Conservatives have no choice but to give into White House demands on higher tax rates for the wealthy, if the fiscal debate is to move to their main goal, overhauling big government benefits programs, several Republicans said on Sunday.
“There is a growing group of folks who are … realizing that we don’t have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before yearend,” Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on the “Fox News Sunday” program.
The Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans are set to expire at the end of the year if Congress and the Obama administration fail to pass legislation to extend the tax breaks.
The White House and Republican congressional leaders are deadlocked over the tax rate on upper income earners, and without resolution massive tax rates are to kick in shortly.
It is this $500 billion in tax increases along with $100 billion in automatic spending cuts that comprise the year-end “fiscal cliff.” Economists and policymakers warn it could drive the U.S. economy into recession.
President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats are insisting that the tax break expire for families with incomes above $250,000, and remain in place for other taxpayers. They are wagering that if all the tax cuts expire, the public will blame Republicans for raising taxes on the middle class.
“Some of our people think if we just dig in and hold strong we can stop it. That’s just not the case. It happens automatically. You have to do something,” said Republican Representative Tom Cole on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“In my view, we all agree that we’re not going to raise taxes on people that make less than $250,000, we should just take them out of this discussion right now,” Cole of Oklahoma said.
Rank and file Republicans are eager to move beyond that fight to overhauling Social Security and Medicare, which are both on track to start running out money without major reforms.
“A lot of people are putting forth a theory – and I think it has merit – where you go ahead and give the president the … rate increase on the top 2 percent, and all of a sudden the shift goes back to entitlements,” Corker said.
Republican Senator Tom Coburn, also of Oklahoma, said it would take significant reforms to the Medicare health care and Social Security retirement programs for him to agree to a tax rate increase.
“Will I accept a tax increase as part of a deal to actually solve our problems? Yes,” Coburn said on ABC’s “This Week” television program.
(Reuters)
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4 Responses
The republicans in the house did not run on raising taxes & should NOT do so. They ran on Conservative principles. If they want to raise taxes, they should have been honest with the public and run as socialist liberal democrats.
As far as I am concerned the regime is not interested in CUTTING SPENDING NOW so Bonehead should just walk away. Taxes are going up up up on everyone regardless of these “negotiations” because they have to pay for all of obama’s spending, not to mention the taxes due to ObamaDoesntCare.
Elections have consequences and we will be suffering soon.
Mark Levin must be rich to react as he does.
On a different angle, the article talks of Medicare and Social Security as if they are the only Entitlements. Welfare is the costliest Entitlement of all, and should be at the top of the list for reform. There are an awful lot of people out there who are on Welfare because they have been out of work since this recession began. However, there are a lot of people who have been on Welfare for a lot longer than this recession, because even when jobs were around they would rather collect than work. Perhaps there ought to be a time limit on Welfare. I’m not an ogre, but I’m getting tired of being a sucker.
2,
I don’t know what the amount I make a year has to do with anything. If the dirty evil rich, those making over 250k a year (hardly making it!), are taxed more, would it help you? The answer is not one darn bit!!
Have you ever owned a business? I mean a real business not one where you are shtipped cash intir di tish? If you did you would know that when taxes go up, the amount invested back into the business goes down down down.
And for the record, my family isn’t making 250k a year but I understand how business works & that poor people don’t hire.
Funny how the libs are into their religion of “fairness” yet when it comes to taxes they want to soak the rich as opposed to taxing everyone EQUALLY which is the fairest of all!!
But then again, the libs never met a dollar of someone’s which they didn’t want to claim as theirs.