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Bush Officials Celebrate Tax Cut ‘Trap’ They Laid Nine Years Ago
As debate rages in Washington over the Bush tax cuts, set to expire at the end of this year, the Bush administration officials who initiated the steep tax cuts are celebrating what they see as an apparent victory, since signs point to a temporary extension of all the cuts. The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz interviewed Dan Bartlett, Bush’s former communications director, and Andy Card, Bush’s former chief of staff, among others, and they were pleased at how the expiration debate has played out:
“We knew that, politically, once you get it into law, it becomes almost impossible to remove it,” says Dan Bartlett, Bush’s former communications director. “That’s not a bad legacy. The fact that we were able to lay the trap does feel pretty good, to tell you the truth.” [...]
“[Democrats] are definitely on the defensive,” Card says. “The fact that the 10-year clock ran out now had a big impact on the election.”
As Media Matters notes, former Bush senior adviser Karl Rove went on Fox News this week and further laid the proverbial trap, saying “without a hint of self-awareness” that “we’ve known this was going to be happening for a decade,” while lamenting the Democrats’ inaction.
When the tax cuts were enacted, with an expiration date, Republicans and Bush officials understood the political advantages of the “fiscal time bomb” they were setting. As Kurtz puts it: “At some point in the way distant future, Democrats could be accused of raising taxes if they tried to undo the Bush breaks and return to Clinton-era levels of taxation.” Democrats understood this, too: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) told the Washington Post at the time that “[Bush is] going to be out of office when the roof falls in.”
There was a more sinister motive for sunsetting the tax cuts beyond politics, as well. It allowed the administration to pass the bill with a lower vote count in the Senate than would otherwise be necessary. Card freely admits to Kurtz that the administration wanted “the law to be permanent but couldn’t muster the votes to trump the Byrd Rule,” which would have required a 60-vote margin for a measure that significantly increases the federal deficit more than 10 years in the future. By setting the tax cuts to expire just short of ten years, the measure passed with 58 votes.
The various sunsets also hid the true cost of the bill. As Paul Krugman wrote at the time: “The administration, knowing that its tax cut wouldn’t fit into any responsible budget, pushed through a bill that contains the things it wanted most — big tax cuts for the very, very rich — and used whatever accounting gimmicks it could find to make the overall budget impact seem smaller than it is.”
Such deception and fiscal irresponsibility hardly seem cause for celebration. But because it appears that all of the tax cuts will once again be extended, resetting the fiscal time bomb in spite of public opposition, perhaps these Bush officials are justified in their mirth.
76 Comments so far
Show AllThe Dems are useless. All they have to do is let it run out. They have nothing to loose, they have already lost about everything.
If Obama and Congressional Dems would have taken the lead on attacking the deficit, they could have framed the Bush tax cuts as the 900 pound deficit driver. By forming a catfood commission who scapegoated domestic programs as the deficit drivers, the Dems enhanced the kill power of Team Bush's "trap".
Once the Democrats committed themselves to rally around ObamaCare whatever legitimacy of fiscal prudence they could have sold politically vanished. Obama made his health care blueprint for the pharmaceuticals, HMOs, and Wall Street his first priority. In doing so he not only hammered the final nail in the coffin for universal coverage and single payer health care reform, but he also gave the Republican opposition plenty of rope with which to hang the big spender label round his turkey neck. Had the Pelosi Democrats tied the rookie President's hands by demanding single-minded focus on jobs and economic recovery before anything else perhaps they could have succeeded on taking the lead on fiscal prudence. But maybe it's all wishful thinking as Obama clearly signaled to Wall Street (his biggest sponsors) his commitment to the fraudulent, massive bailout of which 700 billion dollars was only the mere tip of the iceberg even before he got elected to the White House.
Agree. The Dem's fake like they have to compromise when they don't. They can simply let it run out.
The game really is that obvious, isn't it? Yet even such a sloppy, implausible script seems to lull this credulous, semi-conscious American audience. Maybe when the theater catches fire, they'll wake up --- alas, too late for many.
Yes, let the Democrats loose--or they'll surely lose...
Oooh...It was a TRAP, you see. That's why they did it.
And I guess Obama fell into the TRAP of continuing wars and torture too, eh?
Then Warren Buffet is welcome to pay more out of HIS pocket. I just want his hands out of mine. I pay a marginal rate, as a single person, no dependents, living in California, of over 40%. On slightly less than $50K of income.
That's the point. Buffett thinks the tax rate should be raised for the wealthiest 2%. Not for you.
So do I. So do the majority of Americans.
Unfortunately, we no longer live in a reasonable and democratic society. It's become plutocracy for the rich.
I wish you would expand upon your figures here. I make considerably more than you, am a widower with grown children and thus no dependents either, yet my taxes do not approach the level you suggest.
Flat Tax Rate
* Supplemental flat tax rate is 25% for Federal & 6.6% for the State of California.
* Bonus flat tax rate is 25% for Federal & 10.23% for the State of California.
http://map.ais.ucla.edu/go/1002763
Buffet plans on giving most of his money away before he dies. Also bill gates father took out TV ads saying they should raise taxes on the rich in Washington State, and the ass-hats out there still voted it down. Last Sunday Buffet, Gates, and Ted Turner were on one of the Sunday morning talk shows saying that taxes should be raised on the rich, and cutting their taxes does not create jobs, and it looks like people still wont listen to them.
I also forwarded a link to this story to CBS news, so Im sure you'll be seeing it next week on the CBS evening news... 8-)
A TRAP? Those fing girls think this is funny? While the rest of live in poverty, the rich get richer. There is no hell hot enough for those men and the congress critters that find this funny. They could just let them sunset. But they will cave and the girlish figure head Obama will sign it.
The US died decades ago. We are just now noticing the stinking smell of it's rotting corpse.
Using the feminine as a derogatory is a blindness you exhibit regarding the power of women and "girls".
Agree, Joe is far less cool than he believes himself to be.
One of the basic human traits suck up to your superiors and trample your inferiors.
Guess that's why Tea Party surfs, peasants, slaves have no problem with Wall Street Organized Criminals getting a tax cut; but they hate Reagan's "fat, lazy, black, welfare mothers" getting anything from the "socialist" state.
Sigmund Freud is supposed to have said: "most people are no damn good" and "America is an interesting experiment, but almost certain to fail."
One further question might there be a time, when principled progressives admit that man is corrupt from his nose to his toes; and join onto the corruption bandwagon. It's a jump, but better than being a peasant?!
Interesting post. There are times I can understand politicians, especially republicans when they ruthlessly exploit the masses. Sometimes when you watch people act completely stupid it is easy to say the getting what they deserve.
Several times I have tried talking sense to conservatives on right wing sites, but you just end up getting ganged up on and or mocked. They basically fight with anyone that try to drag them back from their own slaughter.
I had posted this above that Bill Gates father took out ads in Washington state saying that they SHOULD RAISE state taxes on the rich and the public still voted it down!
It is getting harder and harder to have empathy for people that are so utterly clueless. They continue to fall for lies that are getting more and more outrageous and implausible. (ie. Healthcare Death Panels).
There are times I see Eric Cantor spewing some idiotic republican talking point while he has this smirk on his face, like he may break out laughing any minute. It's like he's thinking, "I cant believe I am saying this crap, and people are actually believing it".
The key to the seeming insanity is repetition. If enough people keep saying the sky is yellow, and it is repeated everywhere ad nauseum, it might take a generation, but eventually the majority of people will begin to believe that the sky is indeed yellow. (Notice it helps to own the biggest mouthpieces - the Media.)
When Bush was arguing for the tax cuts 10 years ago, he told Americans, "I only want to give back YOUR money." Deficits were never mentioned (and if they were, it was only to point out they didn't matter), nor was it ever explained why the government needs tax revenue --- this corrosive propaganda continues to this day.
Agreed, further ,this repetition is bolstered by the deafening silence from the Democrats.
The only way to stop this obscene tax cut and evil laughter of the war criminals is for the people, millions like 2 million people in France, need to storm the Congress, force their way into the floor, stop proceeding and DEMAND the rich pay more or else .... Or use the Thai method--shut down the airports in DC and NYC for a few weeks. The People need to stop talking, writing and complaining. The time for action is NOW.
'The people' won't do a damned thing. Americans are cowards - especially the lower classes. The only reason the New Deal went through was because of all the immigrants willing to fight the system, build unions, and risk their lives in class warfare when the whole world was joined in the fight. Now recent immigrants are mostly Latinos and only care about immigration issues - that seems to be the only thing that gets millions of them out into the streets. (And notice that they don't get the Stazi-treatment from the riot police, as would happen about protests that defy the economic system.) We're screwed without young people - college age up to about 35 - willing to get out there and take the necessary risks to rescue the country. Without a vibrant young working-class rebellion, nothing can change. Yes, those of us who are older are willing to fight - but nobody will back us up. France was facing the same problem - without the fearless younger generation involved, it's nearly impossible to challenge the ruling class, and that's what has to be done. Fortunately, Brits and Europeans got their dander up about higher education - and the kids DID get out into the streets. That's what will work, eventually.
This idiocy of thinking that working-class people are 'middle class' doesn't help either - if you work for someone else, you are WORKING CLASS. Period. And you should be proud of it - not pretend you're something that you're not, or that you're 'middle class' (business owners, for instance). That's what's wrong with this country - too many people ashamed of who they are - and maybe that's why they invest all their energy in vicarious TV, movie, or sports addictions (they don't want to admit WHO they really are so they remain frozen in denial). People with jobs, or homes, or enough food don't want to identify with the homeless, the unemployed, or the hungry - so they pretend they're 'middle class' - how's that working for you?
The elite have learned from the setbacks of the depression-era New Deal. They now have a military second to none, who have been trained to kill innocent citizens by remote drone. They have control of the White House, Congress, The Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve Bank. The threat of harm to protesters and whistle blowers is real. Civil rights have been suspended. For ten years we have nurtured hate for "terrorists" and submitted to all sorts of indignities to prevent some mysterious, impending possible attack that could come at any time from anywhere. Unity is discouraged and certainly not modeled at the top. Loyalty goes to the highest bidder. Suspicions are nurtured, differences heightened and fundamental problems like school funding and campaign finance go unresolved. Wages have been lowered, jobs are scarce, unemployment benefits are in jeopardy and both parents need to work outside the home. Most young people today grow up letting themselves into an empty house after school, making themselves some microwaved food and playing video games or using the computer. As long as they can still do that they really don't pay any attention to politics. If Americans are cowards it is because that is precisely what we have been engineered to be.
Good post. "Engineered," I'm afraid, is the right word.
armybrat and elainem, both great posts. Thanks.
Then do you suggest we all throw up our hands and give up? I do not disagree with your opinions only wish you would include a path to a solution, otherwise you contribute to the ennui and helplessness.
To ElaineEm and ArmyBrat: Their are strong elements of truth in both quotes but perhaps both are a bit too pessimistic. Certainly immigrants played a major role in the labor struggles that preceeded the New Deal but native born people in the U.S. were struggling too. Immigrants who came from industrializing countries in Europe came from areas with highly developed class struggles with anarchist, socialist, communist, and other unions and political parties. They arrived here and had no choice but to work as wage labor in factories, mines, and other capitalist facilities. They continued their struggles and were prominent but many native born Americans were there too. The army, state militias, state and local police forces, and private thugs were frequently enlisted to enforce the will of the ruling class. The roster of outrages from the period is long and bloody. Native born people were more likely to be somewhat higher on the social scale but most were in the lower end of the socio-economic hierarchy.
FDR was a decent man (particularly after he suffered from polio) and was inclined to do the right thing if pushed to do it. The U.S. was the scene of ongoing titanic social struggles and by the time of the Great Depression was becoming ungovernable. Frequently when sheriffs deputies arrived to carry out evictions large crowds would surround the proceeding and carry furniture and belongs back into the house or apartment. Foreclosure sales of farms would also be surrounded, frequently by armed farmers (almost completely native born people), one of them would offer a dollar for the property auctioneers with rifles and shotguns aimed at them would stop the bidding, the property would be sold and then transferred back to original owner. The great Flint strikes of 1937 featured autoworkers who occupied the factories, used the tools and steel from the cars to armor the windows and refused to leave. The buildings were surrounded by the state militia and state police but they could not break in. The mothers, sisters, and wives of the autoworkers came in their cars and threw food to their men over the ranks of capitalist thugs surrounding the factories. The New Deal emerged as an innovative series of reforms that saved capitalism in the U.S. and the right-wing hated FDR at the time and never forgave him for saving them. Of course the immediate result in the U.S. was far better than what emerged in Germany and Italy, and also marginally better than in the UK.
How about our military-second-to-none. Well a nation of 310 million people cannot keep 150,000 combat troops in the field, this is a bit less than 0.05% of the population. They are extremely expensive and many must be coerced into going. Many so-called active duty military personnel make an art out of avoiding frontline service. To supplement them more mercenaries must be hired than actual government thugs. The whole system must paid for with borrowed money, much from the rising economic powers that will clearly supplant the U.S. as economic, political, and military powers of the not to distant future. This is all based in the pivotal defeat of U.S. imperialism in Vietnam. The defeat of capitalist forces by that poor beknighted people was caused largely by the internal effects of the war in the U.S. The U.S. military was nearly destroyed by the war, killings of officers by their own men, mutinies, sabotage (two aircraft carriers were seriously damaged when navy mechanics threw wrenches down into the propulsion machinery and took about 6 months and millions of dollar to repair in just the largest of these events) and the massive resistance to military conscription in the U.S. made the ruling class change tactics. Had this not occurred we might well still have a million or half-million strong conscript occupation army in Vietnam. But the political cost to the ruling class was too high. So the drones, professional military, and mercenary forces are responses to weakness not to strength.
Unfortunately you are right that the right-wing now controls all the major levers of national political power. Of course it took many years of patient maneuvering and much outright fraud to gain control. One prominent fact being that right-wing corporations now count the votes using shoddy easily hacked (but legally protected proprietary software). Voter intimidation and suppression are widely used to maintain control (remember the U.S. right-wing is now directed from the South especially Texas where they are past masters at this). Of course there is significant (though far from majority) support for the right-wing and their policies. It is best when progressive people can be kept dispirited and not turn out to vote against them, but if not all these other measures are liberally applied.
Even with the right-wing hate machine media blathering as loudly as possible it is clear that the end of all this is approaching. As skillful as these domestic right-wing forces are at manipulating our populace and the laws here, they cannot change the laws of physics and chemistry or the ongoing changes in the world's economic and socio-political forces. They pulled the wool over the eyes of foreign investors for the last time with the recent fiscal swindle. How much credibility do U.S. based ratings corporations have now do you think with European and Asian investor groups? Absolutely none to negative must be the answer. The dollar is already partway on the path to no longer being the world's reserve currency. The main question is how will we fare here in the U.S., doesn't look too promising I'm afraid.
"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
Citing of Eugene Debs for those unfamiliar with that famous quote.
Since the poor whimpering Ds, Obama included, can't get anything done then this is right up their alley; don't do anything. The tax cuts will expire then they can come back in the next Congress and reinstate them for the middle class. When the Rs scream then they can accuse them of being against the people. Take a page out of their own playbook. Seems simple enough that even the wimps can figure it out.
After all since they didn't start the fight before the election and got "shellacked" this could work in their favor for the next one.
Why is it that every time I see a picture of Karl Rove, especially a smirking Karl Rove, all I want to do is punch the fucker's face in?
Use a club. Shit smears.
You are not alone. He is ugly to the bone. But it might be best to maintain our cool and conserve our energy for the battle ahead. Rove is just the ugly porcupine face of the system that must needs be destroyed.
Tax the rich!
They have jobs (obviously) and the money.
Increase the progression to restore the Eisenhower max tax rate until the wars are over and paid for and
YOU!
Republicans!
Stop talking about the deficits as if the only way to stop them is to reduce spending the funny money! Keep spending the funny money and raise the tax rate on those who play with it to "dis-incentivise" the payment of these outrageous salaries & bonuses! Really, a CEO wouldn't still be filthy rich and be unable to completely spend 1.5 million a year in compensation?
The only way to get there is to start taking (I say 91% over an inflation adjusted 3 million but my wife says it should be more like 50%) a significant share of the not-really-"earned" booty.
Welfare mothers are not the problem. They are not poor by choice but are out of options, when men don't act like men.
Those "fat, lazy, black, welfare mothers" that Reagan spoke of. Now that really makes me angry.
How many houses were given to Ronnie when he was the senior citizen of the white house?
Welfare mothers black, white or both are basically poor because they were left to be the only responsible adult in the home, that's why they are considered head of the household. Duh, mother-fatherhood is a full-time job unless your rich enough to pay for someone else to raise your kids like a nanny. Try feeding a family on the pittance they are given, guess where you go to eat, the cheapest restaurant in town, fast-food, guess why their fat, chasing after kids all day is not a work out you get at the county club gym.
Well said.
Tax cuts - this is the corporate plunder that has destroyed the United States.
It is the final battle in Ronald Reagan's Republican war on the American people.
The highest income earners (the top 1%) now take 24% of the income pie and the top 10% of American families now have more than 83% of the entire financial wealth (not including primary residences) of the U.S. - welcome to the third world.
I simply do not understand why there isn't a massive outcry about this, until I realize Dancing with the Stars is far more important than the greatest assault on the poor & middle class in history. Bread & circuses....
Bush's Tax Cuts?
12 Senate Democrats voted for the tax cuts which provided the Senate a majority to pass the legislation. I guess filibusters by Democrats were unheard of during the Bush years, even fake filibusters which is all the Republicans do. Easier to blame Bush for the wars and tax cuts that Democrats supported and when Obama came to power, memory loss set in, and the policies continued.
They are called the Bush tax cuts ,but we all know the cuts started years ago, and Bush isn't smart enough to do that anyway, it is the Puppetmasters, that created this American robbery. Democrats, the ones that work on the Hill, are all traders, and are as much Republicans as Bush was...we all know that. There is no party at this time, that represents the people. Both parties work for the Corporations, and as long as we allow lobbtists, we will never have a goverment for the people. The temptation to rob our Country, apparently is too great, for any human to resist, becauase they all do it.
I hate those men, they are as much traders to this country as anyone could be. They should all be arrested for treason ! When you willfully do something to hurt your country, then you have committed TREASON... when will everybody get this ?? Why is everyone so clouded, are we as stupid as the people on Gilligans Island ? All I can do is shake my head in disgust ! These men have done everything they could to rape, and ravage the U.S.A. Illigal Wars, Illigal Stock trading, Illigal Torture, what will it take to wake this stupid ass country up ? I have a mind to just start robbing banks, and taking anything I want, because eventually if I do it well, I will be rich, and never get into trouble ! That is the message they are sending to our young people...take whatever you want, and you won't get in any trouble, just call it a business or something.
Until we punish those that committed crimes against America, and other Lands, we will all carry the guilt, we will all bear the burden of thier sins. Isn't paying to bail them out enough ? When will we get it. We are not going to get rich, so let's punish the hell out of these people that are laughing at all of us. They think of regular people as a joke, a number, something that matters only if they are helping to get them rich, but not so much as they care, they think Americans are a joke !
They used to be Americans too, but not anymore, they are nothing more than traders, that are running free.
And their hero, Ronald Reagan, certainly committed treason during the Iran-Contra "scandal" and yet the gullible public loved this monster.
Oh Jesus, The fucking word is traitors......no wonder we're losing this fucking battle. Our side can't even fucking spell.
And just what the fuck is illigal? Jesus fucking Christ. No wonder the cretins are winning. At least they can fucking spell.
illigle is a traitor masquerading as a trader when ill and ig[d?]le.
Don't try telling that character he can't spell. Nothing is less important to him and he'll let you know how stupid you are for daring to correct him. Illigal traders! Whut do they think thier doing!
Come on you guys......be nice. We got the idea. There is no need to shred people when they present themselves as spelling compromised. Perhaps this poster is a foreign person? Perhaps they are trying to participate in a discussion they are interested in? Maybe the person is young, or maybe not schooled? Or, it could be they are simply a very poor speller.
So come on guys, say "sorry."
Agreed, though installation of a spell checker is painless, free and necessary.
"I have a mind to just start robbing banks," And you'll go to jail. The ruling class have figured out that the best way to rob a bank is to own one. They got billions of taxpayer money to bail them out and no one has gone to jail. The perfect bank robbery.
We, the Progressive Democrats, CANNOT ALLOW OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, who represent US, to vote to extend the tax cuts to those individuals, who earn over $200,000/year or couples, who earn over $250,000/year. They do not need it. They do not deserve it. They have not created any American jobs in the last 10 years, while they enjoyed these breaks. However, these tax breaks doubled our total national debt during Bush's 8 years in office.
We MUST tell our elected officials that we are TOTALLY OPPOSED to extending the tax cuts to the wealthy. However, tax cuts for middle and low income people should be extended for at least 3 years. They will spent the extra money that they receive and boost our economy and possibly CREATE SOME JOBS!!!!
I'm puzzled! "Once you get something into law, it's almost impossible to remove it".
But, it's relatively easy if the provision has a built-in expiration date. It just happens automatically.
Am I missing something here? Like, perhaps Democratic cowardice.
Jim Shea