Unemployment benefits and tax cuts: 'compromise' as usual
Here鈥檚 the on the 鈥渃ompromise鈥� on the Bush tax cuts:
Washington (CNN) 鈥� President Barack Obama on Monday announced a deal with Republican leaders that would extend Bush-era tax cuts for two years and unemployment benefits for 13 months while also lowering the payroll tax by two percentage points for a year.
It鈥檚 what I expected, because it鈥檚 the typical pattern we鈥檝e seen for the past several years. 鈥淏ipartisan compromise鈥� means both sides get what they want, because deficit financing of these policies seems like the painless way to get out of gridlock. Rather than mutual sacrifice, it is mutual grabbing. We can never manage to 鈥渢rade off鈥濃�搘e only 鈥減ile on.鈥�
Tonight many Democrats are expressing their dismay about the President abandoning his campaign promise to let the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire. But I would remind them that it doesn鈥檛 mean much to 鈥減romise鈥� something that you literally don鈥檛 have to do anything to fulfill. Remember, all of the Bush tax cuts would expire under current law if Congress and President Obama just didn鈥檛 do anything. The much more meaningful promise of President Obama was his promise to continue the Bush tax cuts for all households with incomes under $250,000, because it had to become one of President Obama鈥檚 own proposals in his own budget in order to keep that promise. And so far, he鈥檚 obviously keeping that promise.
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