Reports: House GOP gives in, agrees to two-month tax holiday
National Journal is reporting that the House has backed down and agreed to pass, for now, only a two-month extension of the payroll-tax holiday. The AP and The Hill are reporting the same.
The bill reportedly will be the same as the one the Senate passed with a large bipartisan majority, except for “a technical correction to the language designed to minimize difficulties businesses might experience implementing the short-term, two-month tax cut extension.” As part of the deal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will appoint conference-committee members to negotiate away the differences between his chamber’s bill and the House version, which called for a full-year textension.
House Republicans made this more embarrassing than they had to, by not backing Speaker John Boehner’s reported pledge to pass the two-month extension in the first place. They had a victory in hand with the agreement by the Senate and President Obama — who’d originally threatened a veto — to include a provision speeding up the approval process of the Keystone XL pipeline. Having already conceded the debate about whether a temporary tax cut is economically effective, they should have realized the issue was pure politics, booked that victory, and not risked spoiling it.
Assuming all goes off without a hitch, we’ll see who holds the political high ground when the debate turns to extending the holiday for the rest of 2012. After all, that — holding the political high ground — is all this exercise was really ever about. When congressional leaders wait until the weeks before Christmas to decide what to do about taxes in the new year, incompetence and lack of actual concern for taxpayers abound.
P.S. — I’ll update this post with further details as warranted.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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203 comments Add your comment
Michael H. Smith
December 22nd, 2011
6:40 pm
Intelligent people don’t boil arguments down to oversimplified talking points like yours, fyi.
Please if you are going to talk of intelligence don’t misrepresent simple facts as something more elaborate than they are: That is for your information. So if this is to get into a match a of calling each other stupid, you just lost. I’m not going to play your game.
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
6:41 pm
Michael H. Smith @6:28 pm
“Intelligent people know debt is not good”
Nobody disputed that.
“you can’t get rich by simply borrowing money, especially when you are broke.”
Nobody disputed that either. The quotation was “you can’t borrow yourself rich or out of debt.” Intelligent people recognize the difference.
td
December 22nd, 2011
6:43 pm
td should explain how bailout of GM is “movement to communism.
If it is not communistic to have the government come in and take away the property (stock holdings) of the bourgeoisie and gives it to the proletariat (union) and then not make it mandatory to pay back the government with interest, then what do you call it?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Thee Magnificent!!! mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
December 22nd, 2011
6:44 pm
michelle
December 22nd, 2011
6:27 pm
Neal is ANDY.
Uh, Neal couldn’t carry Andy’s jock strap, just sayin…
And neither can you, Nancy.
Michael H. Smith
December 22nd, 2011
6:47 pm
Nobody disputed that either. The quotation was “you can’t borrow yourself rich or out of debt.” Intelligent people recognize the difference.
Okay, go ahead give us your formula to get rich by “borrowing” yourself rich that is what I said so don’t come back to add anything to my exact words .
I’m waiting to see how convoluted this is going to get.
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
6:48 pm
td @6:43 pm: “If it is not communistic to have the government come in and take away the property (stock holdings) of the bourgeoisie and gives it to the proletariat (union) and then not make it mandatory to pay back the government with interest, then what do you call it?”
There are only two things wrong with the above. One is, it is a lie that the government “gave the property” to the unions. Second, it has nothing to do with communism.
Michael H. Smith
December 22nd, 2011
6:52 pm
And by the way MarkV lose the innuendos(same as name calling). It is not an indicative of intelligence discourse. .
Streetracer
December 22nd, 2011
6:57 pm
As far as who eventually “wins” (and it is not necessarily a zero sum game) we will have to wait and see what comes out of the conference commitee. As far as who caved today, kinda seems to me that Senate Dems did. House GOP didn’t approve the Senate bill until after Reid agreed to a conference commitee to adress diferences with the house bill (a bill he said that the Senate would never consider).
MarkV: How is your GM stock doing?
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
6:59 pm
Michael H. Smith @ 6:47 pm : “Okay, go ahead give us your formula to get rich by “borrowing” yourself rich that is what I said so don’t come back to add anything to my exact words . I’m waiting to see how convoluted this is going to get.”
Nothing is being added to your words.
Michael H. Smith @6:07 pm: “…but you can’t borrow yourself rich or out of debt.”
There is any number of scenarios by which one can “ borrow himself/herself out of debt, and even “”borrow himself/herself” rich. Any medical doctor who started practice while being in debt because of a college loan, and who borrows money to establish the practice and gets rich. Anybody who gets in debt, borrows money, invests them and makes a killing. One could go on and on.
Dusty
December 22nd, 2011
7:07 pm
Well, whatdo ya know? Old friend PoFo is back AGAIN. This time he is Michelle, one among many of his numerous IDs. How long has it been, PoFo? I mean you were on Luckovich’s blog, then Bookman’s, and now you favor us with your presence. I do wish you would stay off the booze and the other mind altering stuff..
You have a nice way about cha when you are not running crazy in the wind. So cut it out. Bookman did you a favor. He’s not running a picnic over there. So relax, hon. Courts decide for the sane so you haven’t a chance with your wild $$$ plans.
Now have a nice Christmas. Come again when you are calm. You’ll get to stay awhile.
td
December 22nd, 2011
7:09 pm
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
6:48 pm
“There are only two things wrong with the above. One is, it is a lie that the government “gave the property” to the unions.”
Really. What do you call it when the government basically bankrupts (without going through the court) GM so that the current stockholders get nothing and then offer the stock (preferred) to the unions health fund? If that is not taking the corporation away from the investors and giving it to the union then what is it? Just so you do not call me a lair again please read the below and go to the link I supplied. Do you have the guts to come on the board and say you were wrong or will you just call me another name or ignore the post?
“Now, with General Motors and Chrysler in bankruptcy and the union a major shareholder in both through its retiree health fund, life has become a lot more complicated for the U.A.W.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/business/02uaw.html
Fred
December 22nd, 2011
7:23 pm
Kyle. Are you a 1percenter? WHat benefits YOU the most? Paying more payroll taxes or the 1 percenters paying something on their record profits from this year. And don’t even try to hand me that “job creator” bullspit. The only jobs that your masters create are in CHINA.
Why do you tote their mail? Do you think if you suck up enough you they will “trickle down’ IE pee on your head?
Just damn.
Our Household makes 200 grand a year. Call me “wealth envious” as it’s the favorite way for deluded poor people who support the 1 percenters to……….. I really don’t know WHAT in the hell they are doing or thinking. They cut their own throats (as you do Kyle) and are glad to do it. WHat the hell is their problem?
Oh well Merry Christmas and may the 1 percenters have it all by next year. We can all eat cake, right?
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
7:25 pm
td @7:09 pm
Nothing in what you have written, or what is in the NYT article means that the government gave the property to unions. It is the same distortion of facts as claiming that bailing out GM was a move toward communism. Such simplistic arguments are worthless.
Carl FTWinslow
December 22nd, 2011
7:30 pm
Just a heads up and I know this will be deleted quickly but Kyle is literally sitting at home patrolling this fiefdom nonstop because he’s a crybaby who can’t handle anyone owning him online. He has an ego more fragile than an eggshell and is a complete control freak to boot.
Puzzled
December 22nd, 2011
7:30 pm
Interesting that we are receiving a 2 month “gift” that will be paid for by a new indefinite tax on current and future homeowners, and will take 10+ years to recoup the cost. Not real sure I understand/agree with this payback period. Oh I’m sorry, we’re talking about Washington politicians, they don’t seem to live in the real world – maybe they are all secretly related to the Kardashian sisters…!!!
Kylie Wingfeld
December 22nd, 2011
7:33 pm
Kyle don’t get all butthurt on us
American Patriot
December 22nd, 2011
7:37 pm
Boehner blinked, no question there. He made a huge mistake in the initial acceptance (the WRONG move), the subsequent “correction” with the idiotic rejection of the extension, followed by today’s acceptance of the only logical solution to get all the rotting egg off his face. So we lost this skirmish which will be forgotten in a week. We TeaParty patriots will ultimately win the war to save our country. To all those hard working union member not on welfare (yet), spend your $40 pizza money wisely. The second economic devaluation of America is only weeks away. Remember, Obama and his large derrièred wife can afford pizza. You won’t in a few months.
Porter
December 22nd, 2011
7:39 pm
Obama will no doubt go down in history as one of the worst Presidents ever, if there is anymore American history after he gets through.
td
December 22nd, 2011
7:42 pm
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
7:25 pm
You my friend are in total denial or you believe in Marxism yourself? If you are a Marxist then why not stand up proudly and admit it? I am a libertarian leaning conservative. See it is not that hard. Come on out of the closet my friend and be proud of what you are.
If you are really a moderate democrat and do not believe Obama is a socialist at best and are afraid to admit you made a mistake in voting for him then you really need to take off the blinders and take a look. You can say you were wrong and will not make that mistake again and we will forgive your lack of good judgement this one time. I promise.
Rafe Hollister
December 22nd, 2011
7:54 pm
This payroll tax embarassment may have been Boehner’s Waterloo. There is an old song called Waterloo, the verse mentions that everyone eventually meets their Waterloo. I think that Nov 2012 will be Obama’s waterloo, if the Supreme Court doesn’t deliver it sooner, when they rule that Obamacare is unconstitutional.
lawdawg
December 22nd, 2011
7:56 pm
I’m all for tax cuts, but the payroll tax is the WRONG tax to cut. Half of the US pays no income tax at all, and the only tax they pay, if they earn income, is the payroll tax. Everyone needs some “skin in the game.” Plus, the payroll tax has a purpose, which is funding Medicare and Social Security, which already have huge structural funding problems.
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
7:56 pm
td @7:42 pm
You, my friend, simply do not know what you are talking/writing about, and that is the problem. To suggest that I am Marxist is simply laughable. The difference between us is that I know what Marxism is, and you do not, as is obvious from everything you write about the subject.
Similarly, I do not believe that Obama is a socialist. I do not know if Obama is a socialist, just as I do not know if you are a fascist, a maoist, or anything else one can think of. What I do know is that there is no evidence you are a fascist or maoist, and that there is no evidence that Obama is a socialist. I have written about this before, and do not want to repeat myself, but one of the main points is that terms like socialist, Marxist and Communist have a specific meaning, and they are misused by people like you.
Billy Bob
December 22nd, 2011
7:59 pm
It’s a shame the people don’t realize the money they are getting is being withheld from the SS fund and someone will have to make up the difference at some point in the future. I suspect this is always going to be a problem since any return to the original deduction of 6% will be considered a tax increase and the democrats will always say the repubs are just taxing the poor and middle class. It’s a shame the american people are so gullible they swallow whatever little Barry spews out and the liberal media spreads it as the truth. This country is going down the tubes. Have a great day.
Rafe Hollister
December 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
td
No chance you will ever get a liberal, who claim they are progressives not liberals, to ever admit what they are or what policies they support. They lead a life of distortion, incrementalism, denial, and minimization.
You know how it goes, we are not socialist, we just believe the rich do not pay their fair share. Ok, what’s fair, well they need to pay more. How much more, more than they are paying, blah, blah, blah.
Shine
December 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
td has selective memory. obama “bailed ” out car makers yet republicans have never seen an airline they werent willing to bailout.
I bet if it was a corporate tax cut or capital gains cut Republican Kooks wouldne be denading deregulating this and that or paying for it somewhere else to get ot passed. No sir ree. We on to the carp Republicans are shoveling.
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
7:56 pm
Since I do not know then why do you not 5 minutes and educate me on what a marxist and socialist are? Please give me some knowledge on the subject.
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:07 pm
Rafe Hollister
December 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
You are probably right but when you keep asking the questions then hopefully one day they will take an honest look and at least admit to themselves that they were wrong.
Gary Donehoo
December 22nd, 2011
8:09 pm
If the extension of a 2% temporary defunding of Social Security is going to cause financial ruin of this country, then obama and the democrats have screwed up this country worst than anyone thought.
Shine
December 22nd, 2011
8:11 pm
Republican communism for td aka tird ball, 9. Airline Industry (2001) $18.6 billion
The terrorist attacks of September 11 crippled an already financially troubled industry. To bail out the airlines, President Bush signed into law the Air Transportation Safety and Stabilization Act, which compensated airlines for the mandatory grounding of aircraft after the attacks. The act released $5 billion in compensation and an additional $10 billion in loan guarantees or other federal credit instruments.
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:11 pm
michelle………………no one cares if you were banned…..hopefully it will happen to you again…….very soon……..
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
8:14 pm
td @8:01 pm: “Since I do not know then why do you not 5 minutes and educate me on what a marxist and socialist are? Please give me some knowledge on the subject.”
Your question by itself show the shallowness of your worldview. It is a view in which you can be educated in subjects, such as socialism and Marxism, in 5 minutes. Why don’t you educate yourself?
But to prevent you from claiming that I evaded the question, I will give you the shortest answer I have time for. A socialist is, naturally, a person believing in the economy system of socialism, the main part of which is the state ownership of the means of production, centralized planning of production and centralized decision regarding the rewards.
A Marxist is a person adhering to Marx’s theory of history, and an economic and political program. Such theory and program seeks the elimination of private property, ” public ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange. “dictatorship of the proletariat” as a step toward communism There is no evidence that Obama subscribes to these doctrines.
You do not become a Christian by agreeing with something Jesus said, such as “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22) It does not make Jesus a Marxist either. You are not a Marxist if you say something that coincidentally appears in some writing of Marx or of another prominent Marxist. You are not a Marxist if you decry the “inequalities in the distribution of wealth,” mentioned in the Communist Manifesto. Marx denounced sexism and racism. You are not a Marxist if you oppose sexism or racism.
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:15 pm
Shine
December 22nd, 2011
8:01 pm
If it was a true tax cut then yes I would be screaming for it to pass because it would stimulate the economy immediately. The so called pay roll tax cut is not a tax it is an insurance premium for benefits you and I are suppose to receive in the future. The people that support this reduction now are probably the same people took those huge equity lines of credit for the new house, big vacation or new car and then when the bill came due walked out of there house and left it up the the tax payers to pick up the tab. We can enjoy this now but who is going to pick up the tab when this bill is due? I guess you all do not have a problem placing this bill on your kids or grand children? I think it is disgusting myself.
Jeff and the Camaros
December 22nd, 2011
8:17 pm
And the heck of it is…most people don’t realize that it’s just a weekly cut in what you pay, not an increase or decrease from your total tax bill. The folks that are paying this–the middle class–all pay taxes or get refunds every year, so the $40 that you don’t pay or pay, all comes out in the wash when you pay your taxes next year.
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:18 pm
td is the lowest form of human on the planet with nary a self-thought comment and I am ashamed he MAY be from the state of Georgia. But he enjoys seeing his crap in print so you guys just keep telling him the facts and he’ll just keep trolling along. Ignore him and he will implode even before Obama wins four more years.
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:28 pm
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:18 pm
I see you are back Billy or is it prince? I thought Kyle ran you off by shinning light on your name changes?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
December 22nd, 2011
8:29 pm
BRW, I just read td’s most recent comment and it seems perfectly reasonable and factually correct.
Oh, that’s why you have a problem with it.
Go back to the fact-free fantasyland known as the Democrat plantation, where everything is free and no one has to work for a living.
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:32 pm
tick…………tick…………tick……..he’s about to blow ……………
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:33 pm
Never been a Prince, or changed a name. Stressed yet?
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:35 pm
Having someone get your back like LBB (RD) must make you all warm inside…..
Centrist
December 22nd, 2011
8:35 pm
@ Rafe Hollister – The 2 month and at least and eventual added year of the FICA tax cut debate is far from over. This week’s minor skirmish will soon be forgotten.
The airlines were bailed out by stockholders, creditors, employees, and retirees while management took bonuses for “saving” them.
@ Fred – The top 1% (earn over $380K) not paying enough taxes (38% of all income taxes), but most of these taxpayers are dual income families who have and paid for post college graduate degrees and specialized apprentice training while living in relative poverty like doctors, dentists, lawyers, scientists, engineers, architects, airline pilots, accountants, superintendents, high level administrators, etc. Many others are finally successful small businesses which employ most of the workforce. These folks are in the top progressive WAGES tax bracket of 35%, and their exemptions and deductions are phased out raising their EFFECTIVE tax rates even more to the highest levels (more progressiveness in taxpaying than just the marginal tax brackets). This is where most of the specialized schooled professionals and successful small business owners who create jobs fit. How much MORE of a “fair share” should they pay, and what will their reactions be in regard to productivity and employees be if they get hit with yet even greater taxes?
The top .02% of incomes (300,000 Americans) make more than a million a year – some pay no or little in taxes – that AMT didn’t catch them like middle class taxpayers. Their income is not mostly wages like those heavily taxed for lesser incomes. Those lower capital gains rate taxes, credits, loopholes, and trusts were made for them by BOTH Democrats and Republican politicians. They inherited, created successful corporations, or are senior management, Wall Street brokers, politicians, entertainment and sports stars. The government has kept many of them on top with all of those billions of dollars in bailouts. Not coincidentally, this is where most of campaign contributions come from so they will ALWAYS be protected from paying taxes like “the little people”.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
December 22nd, 2011
8:35 pm
National debt at beginning of the Obozo regime: $10.6 trillion
National debt as of today: $15.1 trillion
Not bad for two-plus years.
Obozo: Fail.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
December 22nd, 2011
8:38 pm
Centrist: The top .02% of incomes (300,000 Americans) make more than a million a year – some pay no or little in taxes
———————-
Name one, or provide a link to a credible source.
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:41 pm
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
8:14 pm
“the main part of which is the state ownership of the means of production, centralized planning of production and centralized decision regarding the rewards”
I think you mean social ownership instead of state ownership but let us take the last part of your definition and examine it for a minute. Is it or is it not true that the main elements of Obama care is that the central government will control who gets what health care and at what price? Is it or is it not true that everyone under Obama care will get equal care? Does this not sound like your definition of socialism?
What Goes Around Comes Around
December 22nd, 2011
8:47 pm
@Cornbreesha December 22nd, 2011 6:12 pm – I’m with the earlier poster who questioned how this latest government handout is being paid for.
*********************************************************************
Corn baby, you sound just as IGNORANT AS YOUR NAME!
Giving millions of people a BREAK is a HANDOUT?
With a name like yours You are NOT IN THE 1% and I bet you will BENEFIT from this HANDOUT TOO!
Ain’t no shame in the game. Don’t hate the PLAYER hate the GAME!
You are NOT IN THE 1%
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:49 pm
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:33 pm
Never been a Prince, or changed a name. Stressed yet?
Stessed why? Why should I care what a whiner thinks about me? I just know I scored another TOUCH DOWN!!!!!! Every time one of you libs blows his or her top then It is just like scoring one for the mighty DAWGS. Is not life great.
Hope you have a very merry Christmas and hope Santa will leave you more than a lump of coal. May God bless you and give you the intelligence to wake up and become a responsible human being.
Shine
December 22nd, 2011
8:49 pm
Well then td, if cutting taxes for workers by 200 billion wont help the economy then raising taxes on millionaires by 200 billion wont hurt it either. Right?
Michael H. Smith
December 22nd, 2011
8:50 pm
MarkV
December 22nd, 2011
6:59 pm
There is any number of scenarios by which one can “ borrow himself/herself out of debt, and even “”borrow himself/herself” rich. Any medical doctor who started practice while being in debt because of a college loan, and who borrows money to establish the practice and gets rich. Anybody who gets in debt, borrows money, invests them and makes a killing. One could go on and on.
WRONG! And, you most certainly did ADD to my words to my comment, as I knew you would. I said nothing about loans to make investments. I’ll remind you exactly what I said was… Michael H. Smith @6:07 pm: “…but you can’t borrow yourself rich or out of debt.”
Where did I say anything about you can’t borrow and invest yourself rich?
I didn’t say that at all!
What you are saying involves INVESTING, which is totally different from my statement.
Didn’t take long for you to discredit yourself on that one.
Yeah but no doubt you certainly can go on!
What Goes Around Comes Around
December 22nd, 2011
8:50 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout (Revised Downward) December 22nd, 2011 8:35 pm – National debt at beginning of the Obozo regime: $10.6 trillion – National debt as of today: $15.1 trillion – Not bad for two-plus years.
Obozo: Fail.
*************************************************************
TODAY OBOZO OUTSMARTED THE ANGRY WHITE MEN!
That Harvard diploma came in handy.
DON’T HATE THE PLAYER HATE THE GAME!
td
December 22nd, 2011
8:54 pm
BRW
December 22nd, 2011
8:35 pm
Having someone get your back like LBB (RD) must make you all warm inside…..
It sure does make a person feel all warm and fussy on the inside when other intelligent members of the community acknowledge ones words as being the truth and nothing but the truth. You should try it one day and I promise I will give you the proper respect and then you can feel good that you earned the respect.
What Goes Around Comes Around
December 22nd, 2011
8:55 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout (Revised Downward) December 22nd, 2011 8:29 pm – Go back to the fact-free fantasyland known as the Democrat plantation, where everything is free and no one has to work for a living.
******************************************************
OBOZO OUTSMARTED YOUR ANGRY WHITE MEN REPUBLICANS!
THEY CAVED! THE REPUBLICANS AIN’T THAT SMART ARE THEY?
Maybe they need to apply for admission to Harvard!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!