Cave In Time!
Posted: December 5, 2010 Filed under: Breaking News, Democratic Politics, Team Obama, The Bonus Class | Tags: let's make a deal, taxes, unemployment benefits extension 43 CommentsWhite House officials and Congressional Republicans said Sunday they were closing in on a deal to
temporarily continue the Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels, while bitterly frustrated Democratic Congressional leaders began exploring whether they would have the votes for such a package.
The Republicans are supposed to okay the extension of the unemployment benefits for long term unemployed if the Democrats will okay the tax cuts for the uber rich for two years.
Administration officials said the negotiations were focused on the question of extending the tax rates for one or two years, with a three-year extension highly unlikely, even though that time frame would probably eliminate the tax fight as an urgent issue in the 2012 elections.
Many Republicans say they want a permanent extension of the rates, or as long an extension as possible. Democrats say they would not mind the issue coming up during Mr. Obama’s re-election bid, because they see it as politically helpful to them in painting Republicans as defenders of the rich. The debate, of course, could cut the other way, with Republicans again portraying Democrats as seeking to raise taxes.
I really don’t want to hear any more crap about unfunded mandates if this is the deal. Unbelievable!
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
shell games, bait & switches, kabuki theatre. US politics today is not only utterly depressing, it is a bore.
Yes, it’s getting to be a boring hobby because nothing does any good.
Pathos comes to mind.
But Wonk, they care, they really do! /snark
They’ll talk about their constituents and then hold their noses to vote for legislation that benefits… their real constituents.
They FEEL our pain!!! Right between flying to and from their two houses and being driven by their drivers!!!
They feel no pain b/c they all have lobbyist jobs waiting for them after they leave. That’s basically what O has too, only the more highbrow version–he can go on the lecture circuit. These people don’t fear losing their elected positions.
That’s frightening. It’s the ultimate golden parachute.
I should add more specifically–they don’t fear losing their elected positions on account of losing favor with ordinary voters. They’re always in permanent campaign mode for the next election when it comes to staying in the good books of the bonus class, however. I think Obama et al. would rather lose trying to stay in Wall Streets’ favor than try doing anything for Main Street.
Can you imagine attending a lecture by the ex-Potus with the ex-Totus? I’d be asleep in seconds.
I’ve seen him talk down here as POTUS. No tingles went up my leg, I assure you.
and can I just mention yet again, I am so glad to have the erudite wonk in the house!!
“a lecture by the ex-Potus with the ex-Totus”
ROFL
One of these days someone should load Carville’s joke about cajones into the prompter.
Let’s see: the unemployed can receive an additional 5 months of benefits if the rich can get benefits for 24 months. Heckuva job, Obama!
That’s how I’m reading it. What a negotiator!
Since it’s cave in time –
Sheez, check out the next up video, from OSHA in Oregon. Cave in almost takes a guy out.
Yup, OSHA is a waste of time and cripples business owners!!! (snark) what a video that one is!!! We had that happen at a SWB site in the hood and some one was buried alive.
Sorry I couldn’t find a better cave in. I’d better go to bed now, I’m getting punch drunk.
No, it’s a great cave in video :). The title of the video after just intrigued me, is all.
When I first started in archaeology we had to learn about cave ins. Luckily, we don’t usually go very deep and narrow, but can when we are digging on a building site. Scary stuff.
🙂
Oh good! I hadn’t thought of archaeology, but yeah, you would have to be careful of cave ins in archaeology too. I saw the next video – he’s lucky it caved in next to him and not on top of him.
Washington = Broadway. The script is so old that only those who don’t pay attention don’t know the lines. It’s bad theater.
May 12, 2010, Martin Feldstein: Keep tax cuts for 2 years
On October 5, 2010, Budget Policy, Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Growth attended by GS’s Jan Hatzius, Paul Krugman, and Harvard Economist Martin Feldstein discuss budget policy, short-term recovery and prospects for long-term growth, and Feldstein lays out the theater about the Republicans twisting Obama’s arm to extend the cuts for 2 years. Watch the video around 34:00
Two days ago, the WSJ reported the same “compromise” was being worked out. The tax cuts for the rich were never going to lapse. Feldstein talked about the same extension in the conference with
WSJ: Leaders Discuss Two-Year Extension of Tax Cuts
I’m shocked.
Not!
“Throw ’em a fake and a finagle, they’ll never know you’re just a bagel”
roflmao
Paul Krugman Let’s Not Make a Deal
They won’t negotiate with terrorists, why negotiate with right wing republicans?
I don’t believe it’s a compromise. It’s an edict from above, whoever the above is.
Watch the video (no. 3 on the webpage of the link above) at about 34:10 and you will see Feldstein laying out the “Republicans twisted my arm” that Obama is supposed to claim.
What I want to know is how would Feldstein know?
He’s connected to the plutocrats of Wall Street. He might be the man who told Obama what to do. He’s their go between. There’s no other explanation.
He also should know that rich people’s spending multiplier is relatively small because they save much more of there income. Plus the taxes only show up as a small contributor to the mpc calculation which is part of the denominator of a multiplier. This is such a disingenuous argument. Also, it doesn’t take into effect the mpi which is huge and that those folks have tons of income in places like Bermuda. I so call shenanigans on that editorial.
Sure he know that the tax savings for the rich don’t help the economy and hurt the deficit and the dollar, but that’s not his concern. He serves the rich and I guess himself.
He has always put ideology about the data.
There was never negotiation. Obama is a lackey. There’s no other way to see it.
Well there is one other way to see it: Axelrod is an idiot.
Isn’t Axelrove AWOL right now? Isn’t he back in campaign mode? Plus Rahm is gone. Rahm was the one that dealt with the congressional negotiations yes?
He’s leaving at the beginning of 2011. Technically. But Obama has been in 2012 campaign mode since he was President-Elect so… I find all this Plouffe in, Axelrod out business really silly.
I’m not sure he listens to any one any way.
Oy, what are you two doing up so late?
I’m headed to bed right now. So, sweet dreams!!!
Rahm was blamed, now that he’s gone, I curious who the koolaid drinkers will blame for folding.
Watch, they’ll blame his absence!
Now that I see the tax cut phony negotiation I understand why Hillary never had a chance. She would have never allowed those cuts to be extended. Investing one billion dollars on Obama’s election was nothing compared to the return they could get with Obama. As Krugman says, the extension is breathing room to allow for a permanent tax cut.
It’s horrible. Those tax cuts will be paid with Social Security cuts.
If they do a deal it should be one year only. Otherwise they won’t have anything to get the GOP to play ball with to extend unemployment again.
Would Harry Truman have done this? I understand that there always, in the end, has to be a compromise, and that liberals are never, ever going to get all that they want. That’s the nature of politics. The problem is that Obama is not pulling out all the stops to get the most progressive final deal possible. He’s not out there on the stump giving the Republicans heat for their unpopular positions. I think that both Carter and Clinton, moderates though they were on domestic policy, would have fought harder for, and achieved, a more progressive final settlement had they been faced with a situation like this.