Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Showdown on Fiscal Bluff

As our national legislature seems to be intent on rolling its little red wagon over that fiscal pavement cut—bump!—Jared Bernstein has an idea why. They could pass that deal tomorrow, and Bernstein thinks it would be pretty good, as I have been predicting (but I've just been making it up, he has actual sources):
extend tax cuts on 98% of households; allow expiration for top 2% over $250K;
–suspend sequester (i.e., shut off automatic spending cuts)
–extend unemployment insurance, patch AMT and doc fix (I think that’s right on those last two–the latter refers to scheduled negative spike in payments to docs who see Medicare patients).
But they're not doing it now, because by God that would be raising taxes on Paris Hilton, as they say, and they weren't by God elected to do that.

So what's different on January 2? It's the perspective, stupid. That's when everybody's tax rates have gotten high and partying like it's 1999. If they do the deal then, Boehner can say he's presiding over the biggest tax cut in American history. And he will!
From QutaibaProtocol (really!).

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