E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAnyone thinking Republicans might be ready to accept extending the Bush tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 now, think again.
House Speaker John Boehner (R), the man at the center of negotiations with President Obama, today rejected Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole’s suggestion to pass an extension of tax cuts for 98 percent of people, declare victory, and go home.
Yuri Gripas / Reuters
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) speaks next to Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 28, 2012.
"I told Tom earlier at our conference meeting that I disagreed with him,” Boehner said at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday morning. “He's a wonderful friend of mine and a great supporter of mine. In my view, raising taxes on the so-called top 2 percent, half of those taxpayers are small-business owners that pay their taxes through their personal income filing every year. The goal here is to grow the economy and control spending; you're not going to grow the economy if you raise the top 2 percent rates. It'll hurt small businesses, and it'll hurt our economy, why this is not the right approach. We're willing to put revenue on the table as long as we are not raising rates."
Cole (R-OK) on Wednesday reiterated his call for Congress to pass an extension of the Bush tax rates for those making less than $250,000 first and then work on the extension for higher-earners later, a major break from the Republican's strategy in fiscal-cliff negotiations.
“In my view, we all agree that we're not going to raise taxes on people who make less than $250,000 dollars, so we should just take them out of this discussion right now,” Cole said after a meeting of the GOP Conference. “Continue to fight against any rate increases; continue to try to work, honestly, for a much bigger deal.”
NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations and how Grover Norquist's no-tax-increase pledge plays into the discussion. Plus, what happened when Susan Rice made a visit to The Hill.
Cole, the deputy whip and former National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, first made the suggestion during a closed-door "whip meeting" yesterday, which was first reported by Politico last night. His comments have drawn criticism from those in his party.
Boehner is not the only Republican to disagree with Cole. Rep. Sean Duffy said on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown Wednesday morning that he believed Cole’s views are in the “minority” of House Republicans. In fact, interviews with other GOP members confirms that.
The lack of support for Cole’s proposal highlights the gap that persists between the White House and House Republicans with the clock ticking toward the so-called “fiscal cliff,” when all Americans would see tax increases and there would be a round a severe Defense and domestic spending cuts unless a deal is struck.
“Cherry picking provisions and rates right now doesn’t solve the problem, and they're not a serious deficit solution,” Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) told reporters today after a meeting of the Republican Conference.
Brady, who sits on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, said he is advocating for comprehensive tax reform, to be completed next year after all rates would be extended.
“I think we're strongly unified behind no tax increases on New Year’s Day,” he said.
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) echoed Brady’s concerns, saying he believes the majority of the Republican Conference, including himself, is opposed to the idea of decoupling the Bush tax rates.
“We have to make tough decisions about our tax rates,” Labrador said. “We have to make tough decisions about our spending; we have to make tough decisions about our deficit. Let's do that today. There's nothing courageous about saying let's raise taxes on a few people today.”
In August, House Democrats proposed a bill that would do exactly what Cole proposed, but it failed 257-170 with no Republicans voting for the bill, and 19 Democrats voting against it.
Related:
Leave a Comment:
If the GOP forces tax cuts on 250K or less, then GOP is already dead for next election period. American people don't forget this type of stuff.
GOP is already in the hot seat trying to figure out a new strategy possibly going more main stream middle, however this will severely hurt there chances with the next election if they try and tie the RICH to the middle-class tax cuts. Obama is not extending tax cuts for the rich, get over it.
HELLO, HELLO!!! This is the problem. You wont vote for someone because they dont serve YOU. Not what is best for the country...but YOU, YOUR needs, YOUR wants, YOUR desires...etc. ME, ME, ME mentality of the hard left is pathetic.
Listen, we ALL need to pay higher taxes to pay off the defecit, afford Obamacare and continue with our government entitlements, pensions and programs. Everyone!! All of us. Not just the rich. ALL Americans.
No. Some people incorrectly assume Obama has a mandate to screw the higher earners...that somehow this is the will of the people. And they further assume that lower income and middle income earners are somehow immune to any responsibility from our governments overspending.
The country overspent, all Americans had tax cuts...singling out one slice of Americans..without cutting a dime of spending, and without taxing anyone else is utterly ridiculous.
I am not a 1% er, and I think we should all take a step back and realize it was our government that overspent, and that we all had tax cuts..wealthy just got hit with the Obamacare tax, and now they should be singled out for further increases? Nope. Lets see some spending cuts, some token middle class tax increase, some higher income tax increase...and push the big increases to those at the very high end $1 mil or $10 mil plus in income. No reason for the tax rate to be so flat. Republicans take a bigger increase on the high end, everyone else takes a hit as well. In other words- scale this.
Actually Obama does have a mandate to go back to Clinton erra tax code, which was 35% for 1%. And during Clinton we did fine!!
Look up TAX cuts, do they ever create jobs! Answer is usually no.
Problem with middle class is they are struggling, and the rich are not. So tying them together is political suicide for GOP.
For crying out loud, just go with the Buffett Rule and call it a day. We seem to think that the poor will magically go away, but they grow every day. If the rich just can't bring themselves to show a little respect/gratitude for the country that made them million/billionaires, MAKE THEM. Don't waste anyone's time with that trickle-down crap anymore - that's not money that's raining on the rest of us, it's something yellower and smellier.
The so-called Buffet Rule to raise taxes on the rich has nothing to do with getting our fiscal house in order as admitted by the Obama administration. And revised analysis by the CBO shows it would only generate 30 billion over 10 years. Less than ½ of 1% of the added debt we will incur.
The Obama administration is emphasizing “fairness” over deficit reduction in its renewed pitch for the “Buffett rule” ahead of next week’s scheduled Senate vote.
Introducing a minimum 30 percent income tax on millionaires “was never our plan to bring the deficit down and get the debt under control,” Jason Furman, the principal deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters on a conference call Monday afternoon. “This is not the president’s entire tax plan. We’re not trying to say this solves all our economic problems, all our budget problems.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/74975.html
The Joint Committee on Taxation, the bipartisan arm of Congress that calculates tax revenue estimates, said the tax would raise $46.7 billion over the next decade. That is less than 1 percent of the $6.4 trillion in deficits Mr. Obama's budget will notch over the next 10 years, according to a score of the budget released by the Congressional Budget Office last week.
The Buffett Rule would impose a minimum 30 percent tax on individuals with incomes of $500,000 or couples with incomes of at $1 million or more.
The $47 billion figure is actually revised upward. On Monday JCT had said the Buffett Rule tax would raise only slightly more than $30 billion over the next decade.
But late Tuesday the committee issued a new analysis saying it had not properly adjusted its models to account for how investors would respond to the law.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/mar/20/buffet-rule-tax-would-lower-deficit-less-1-percent/#ixzz2DXwEcjTU
Why do the Republicans think they have the upper hand in this. Settle this already you lost, dragging your feet on this means we all lose. Over 65% of the nation believe the way to do this is the way Obama has laid out.
No, they dont. About 52% believe the way you do. Then, you have a large fraction of both parties, particularly the Dems and Libs who have ZERO clue about Obamacare, tax or future policy specifics of this admin or their party (Dem or Repub). They just want THEIR guy to win...it makes them feel good.
About 35-40% of Americans actually listen to the specifics and put logic into the equation.
Boener and the GOP hold 98% of Americans hostage for the Wall Street fat cats. Keep it up and in 2014 they will lose the house and more senate seats. How many people on here think the top 2% represent small businesses?
Well, if Obama HIMSELF stated that anyone who makes $200,000 and over is the top 2% (which is PRINTED in his policy)...then I would say with an astounding and very loud, YES, that makes small business owners in the top 2%.
Steve
The GOP would pass all the cuts. President Obama is demanding the wealthy lose cuts at the risk of everyone losing cuts; without offering spending cuts.
Who is really holding the middle class hostage?
I only make $45,000 a year and support 3 boys as a single father with no child support. Why should I be exempt from the same "percentage" of taxes that the "rich" should pay. We ALL need to pay and we should pay equal shares.
How many people on here are complaining about taxes when they know damned well they paid less in taxes than they get in tax returns every spring. Thank Child Tax Credit, Earned Income and every other deduction which puts you in a no tax bracket.
Let's see. Pro Obamacare and government assistance, but anti-taxes??? LOL!!
For those of you who claim that the Republicans are holding the middle class hostage - Obama is refusing to compromise on raising taxes for the rich - he won't even consider revenue from other sources such as reducing deductions and closing loopholes for the rich. HE will be the one raising taxes on the middle class if our leaders do not come to an agreement. Why should it matter whether the money comes from increasing tax rates or reducing deductions and closing loopholes? The Republicans have already agreed to do this. Obama is being unreasonable. I used to be an account and prepare tax returns for the wealthy and you would be amazed at how many loopholes they use to reduce their tax bill. This would actually be a more fair way to generate revenue and would apply to the truely rich, not just some couples who both work and sometimes are considered rich under these standards. Last year my husband and I paid 50% of our income to federal, state and payroll taxes. We are ordinary hard-working people. We have lived in the same (not big) house for 21 years; we don't have a corporate jet. We don't take advantage of tax loopholes, and we pay taxes according to the law. We have $10,000 of unreimbursed medical bills per year and a daughter in college at a state school. Neither my husband nor I have a pension even though my husband has worked for his company for 28 years. We will have to save money if we wish to retire some day. Hardly the lifestyle of Warren Buffett or Beyonce. How much more do you think we should have to pay in taxes?
According to the left, that depends on how much you make. Specifically, it's simply if you make more than they do. Anybody who has more than somebody else is greedy, selfish, priveleged and the enemy.
If you have nice things, you should be ashamed. If you worked from nothing and now have everything, you should give it away out of pity. You have become the enemy!!
Then why is most of "Hollywood" liberal?
You can't close enough tax loopholes to do what needs to be done. What, exactly, is wrong with the wealthy going back to the Clinton tax rates? They did just fine back then and so did the economy.
John Boehner is an enemy of the American people! He continues to demonstrate that daily!
Anyone who sees him should punch him in the face!
A revolution is coming in this country thanks to idiots like "roadblock" Boehner! The 99% will overthrow the 1% that Boehner represents.
The rich are too stupid to realize that you only have what people allow you to keep!
By the way MSH Obama very rarely, if ever, talks about the poor. He tends to focus on the middle class only as if they are the only people that live in America. By the way, the president was elected by a slim margin of the popular vote. He is supposed to represent all of us, not just certain groups.
Really? He never mentions the poor? Does he protect assistance programs? Does he protect workers? Does he protect education? Does he protect against predatory lending?
What does the GOP do?
It is plain as day who supports the poor in this country and who wants to discard them. Do not go around with these tired arguments to try to convince people that the GOP loves the poor. Obama favors a middle out approach to growing the economy. The poor will benefit. The GOP favors giving more money to rich people by slashing assistance, education, and work programs for the poor.
The GOP hates the poor and holds the notion that money = citizenship.
slim? It was over 2% and 126 electoral votes. Face it, Romney was rejected.
raddave-it was 4% over 4 million votes and 126 electoral votes.....when all the ballots are finally counted.
So Boehner says that half of the top 2% are small businesses and that raising their taxes will hurt the economy?!
1%
There is nothing else to say about how transparently plutocratic the GOP is and how immovably aligned they are against the middle class.
So Boner's take is that raising taxes on top 2% will hurt the WHOLE economy. What a bunch of bull. It will only hurt if the middle class has to live with the current set up. These "small business" owners are people who run companies like Donald Trump. If people who make up the majority of the population have more to spend doesn't it help everyone? Stop being so damn greedy. Bush paid off his home boys with the cuts and they no way worked. Neither does that "trickle down" BS which is really yellow liquid trickling down on us.
Lets go over the cliff!!!!!!!!!!!!! The right thinks they are in charge?????????????? Lets see how fast those dumbos can flap them ears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People need to stop calling it a raise in taxes, especially wingnuts. It is an expiration of a temporary tax cut.
Well actually, to use John Boehner's own words (and I quote):
"He's a wonderful friend of mine and a great supporter of mine. In my view, raising taxes on the so-called top 2 percent, half of those taxpayers are small-business owners that pay their taxes through their personal income filing every year. The goal here is to grow the economy and control spending; you're not going to grow the economy if you raise the top 2 percent rates. It'll hurt small businesses, and it'll hurt our economy, why this is not the right approach. We're willing to put revenue on the table as long as we are not raising rates."
Just saying....
Ken - what you wrote about punching Boehner in the face is, well, quite ignorant. He is not an enemy of the people if you do not happen to agree with his viewpoints. We all have freedom of speech in this country. What kind of a revolution do you want to have? Spoiled Americans need to go to a third world country to see what it is really like to be poor. The poor in El Salvador do not have cellphones, running water, floors made with anything besides dirt, cars or electricity. I bet if you spend some time volunteering over there you would change your viewpoints.
You are seriously comparing us to El Salvador?
All of you people that live off of your little plastic cards all the time are just as much to blame as the government is... YOU contributed to the national debt by not living within your means. If you can't afford Jordan shoes, then buy something else. If you can't afford to shop at the Buckle, then shop somewhere else. YOU AREN'T ENTITLED to have what I have unless you earn it!
What in the hell do irresponsible credit card users have to do with our federal budget exactly?
Jake, it creates a bubble economy based upon borrowing instead of economic growth.
This guy's skin looks like the dried up old piece of dog @!$%# I scraped off my sidewalk this morning.
hmm, the obama way. What does a tax increase on the top 2% of wage earners get us. Why it's a whopping 87 billion $$$ more a year, or just enough to pay the interest on the National Debit for 8 days. WoW! Yep that old tax increase will really cut into the project revenue increas of 1.2 trillion the idiot-n-chief is asking for.
If the total Bush era tax cuts are allowed to expire, we get "hold your hats on this one" a whopping 400 billion more in revenue a year. Geeez, we really cut into that old 1.2 trillion $$ in new revenue spending the idiot wants to do.
And last but not least Steve-734863, the Speaker of the House doesnot hold 98% of Americans hostage, since the bottom 50% of American don't pay a federal Income tax now, so weather you raise taxes on the rich or let all the taxes go up, THEY STILL PAY NOTHING in the end! They just continue to free load on the other tax paying Americans!
Dave, your numbers are bogus. When Clinton raised the top 2 percent's taxes to the 39% level, it created a budget surplus in 7 years.
go back & look at what the CBO said a tax rate increas on the top 2% will provide or what letting taxes on the whole country go up. The non partisian CBO from the obama administration put out those figures.
Those are not from the CBO, they are from wingnut bloggers.
So basically your tooooooo lazy to go check what the CBO has to say.
Boehner is part of the problem in DC. We need to clean house, both sides. This country is becoming a joke to the rest of the world. Government has gotten to big and is out of control.
If you leave a group of Republicans in a room for a few hours and you get these kinds of results:
World is flat
The Sun revolves around the Earth
The elite are more important than the rest of America
Black and Mexican Americans are a threat
Muslims are coming to take over the world
Gay people can makes others turn gay
Global Warming is not real
Science is over rated
Taxing the rich will cause harm to economic growth
Grover Linguist is a God
If you make something up on the spot, say it enough, people will eventually believe you
Nice list Sunset. You need to throw legitimate rape in there also.
You forgot the unsettled science as to whether the earth is more than 6000-years old.
Please do add on! I'm sure I missed a lot.
Honestly this is more real then anyone knows. GOP is like your grandpa, completely out of touch with reality. It still is the good ole white boy club. America is no longer the good ole white boy nation, better wake up.
Boner hasn't learned a thing, maybe that's why the GOP leads them like sheep. They can't think for themselves, Wait for the koch bros. to tell them what to do. Freedom!!!!!
To JJ: Your comment about small business owners being like Donald Trump's business is not based on fact. I take Martial Arts at a school started and owned by a couple that has put blood, sweat and tears (and hard work) into building this business. They are some of the most positive and hard working people I have ever met. Nobody gave them anything to start this business. They both worked full time at other jobs so they could support themselves until their business became profitabe. They are at the school 6 days a week from early morning to late at night. Thise is one of the small businesses that will be affected under Obama's plan. You Dems need to stop whining and face reality. And stop with the class warfare!
How do you know it would be affected? 97% of small businesses make less than $250k a year.
But you didn't say that Donald Trump is in that 2% class. So for every sob story you try to bring up the reality is most are of his level.
We have to have spending cuts as well. Without those the fiscal cliff looks better than what will happen if we continue to out-spend our income. Ask Greece, Italy or some of the other countries that did that very thing how that worked for them....close to being bankrupt if not already there. Off the cliff we go...........WEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is totally off subject, but does anyone on here, have a basset hound?
Cute and untrainable.
thank you. I have noticed. We have only had him a year and half and he barks all the time. I guess that is normal?? We had a lab before, best dog ever!!
If it is outside and barks all the time it's probably the territorial issue. If it is inside, that's tougher to diagnose.
Exercise, quality time, and calmness should help. You may just have a political beast.
he is a mess. But so lovable. Yes, he for sure needs to get in his 2 cents lol. He does bark more inside. Almost as if he is trying to tell us something, I have done some research on them and they are very hard headed it sounds like.
Shortly after the election Bobby Jindal said the republican party needs to quit being the party of the stupid. Boehner should have listened.
Base to President Obama:
Stop negotiating with this "Lame Duck" session of Congress. They are saying the same tired old things. Let the Bush Tax Cuts die. And just be prepared to jam them in the new session with Stimulus programs and your tax proposals for the middle class. And take your argument passionately on the road. That will seal their doom in 2014. Also be prepared to govern by Executive order just like GW Bush did. You will have a very cooperative Senate this time around.
Let Boehner hang himself. He is too narrow minded to appreciate the full scope of his real job. And that is the "Speaker of the Houseof Representatives". Not Speaker of the TeaBag wing of Republicans in the House of Representatives. This guy is a complete disgrace to every ouse Speaker who preceded him. Even Hastert and Newt. At least those two knew how to forge honest deals with the opposition. Boehner governs like a House Majority Leader or Minority Leader. Not a Speaker for the whole House.
I guess you have no clue how the Constitution works. Do you really think obama can raise taxes by executive order, or conduct any spending what-so-ever.
Do you? Bring it on big boy. Dazzle me with you constitutional prowess.
Boehner says that half of the 2% are "small-business owners". Yeah, sure. They're in finance, doctors, or lawyers and, if they're lucky enough to be clearing $250K+, they shouldn't be complaining. In fact, I'd bet that virtually none of them is complaining, it is just the "let's protect the rich at all costs no matter the consequences" wing of the GOP that is complaining.