an imperceivable dent in the coffers of their rich benefactors, they would vote it through faster than a corporate jet.
I’ve heard both John Boehner and Eric Cantor (he’s the guy who in high school reminded the teacher she forgot to assign homework and whom jocks used to shove in his locker) cry (in Boehner’s case, literally) “CLASS WARFARE” when the possibility of a .05% increase in taxes on millionaires would come up. It seems to me in “the war on class”, they don’t have any. If the Grand Old Party doesn’t let this extension pass, your New Year is going to be about a grand less happy.
#corpocracy #Cantor #Boehner