And there’s a real chance that Republicans will get what they want. That’s a demonstration, if anyone needed one, that our political culture has become not just dysfunctional but deeply corrupt.
What’s at stake here? According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent, as opposed to following the Obama proposal, would cost the federal government $680 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. For the sake of comparison, it took months of hard negotiations to get Congressional approval for a mere $26 billion in desperately needed aid to state and local governments.
And where would this $680 billion go? Nearly all of it would go to the richest 1 percent of Americans, people with incomes of more than $500,000 a year. But that’s the least of it: the policy center’s estimates say that the majority of the tax cuts would go to the richest one-tenth of 1 percent.
These damaging tax cuts were corrupt and dysfunctional when Republicans rammed them through Congress using, of all things, Reconciliation. Funny how Republicans hated Reconciliation when Health Care reform was involved but loved it back then.
They were also set to expire after nine years to avoid the headlines of a 10-year calculated effect on the budget which would have pointed out how bad this lack of tax revenue would hurt America. Bastards.
Obama is standing firm against the rich cry babies. It's time America stands up for the less privileged, the aging, the teachers, the police and firefighters. Their voices don't have the money to go against the wealthy, but the future of America needs to hear them.
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