President Obama
GOP Extends Tax Break To Rich Dead
Rich people who have no problem bequeathing all their vital organs to strangers after death can't seem to abide relinquishing some of their wealth at the same time. Do they love their bank account more than their heart, liver, or kidneys? Apparently so, and the GOP is only too happy to accommodate them. Sens.
GOP Extends Tax Break To Rich Dead
Rich people who have no problem bequeathing all their vital organs to strangers after death can't seem to abide relinquishing some of their wealth at the same time. Do they love their bank account more than their heart, liver, or kidneys? Apparently so, and the GOP is only too happy to accommodate them. Sens.
With Friends Like This, Cont'd
Bill Clinton's helpfulness to the Democratic cause just keeps on coming. First there was his interview in September with Newsmax -- yes, Newsmax -- in which he was so unenthusiastic about President Obama's proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy that his comments were quickly featured in an ad produced by Karl Rove's Crossroads group.
Bash Wall Street? Tax the Rich? Survey Says ... Yes
Polling can be less revealing than it seems. Sometimes voters are uninformed. Sometimes they hold views in obvious contradiction to one another. And sometimes they give answers that reflect the wording of questions more than their own substantive views. But it's getting hard to ignore the polls suggesting that Americans are in a populist mood -- and by populist, I mean the liberal as opposed to the conservative kind. The latest evidence comes from the new United Technologies/National Journal survey.
Obama's Veto Threat and Populist Pitch (Updated)
The most important part of President Obama's proposal for deficit reduction may be the threat he's making with it. As noted previously, the proposal calls for around $2 trillion in new deficit reduction -- more than $4 trillion if include the savings from drawing down military forces and already enacted cuts from the summer debt ceiling deal.
Tax Hikes Now? No. Tax Hikes Later? Yes.
President Obama this week did exactly what he promised to do last week: He proposed a way to pay for his jobs bill. In particular, he suggested raising taxes on the wealthy and then using the money to offset the cost of school building, payroll tax breaks, and other expenditures designed to boost the economy. He also invited the congressional super-committee to come up with alternatives, as long as they generate the same amount in combined savings and revenue. Republicans were quick to pounce: Obama wants to raise taxes! Instead of saving the economy, he's going to kill it!
One of the underrated impediments to a debt ceiling hike is the Republican belief that any agreement with President Obama is by definition a bad one. Part of this is the rational partisan urge to deny Obama a big accomplishment he could use to position himself for 2012. Another is a simple heuristic. Budget agreements are convoluted and require assumptions about how present agreements will bind future actors.
I've been pretty critical of President Obama's strategy on the debt ceiling negotiations, and the whole saga could well end in economic disaster, bad long-term policy, or both. That said, I must concede that Obama has, largely through ideological retreat, maneuvered the debate onto terrain where he holds the public opinion high ground. Consider this question from the latest WSJ/NBC poll: Which of the following approaches being considered in Congress to deal with the Federal debt ceiling are you more likely to support?
The Politics Of Hostage-Shooting
The overview of the Republican position right now is that the overwhelming majority of Republicans do not want to cut a deal with President Obama to reduce the deficit in return for raising the debt ceiling. They don't want this deal even if it's very friendly to their ideological position. The split is over what to do instead. The craziest House Republicans (and Mitt Romney) want to continue holding the debt ceiling hostage until Obama gives them total capitulation, like a balanced budget amendment. Mitch McConnell just wants to lift the thing and stick Democrats with the vote.
The House GOP Post-Ryan Survival Plan
I've said the best way for House Republicans to minimize the political damage of their Huge Mistake of voting for the Paul Ryan is to cut a deficit deal with President Obama. Yuval Levin agrees: If Obama now makes a deal that involves some step, however small, toward transforming Medicare into a premium-support system, he would make a campaign of Medicare demagoguery far more difficult for the congressional Democrats, leaving them nothing to run on, unless they want to run against their own president. But you can also see why this might appeal to both Obama and congressional Republicans.
