The tax deal

[driveby]

Krugman

 

This political reality makes the tax deal a bad bargain for Democrats. Think of it this way: The deal essentially sets up 2011-2012 to be a repeat of 2009-2010. Once again, there would be initial benefits from the stimulus, and decent growth a year before the election. But as the stimulus faded, growth would tend to stall — and this stall would, once again, come in the months leading up to the election, with seriously negative consequences for Mr. Obama and his party.

 

or

 

Krauthammer?

 

Barack Obama won the great tax-cut showdown of 2010 — and House Democrats don’t have a clue that he did. In the deal struck this week, the president negotiated the biggest stimulus in American history, larger than his $814 billion 2009 stimulus package. It will pump a trillion borrowed Chinese dollars into the U.S. economy over the next two years — which just happen to be the two years of the run-up to the next presidential election. This is a defeat?

[evil_gop_liars]

[Azazello1313]

a little more balanced take than krugman/krauthammer...

 

Of its estimated $900 billion-plus cost over two years, roughly $120 billion covers the high-end tax cuts and the estate tax cut, $450 billion covers Mr. Obama’s wish list and $360 billion covers the tax cut extensions both parties favored.

 

seems like obama got a pretty good deal

 

I will say, it continues to be disconcerting that "compromise" in washington basically means everybody getting the tax cuts and spending increases they want. we'll just leave the tax hikes and/or spending cuts for later. it kinda makes sense when the economy is in the gutter, but when will they ever make the tough choices? that is why I think it is VITAL that they start doing things NOW to cut spending significantly in 5-10+ years -- reducing rates of growth, indexing stuff to inflation, stuff like that the improves the long term budget situation without pulling buckets of money out of the weak economy in 2011 and 2012.

[bushwacked]

 

Accurate.

[Ursa Majoris]

a little more balanced take than krugman/krauthammer...

 

 

 

seems like obama got a pretty good deal

 

I will say, it continues to be disconcerting that "compromise" in washington basically means everybody getting the tax cuts and spending increases they want. we'll just leave the tax hikes and/or spending cuts for later. it kinda makes sense when the economy is in the gutter, but when will they ever make the tough choices? that is why I think it is VITAL that they start doing things NOW to cut spending significantly in 5-10+ years -- reducing rates of growth, indexing stuff to inflation, stuff like that the improves the long term budget situation without pulling buckets of money out of the weak economy in 2011 and 2012.

Another quote from the last paragraph of the same article:

 

Strange as it may sound, some of the only fiscal conservatives in Washington this week have been liberals who would be willing to let everyone’s taxes rise.

[driveby]

consensus is the Repubs got snookered

[billay]

consensus is the Repubs got snookered

I fail to see how maintaining the status quo (as Republicans say) amounts to stimulus?

[yo mama]

This particular tax deal is dead, anyways. A new bipartisan bill just passed the House.

[evil_gop_liars]

Gotta love Bernie's speech.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

a little more balanced take than krugman/krauthammer...

 

 

 

seems like obama got a pretty good deal

 

I will say, it continues to be disconcerting that "compromise" in washington basically means everybody getting the tax cuts and spending increases they want. we'll just leave the tax hikes and/or spending cuts for later. it kinda makes sense when the economy is in the gutter, but when will they ever make the tough choices? that is why I think it is VITAL that they start doing things NOW to cut spending significantly in 5-10+ years -- reducing rates of growth, indexing stuff to inflation, stuff like that the improves the long term budget situation without pulling buckets of money out of the weak economy in 2011 and 2012.

 

I completely agree with this.