Expiration date watch: Repealing the Bush tax cuts
posted at 10:40 am on November 23, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
All of Barack Obama’s policy statements come with an expiration date, Jim Geraghty often said, and now the Left may experience the same frustration as the Right did during the campaign. The latest example comes today, with the expiration delivered by David Axelrod. Those Bush tax cuts Obama wanted repealed? Not so fast:
President-elect Barack Obama may consider delaying an election promise – to roll back tax cuts on high-income Americans – as part of his economic recovery strategy, a senior aide and an adviser said on Sunday.
David Axelrod, one of Obama’s closest confidants chosen to be a senior White House adviser, was asked if the tax cut could be ended later than Obama called for during the campaign. “Considerations will be made,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Considerations, eh? I suppose the meltdown on Wall Street had a lot to do with those “considerations”. The near-unanimous chorus from economists about the dangers of raising taxes in the middle of a recession may have produced those “considerations” as well.
Now that Obama has to actually govern his way out of a global financial collapse, he’s realizing that he needs all the capital he can get to invest back into economic growth. And that’s not a bad thing.
Blowback
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I’ll believe it when I see it.
katy on November 23, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Anyone notice how Axelrod looks remarkably like a former German dictator? I saw him on FNS this morning. Chris Wallace asked him if he was gonig to be Obama’s “Karl Rove.” Heh.
perroviejo on November 23, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Gird your loins Netroots! Reality is beginning to strike the Messiah.
forest on November 23, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Well, that would be smart. Don’t trust him at all. Will seeing will be believing. Would be nice if The One isn’t as nuts as I see he is. Will hope things won’t be so bad with him in office. Still don’t accept him as my &&&&. Won’t even say that word. He is not worthy of the title.
sheebe on November 23, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Don’t insult Karl Rove.
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:47 AM
This whole incoming administration reminds of the Jon Lovitz character from SNL :”My wife…Morgan Fairchild…yeah, dat’s the ticket!”
“Yeah, I’m the one that came up with these tax cuts. Yeah, they’re MY tax cuts…yeah, dat’s the ticket!”
kingsjester on November 23, 2008 at 10:48 AM
I don’t know why this deserves a blog post… Team Obama plays their cards close and they stay uncommitted… what’s the point in boxing yourself in?
ninjapirate on November 23, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Do you really think the Dems in Congress can (a) keep themselves from passing a tax increase; and (b) swallow the cod liver oil of an extension of the Bush tax cuts? It almost doesn’t matter what Obama and the ‘Turfer think.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on November 23, 2008 at 10:50 AM
I agree with Attila. Oh how it weren’t so.
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Yeah. And how could Obama possibly veto it?
lodge on November 23, 2008 at 10:52 AM
I hope they don’t do something that stupid. I don’t think any amount of spin would whitewash it. The backlash would be very interesting to watch, though.
kingsjester on November 23, 2008 at 10:54 AM
All I hear from the right these days is how awesome Obama will be. He’s appointing Treasury secretaries that Wall St loves, he’s not raising taxes, he’s going to be tough on terrorists after all.
Phew, here I was worried this guy was a fascist communist ready to roll. I feel much better now.
/sarc
angryed on November 23, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Is there any shred of optimism for our personal economies?
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:54 AM
What has the Democrat Congress shown you the past two years that would give you any reason to believe they would challenge the ONE? Name one thing.
Jamson64 on November 23, 2008 at 10:56 AM
I guess there’s not one positive thing about the dems controlling Congress.
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Ooooooooooo….a DFL bill to erase tax cuts vetoed by a DFL POTUS…how would they spin that one?
Get out your dictionaries, the MSM will have to produce an entirely new lexicon to explain the goodness of such an event.
Bishop on November 23, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Axelrod makes Rove look like an amateur.
drjohn on November 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Perhaps, but the conflict will be most entertaining. The Dem’s themselves will take the Messiah down from the Mount.
drjohn on November 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM
He is going to ride this thing out on the “Present” express. It’s worked for him so far. Sadly.
sherry on November 23, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Obama backs off on his most radical promises.
The liberals go nuts.
The conservatives breath a sigh of relief.
I hope he does show some moderation in governing. Maybe we’ll be able to get through the next four years after all. I’m still going to watch him like a hawk. He hasn’t proven himself to be trustworthy yet.
backwoods conservative on November 23, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Obama believes in bottom-up economics, he can’t change his mind about something so fundamental.
Phoenician on November 23, 2008 at 11:09 AM
So when BO goes against Her Liberal Highness Pelosi, will he call her racist??
BroncosRock on November 23, 2008 at 11:13 AM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…please, you’re killing me here….unless you mean they uncommitted from their campaign-long committment to eliminate the tax cuts, uh….HAHAHAHAHAHA….
Patrick S on November 23, 2008 at 11:15 AM
OT
There is a lot of racist sports reporter because they do not agree with THE ONE idea of a college football playoff.
BroncosRock on November 23, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Remember this; Obama’s brain is hardwired for socialist/marxist ideology. He cannot change the fundamentals of his thinking. He sees everything in his life through this lense. He may make some temporary choices and tweak things for what he believes to be short term relief, but he is on track to remake the entire free market system.
katy on November 23, 2008 at 11:15 AM
That must have been one hell of a security meeting, because after that he has been heading center and backing off everything.
djohn669 on November 23, 2008 at 11:16 AM
The loonie leftist in the House and Senate will force his hand. Slobbering Barney the frank will insist on raising taxes.
Zorro on November 23, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Between this and The One’s national security appointments, we should see Obamaton heads exploding any second now.
Tee-hee.
irishspy on November 23, 2008 at 11:19 AM
I don’t know, I guess it’s something called LEADERSHIP; but considering how Obama hasn’t lead on anything in his life, I’m not surprised that he’ll try to govern in the same way.
PackerBronco on November 23, 2008 at 11:24 AM
In vampire taxation terms (which I think the movie industry and Obama’s team both seem to understand), taking a gallon of blood from an economy which only has a gallon of blood left kills the economy, while taking a gallon of blood when the economy has two makes it really sick,…is there ever a point were taking the gallon doesn’t make the economy sick or die?
I’m surprised the Obama folk have decided to hold off — for in their view the true importance is that the gallon of blood is to be given to entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for redistribution to vampires with blunt teeth. I would have expected the distribution end of the economy to be far more important, as it seemed to be to Mr. Obama during the election.
In a nutshell, it looks like redistribution is on hold, too. The guy’s approval rating is going to plummet, because he didn’t deliver the goods.
unclesmrgol on November 23, 2008 at 11:24 AM
I’ve come to conclusion that Obama believes in Obama and not much else.
PackerBronco on November 23, 2008 at 11:25 AM
If wonder boy keeps printing money, keeps interest rates too low, keeps spending like a drunken sailor, keeps not allowing businesses to fail it won’t matter if taxes are zero, the dollar will have no value. We are staring hyperinflation in the face. Which if you are dumping your dollars is a good thing, or if a person has foreign money. America will be a firesale and foreign money will be looking to buy. This will stoke populist anger, which leads to hindered trade and a deeper reccession.
Nothing in the fundamentals looks good in America, nothing. Until we start producing our energy, start manufacturing, and stop government spending we will be drowning economically.
Theworldisnotenough on November 23, 2008 at 11:26 AM
He’ll raise taxes, or face the same collapse of a bankrupt government. With Olivier Blanchard calling for rate cuts to ‘near zero,’ government has to contract and people need to save cash so lending can reboot. A new New Deal will only make things worse. But hey, ‘O’ is smarter than everyone.
TinMan13 on November 23, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Oh and I hope Hollywood (SAG) strikes on the precipice of a huge reccession. Kill the goose ya dumb liberals. Production companies v. starving actors in areccession who has the cash reserves to wait the other out?Los Angeles will be devastated and the actors will be SOL.
Theworldisnotenough on November 23, 2008 at 11:34 AM
this is not a bad thing. lets see what happens.
rob verdi on November 23, 2008 at 11:35 AM
I’d like to believe he won’t raise taxes. That would be wise in an economy as weak as this one. But if so, then how will he pay for his “tax cuts” for the people who aren’t paying income taxes? He can’t refund money they never paid in the first place, so it has to come from somewhere.
Someone’s taxes will have to go up. Income taxes, Social Security taxes, corporate taxes, windfall profits taxes, cap-and-trade taxes. Some or maybe even all of these will be required to pay for what he promised.
And God help us if they let the Bush tax cuts expire. I don’t make much to begin with and even I’d end up paying nearly 1500 bucks more a year in taxes if that happens.
Doughboy on November 23, 2008 at 11:39 AM
It’s sinking in: President Obama will have a legacy.
The pot-smoking slackers who voted for him will not have a legacy for voting. History doesn’t care about the voters, it cares about Obama.
Guess how much influence the pot-smoking slackers will have for the next 8 years?
He he.
jeff_from_mpls on November 23, 2008 at 11:46 AM
This isn’t the first time he has said this.
Truth be told, the first round of tax cuts, which were across-the-board income tax cuts, did nothing to stimulate the economy. The second round, which were capital gains cuts, did.
So maybe Obama could just allow the first batch to expire, raising taxes on all of us……not my favorite plan of action but it would be interesting to see
ifhow the Obamabots would defend it.angelat0763 on November 23, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Heh.
Which will it be for the Nutroots – will they suddenly become classic conservatives, or will they turn on Barry and the Faux Centrists with their signature venom?
Jaibones on November 23, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Reality can be a demanding bitch when you have spent your entire life voting present in a fantasy land.
Perhaps his latest promise of 2.5 million new jobs, by 2010, mostly building wind farms and rebuilding the infrastructure, will satisfy the nut jobs on the left. That won’t require a tax increase, will it?
Actually all those new jobs will result in an increased tax revenue to the government, created from and paid for by the taxes being paid by those who are left who still have real jobs and are still taxpayers. Simple economics, lib style. See, everybody will be in a win-win situation… ;-)
Yoop on November 23, 2008 at 11:59 AM
I agree. Most of his record says leftist radical, but he was in an environment where he needed to be that way to succeed. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues his chameleon act.
forest on November 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Barry will do what Arnie is doing to us in California- death by a thousand tiny tax hikes.
Sales tax, gas tax, parcel tax- all minor little increases, like putting us frogs in a nice warm pot.
Barry will slowly raise stuff like the Dividend ,Estate taxes and keep his poor, huddled, envious masses happy.
It a plan that keeps things weak but functioning-and keeps the Democrats in power.
jjshaka on November 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM
I think he might veto it, with the full support of the jackals in Congress, so the left can say how Presidential he is…how he cares so much for the little guy.
As for the netroots, loin girdles or no, it would take a few issues like these before they woke up to reality and realized they were played like a fiddle. Even then, I doubt they would do much. Look at the PUMA’s and Sheehan.
91Veteran on November 23, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Can someone please explain to me how it is that if pretty much all “economists” agree it’s a horrible idea to raise taxes in a bad economy, why it is ever a good idea to raise taxes?
Something I consistently ask liberal friends who advocate raising taxes on the rich: “What does a city/ state do when a large business is planning on relocating outside of that city/ state?” Answer: “The city/ state offers tax reductions”. Second question: “Why wouldn’t it ALWAYS be a good idea to have taxes as low as possible?” Answer: chirp, chirp.
Why????? This is so simple.
Security Mom on November 23, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Nahhhh. A high-schooler could do as well with a fawning media.
I’m beginning to wonder if the only difference between Obama and ush is skin tone. Osame.
ddrintn on November 23, 2008 at 12:09 PM
*Bush, sorry.
ddrintn on November 23, 2008 at 12:10 PM
AP Headline of the year
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081123/pl_nm/us_usa_obama_taxes
tomas on November 23, 2008 at 12:11 PM
I still think the backing off started when both campaigns were given transition security briefings a couple weeks before the election. Within a couple days, Biden was talking about how their poll numbers would go south, and it may not look like they were doing the right thing, but they needed their support.
I think Biden and Urkel realized how many policies of Bush’s were working, the reasons behind them, and why only a fool would remove them.
It was easy for the left to throw all kinds of bombs at Bush, make hysterical claims about taxes, the economy, war on terror, torture or terrorist rights because they saw no responsibility for any of it. Now with them in total control, even the wacko left could figure out who would be responsible.
91Veteran on November 23, 2008 at 12:15 PM
There’s a flaw in the question, and that is the assumption that Democrats are guided by logic.
ddrintn on November 23, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Thought for a minute there you were drunk and slurring your typing. :)
backwoods conservative on November 23, 2008 at 12:16 PM
The left will do what they always do, claim Bush lied.
91Veteran on November 23, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Nope, too early for that yet. ;)
ddrintn on November 23, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Things are looking up. Is it too much to think Obama might actually sit down and read the Constitution before being sworn in?
fogw on November 23, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Obama’s advisers like Alexrod and Emmanuel remember 1993-94 and what happened in the ’94 midterms, and they don’t want that repeated, which is why Barack is suddenly looking like he’s borrowing the entire Bill Clinton-Dick Morris triangulation playbook.
But it only works for as long as the far left, both in the public and in Congress, are willing to shut their pie holes and not confront Obama about going back on his campaign promises. Outside of a few malcontents (who actually believed the rhetoric they were spouting and put that over political success), the left gave Clinton a pass when he moved to the right after losing Congress in ’94. We’ll see how long the left this time is willing to bend their beliefs over and take one (or two, or three) for Obama.
jon1979 on November 23, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Like I always tell my boss, “I’ll believe it when the check clears!”
CurtZHP on November 23, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Reality is merely a crutch for those who can’t face BO’s fantasy world.
Mojave Mark on November 23, 2008 at 12:57 PM
This still leaves us with the problem that the Bush tax cuts will expire, and it would take active participation by a Democrat controlled congress to prevent that. Seams unlikely.
Is that how the sequence went? I thought the 2001 tax bill was just a rebate, rather than a tax cut, but I could easily be wrong.
Count to 10 on November 23, 2008 at 2:09 PM
Half true… the 2003 tax cuts also included the taxes on the top 2 brackets… people who typically invest more of their money than the lower income Americans.
The quarter following that cut was the biggest quarter of growth in 20 years.
Also compare Clintons first and second terms… the first term started with the tax hikes, the second started with the tax cuts (most notably capital gains going from 28% to 20%). Take any metric you want – including the surpluses that came after massive tax cuts – and tell me which of the 2 terms had the stronger economy.
Chuck Schick on November 23, 2008 at 2:17 PM
The problem is that the standard Obama M.O. is to abstain. Doing nothing is a train wreck of an ecomomic policy, but a delicious spending fantasy for the hard left. If the Bush tax cuts expire on their own terms, even families with 30k-40k of income will see a $2,000 tax increase (see http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/taxrelief_20012011_052708.pdf). The 10% tax bracket will disappear, the $1,000 child credit drops to $500, the marriage penalty is fully restored, the alt min tax hits broadly, and estate taxes are fully restored. Once the tax code is open to tweaking, who knows what kind of sausage will come out. What’s the Las Vegas line on whether 95% of us still get that promised tax reduction?
Mark30339 on November 23, 2008 at 2:26 PM
…at which point a number of San Francisco residents suddenly become thankful for Prop 8.
Count to 10 on November 23, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Thats really the problem, isn’t it?
The amendment that gave congress the power to tax income failed to come up with anyway of checking that new power, so now the federal government uses the income tax to exert control on areas otherwise forbidden to it. Too many degrees of freedom in the tax law.
Count to 10 on November 23, 2008 at 2:39 PM
A new twist on an old theme: Don’t Trust and I Dare You To Verify
Done That on November 23, 2008 at 2:55 PM
“I said what I needed to get elected, be happy with that”
Post campaign talking point of Obama…
right2bright on November 23, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Sometime around Sept 22, 2009:
My fellow Americans,
I tried resisting the urge to raise taxes. But now that unemployment is down to 8.5%, it is time to act. And to make up for lost time, instead of $250K and up getting spanked, anyone making $50K and up is getting spanked.
angryed on November 23, 2008 at 6:34 PM
You know, in typical Obamawellian fashion, Axelrod didn’t actually say anything. First of all, it is a
mythlie that the Bush tax cuts only helped the wealthy. The fact is that if the Bush tax cuts expire all of us will penalized. As The Heritage Foundation noted waaay back in 2006:Buy Danish on November 23, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Obama does not strike me as foolish. He is a political animal per excellence….he is in a no lose situation. The Dems who voted for him will not remember he didn’t keep (m)any of his promises. We all know those things were said just to get him elected. Now the hard reality of governing the country is setting in. The only question left is how long will it take the liberal press to figure out their messiah lied.
kanda on November 23, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Even Saint Obama is not immune from reality.
He would be wise to study how FDR handled the depression and avoid the policies that FDR used to prolong it.
Dr. Bob on November 23, 2008 at 8:16 PM
I hope he lets them lapse. I wanna see everyone loath this man before his term is up.
Tim Burton on November 23, 2008 at 8:46 PM
Pray your parents/grand parents kick the bucket in 2010 and not in 2011.
Tim Burton on November 23, 2008 at 9:28 PM
Slippery slope. Can we get a revote on that amendment since it is still questionable if it was truly ratified?
Tim Burton on November 23, 2008 at 9:31 PM
If he follows through on this, its a Tactical Admission that Raising Taxes is bad for the Economy.
jp on November 24, 2008 at 12:27 AM
Eh. They’ll just spin it as the disastrous Bush administration sinking all boats. The rich are the new poor and therefore cannot have their taxes raised.
Buy Danish on November 24, 2008 at 7:03 AM
Change!
Mr Purple on November 24, 2008 at 9:30 AM
I wouldn’t worry much. The economy’s going to be forced down the crapper by Obama’s policies long before the Bush tax cuts expire.
TrickyDick on November 24, 2008 at 1:51 PM