Liberal media, my ass. Here is the AP framing the story of the tax cut vote incorrectly. Bush and the Congress at the time passed taxed cut legislation in 2001 that expires this January. That’s the law. It’s going to expire. Nobody has to do anything. If new legislation is not passed, those cuts will expire. That’s how the law was designed due to deficit concerns.
The House and most Senate Democrats voted for legislation that would enact new tax cuts that would replace the expiring ones beginning in 2011 for everybody to the extent of their first $250,000 of income or so. A minority of Republicans and a few Democrats has filibustered the majority to prevent those new tax cuts from being enacted.
Now, look at how the AP frames it. The headline says: “Republicans block Democratic tax plan on upper incomes.” Sounds like the Democrats are trying to impose a tax on upper incomes, right? Well, no. That’s the effect of the prior legislation, designed to expire not the new plan.
The first sentence says:
Senate Republicans blocked legislation Saturday to let upper-income tax cuts expire on Jan. 1, a showdown scripted by Democrats eager to showcase GOP lawmakers as defenders of millionaires.
Again, no. Legislation to let those tax cuts expire on January 1st, 2011 was passed ten years ago. Mainly by Republicans. If they didn’t want to raise taxes, they should have made the tax cuts permanent 10 years ago. But, they didn’t want to come clean at the time about the huge hole the tax cut plan put in the budget. Now they’re willing to go to the wall blocking tax cuts for everybody’s first $250k in an effort to get concessions for those few Americans who have income in excess of that amount. Incidentally, that concern about the deficit seems to have disappeared – as it does whenever military expenditures or farm subsidies come up.
AMEN! Very few main street media presentations correctly frame the liberal point of view or even try. AP is reliably conservative in the framing of their material. How sad.
I was a bit blown away by the compromise that Obama and Republicans are talking about: a temporary extension of the tax cuts for everybody and an extension of unemployment benefits. Really? The “get our fiscal house in order” Republicans would rather spend money in two ways than zero?
Matt: As soon as I read about the deal, I had the same concern. Of coursem it is interesting that your comment only blames Republicans for this “spend more AND reduce taxes” compromise.
Like we didn’t see this coming? And I am sure that none of us will be surprised when all Bush era tax cuts are extended for years and jobless benefits are not extended. Obama is a fucking Republican and the biggest fucking idiot in the world
As usual, not reported accurately by the media–Palin is right about the lame stream media.
I am surprised no enterprising reporter, looking at the tax cut expiration voted for by the republican led congress back then, have not asked a certain rumored presidential 2012 candidate about his major role in writing the budget that included this tax cut and then this tax cut expiration–which led to this “increase in taxes” this coming year. What does mitch think about his actions now?
Not endorsing this view, but I took note of one commenter describing Obama’s actions as “prettying himself up to become John Boehner and Mitch McConnell’s prison bitch.”