Obama: GOP, Dems agree on middle-class tax cut extension

(CBS News) Casting himself as a friend to the middle class, President Obama in his weekly address called on Republicans and Democrats to "at least agree to do what we all agree on" and extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for American families making less than $250,000 a year.

"That's what compromise is all about," Mr. Obama said, making a nearly four-minute case for his tax plan over the GOP's "trickle down" approach that, he said, operates from the belief that "if we spend trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy, it'll somehow create jobs."

Suggesting "the only place [Republicans and Democrats] disagree is whether we keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest two percent of Americans," the president said his path, by requiring the top two percent to pay "a little more" in income taxes exceeding the $250,000 threshold, would spare 98 percent of families from seeing any spike in income taxes.

"In other words, the wealthiest few Americans will go back to the income tax rates they were paying under Bill Clinton," the president said. "And if you remember, that was when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history - and millionaires were doing pretty well."

But the priority for both parties in Washington, the president said, is to enact what they largely agree on and extend the Bush tax cuts (set to expire Jan. 1) for those individuals making less than $200,000 and families bringing in less than $250,000.

"Let's not hold the vast majority of Americans and our entire economy hostage while we debate the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy," Mr. Obama said. "Let's skip the unnecessary drama, the needless delays and all the partisan posturing and let's just do the right thing."

In something of an audition for Mitt Romney's running mate spot, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman - a leading contender on many speculators' veepstakes lists - delivered the Republicans' weekly address, and had a different take on the president's tax record.

Condemning it as an "unaffordable health care spending law," Portman said the Affordable Care Act, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, will "do something President Obama promised he would never do: hit millions of middle class Americans with a massive tax increase."

"Raising taxes on employers and the middle class, growing government at the expense of free enterprise, piling on new regulations that increase the cost of doing business - these burdens make it harder, not easier, to create jobs in America," Portman said of the president's policies.

[stormerF69]

Obama needs to shut up and get Dingy Harry Reid to bring the Bills to the floor of the Senate for a vote,and stop wasting the tax payers money and time. The DEMOCRATS are the ones holding up all the bills in the senate,Dingy Harry is afraid to bring them to the floor.

[dj_chi]

The ones that are all about tearing apart the EPA with a smattering of job-related provisions? Those aren't jobs bills. Get the GOP to offer up a real jobs bill without the right wing agenda - like the GOP used to be able to do - and then we can talk.

[lg144]

Rob Portman ran OMB = Office Of Management & Budget under G.W. Bush. Bush & Portman turned the surplus President Clinton left into Trillions in deficits. Portman has no credibility on the subject of prudent government spending like the rest of the republicans.

[lg144]

Romney wants to cut funds for PBS but you has no problem raiding the U.S. Treasury to give tax cuts to corporations, big oil and the super rich. What else do you expect from the candidate of the one percent?

[lg144]

by RepugsIsSlownewsday July 15, 2012 7:10 AM EDT
PBS is a left wing leaning biased broadcasting organization and there for should not be receiving tax dollars.
Let Moveon Org or similar regressive Org. fund it or take it off of the air.
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It's understandable for you as a supporter of republicans to dislike the fact that PBS expose' include wrongdoing by republicans. We all know there was none during the Bush presidency.

[Scimajor]

"... and extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for American families making less than $250,000 a year"

No way! Do it the Romney way! Increase taxes for the people who can least afford to pay taxes (the middle class) and lower taxes for those who can most afford to pay the taxes (the 1%).

[wfw3536]

Did Obama tell folks that this new tax will affect at least 700,000 small businesses, which will have a direct affect on how many folks they hire. I guess Obama still thinks were doing "just fine" as he stated recently and doesn't care about the 23 million folks who are unemployed.

[lg144]

Every Republican president from at least Reagan on has run the country into the ground with deficits. Yet you want to paint President Obama as the one hurtiing the country? You're a joke as are the republican party for whom you support.

[marychgo]

ANOTHER Republican lie: 97% of the small business owners who file as S corporations have Adjusted Gross Incomes -- including their business profits -- of LESS THAN $200,000 single/$250,000 filing jointly. Their taxes wouldn't change at all. Just 3% of S corporation business owners would face higher taxes...and then only on the portion of their AGI over $250,000, and then only an increase of 2% (up to about $380,000) and 4.6% on AGI over $380,000. That's NOT 700,000 small businesses!

[marychgo]

We ALL agree that the impending "fiscal cliff" creates "uncertainty" and worries businessowners and bond markets.

We ALL agree that the potential expiration of the 2010 extension of the Bush tax cuts is ONE major component of the "fiscal cliff."

We ALL agree that the current tax rates for those with Adjusted Gross Incomes UP TO $200,000 single/$250,000 filing jointly should be extended beyond December 31, 2012.

We DISAGREE about whether the current tax rates for those with Adjusted Gross Incomes OVER $200,000 single/$250,000 filing jointly should be extended beyond December 31, 2012.

Wouldn't it make sense to reduce substantially the impact of the "fiscal cliff" by passing a law extending current tax rates for those earning up to $200,000 single/$250,000 filing jointly?

[stormerF69]

Since the Democrats whinned so much about,how tax cuts do not help the economy why extend them at all? Get you Democratic Senate leader to bring the bill to the Senate floor so it can be voted on and stop ******* about what the Republicans want or don't want.

[Larnan5]

They should not raise the dividend tax rate. Middle class retired people who live on social security, money market interest and dividends on CDs have been forced into buying dividend paying stocks because of the very low rates of interest paid on CDs. The Fed policy in this regard has acted as a huge reduction in income for retirees. This issue is not all about the super wealthy. It effects every middle class retiree in the country.

[marychgo]

Actually, Larnan, a lot of middle class retirees -- maybe as much as 20 or 30 percent -- are depending entirely on Social Security, which means an annual income of no more than $33,000. So if you own ANY CDs or dividend-paying stock at all, you're doing a great deal better than many of your peers.

If your CDs or stock are in an IRA, 401(k), or any other tax-advantaged plan, changes in the tax rate won't affect you until you take the money out of that plan. Even if you own your CDs and stock outside a plan, AND if capital gains and dividend rates go up, they'll only go up from 15% to whatever your marginal rate would be under the tax rates effective in the '90s. For most retirees, that's likely to be 25% or 28%. So it's NOT the end of the world!

[NinthSt78]

That's what we like to see-- a pair of Presidents who agree on a good idea.

[tryingtodogoodwork]

President Obama is a very good man. He has my vote this November.

[RepubsAreFiscallyLiberal]

The problem that the current crop of neocons face is that Reagan wouldn't stand a chance of being elected today - he was a moderate who understood that compromise itself isn't evil.

When moderation is looked at as bad - by either side's extremists - then there is a true problem which, imo, is being reflected in Congress and our population.

.

[hypnotoad72]

http://lubbockonline.com/editorial-letters/2011-07-24/letter-todays-standards-reagan-was-tax-and-spend-radical

Still, both sides mewl about taxes... the tax cuts do help people to an extent, but there is always one issue that seems to be overlooked:

http://www.realitybase.org/storage/macroeconomics/Nominal%20and%20real%20annual%20changes%20in%20earnings%20090310.gif?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1236731926264

There it is, in pretty picture graph form. And, surprisingly, the 1990s did see an upward spike for worker prosperity...

Full article, which has more graphs and information:

http://www.realitybase.org/journal/2009/3/10/the-american-dream-died-in-february-1973.html

[californiadreaming1]

The thing is that Obama wants "moderation" - but he is the most inflexible of them all.