Steve writes:"Republicans set them to expire at the end of 2010. "

And all we hear, 24/7, is that OBAMA is going to raise your taxes!

But then- see previous comments- who owns the media? ? ?

I've never understood how this issue was even in doubt. The tax cuts were scheduled to expire by the repugs themselves, no action was required, in fact, it would take contentious legislation to extend them. All Obama has to do is declare that he will allow the scheduled expiration to happen, that he will veto any extension, then propose to legislation to restore the cuts to the lower 98% and let the repugs campaign against that.

Obama's finally waking up!
Is this the famed "Rope a Dope" strategy that won him the Democratic nomination?
I know the Republicans are all dopes, but is there enough time left to rope them into shooting themselves in the foot enough to lose, or minimize gains, in November?
God, I hope so...

Real leadership for Obama. Good for him indeed!

Can anyone explain Orszag's position yesterday in the Times? I couldn't get his point why the tax cuts would be good for another two years.

We keep hearing in the media how vulnerable Democrats are when it comes to this issue of allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire. When will a reporter ask the man in the street the following:

Would you like to see the richest 2%, those making a net income of more than $250,000 annually, pay more taxes to help reduce our deficit?

What are the chances the reporter will meet and interview anyone on the street making such a large income? Once the results are in, I wonder how "vulnerable" those Democratic candidates would be! -Kevo

This tax policy will not hurt small businesses, it will make rich people more cautious about buying a second Mercedes.

The key point is to educate the voters (is this possible?) that if nothing is done, the tax cuts expire. Doing nothing (see Obama's judge nominations) is the Republican way of life.

Enthusiasm returning....

LOL -- ya gotta love it when somebody who is ostensibly knowledgeable about politics brags about missing something obvious:

"...remember that Obama is basically just following the plan as set by Republicans themselves...."

Um, and why is this a GOOD thing?

"...When Bush and the congressional GOP passed these cuts, Republicans set them to expire at the end of 2010."

Did it never occur to you that this was so they would be a live issue in an election year? One set up by Republicans, to create advantages for... Republicans?

LOL -- man, you're priceless.

One of the great political mistakes of all time was the creation of automatic Cost of Living Increases. It used to be that Congress had to vote to raise benefits on a wide range of programs, which was always this amazing political theater -- in which a large number of Democrats would demonstrate their value to constituents, who would in turn re-elect 'em; and a handful of Republicans would fight, and lose -- and get re-elected because they had tried so hard to stave off fiscal folly. (It all depends on the district.)

But once COLAs were made automatic, nobody got credit for doing what was going to happen anyway.

The expiration date on the tax cuts was always intended to stage a fight in an election year. The signs aren't particularly good (note Orszag) that following the Republican script on this one is a shrewd move.

Catch on, willya?

The key point is to educate the voters (is this possible?) that if nothing is done, the tax cuts expire. Doing nothing (see Obama's judge nominations) is the Republican way of life.

Best line of the day.

There's a simple ad for (almost) every republican who was in office back then: why are they complaining now about increasing people's taxes when that's what they voted to do?

The single best illustration of the difference between Obama's tax cut proposal and the Republican plan has to be Ezra Klein's Washington Post tax cut graph showing just how absurd the comparison is. If you haven't seen it before please check it out, save it to your computer and share it with those still clamoring to throw money at the rich - who we bailed out at our expense.

Bully for him. Bully!! And he should start to speak out on healthcare too. The benefits to the middle class. J.Boner said the healthcare would mean Armageddon! So play the tape, and then ask with his wry smile, "How has Armageddon been for you? How has it changed your life now that the world has ended? Has the way you've gone about your day significantly changed since the end of society as you knew it? If they will even lie to you about something as important as taking care of your health, then how are you going to trust them with your retirement (social security) and other major issues in your life?" C'mon Obama, you're getting your mojo back. Keep it up.

I would also remind people that the correct response to the statement "Tax Cuts pay for themselves" is: "If that were true, then the Republicans wouldn't have had to place a 10-year expiration date on the tax cuts in order to get them passed via reconciliation, which you have to do when a proposing something that is going to add to the deficit".

It goes without saying that the mass of talking heads on TV and the OpEd pages, and the mass of people interviewing them, will be people whose taxes will be going up. Pointing out that fact generally, and personally, will be called class warfare. It is not. It is reciprocal class warfare

@theAmericanist

While I too think this was a staged 'chess move' by Cons, it will backfire. Why? Because all you have to do is point out that we've been under Bush tax cuts for ten years now, and we've had the worst job creation ever. Tax cuts on the wealthy aren't working to improve the economy. That policy over the decade has proven to be a failure. Wealth has stagnated at the top, trickle down doesn't work, thus wealth needs to be siphoned down. The economy if faltering because money isn't being cycled.

Whether we win or lose the upcoming elections, Obama cannot and must not back down on this single issue.

Instead, the Bush tax cuts should be renamed the "Bush Tax Swindle" or "Bush Tax Cheat" or "Bush Tax Scam" or "Bush Tax Hoax!" Simple charts comparing what average Americans got from the "tax cuts" to what the rich people got should be ubiquitous.

The scheduled end of the Bush Tax Swindle therefore should be referred to as "Tax Equality" or "Tax Justice" or "Tax Honesty" or "Tax Honor." If the Republicans can play the branding game, we need to do it too.

We need to create ads depicting rich people in wealthy surroundings with a voiceover saying, "Before you vote this November, ask each of your millionaire friends a simple question: 'How have you spent your $8 million in tax cuts over the last ten years? And why didn't you use it to fix the economy or hire more people or curb the deficit?' And then, this time, vote for Tax Justice. You've earned it."

By the way, when I say "...$8 million in tax cuts over the last ten years..." I know this is not a real figure. My point is that the tax cuts for rich folks means they have an extra amount of money that the rest of us can't possibly imagine spending. Were anyone actually planning to make the ad I suggested, I recommend using real numbers.

Just sayin', in case anyone wants to get all literal on my ass...

@the americanist:

I believe the expiration date was put in, because that was the only way they could get the tax cuts passed by congress.

I agree--good for Obama to show some leadership. If he makes clear that he will vetoe any bill that extends Dumbya's tax cuts for the wealthy, then the debate shifts. I suspect that all of Dumbya's tax cuts will end up expiring, but that is not a bad thing. Now how about some leadership on social security? How about taking that off the Catfood Commission's table by indicating that he will vetoe any legislation that would reduce benefits, raise the retirement age, means test etc.? Finally, how about indicating that he will vetoe any legislation which tries to reign in the EPA's regulation of greenhouse gases as a pollutant unless it is part of comprehensive energy legislation? Lets see if we can make this leadership thing a trend.

@Day-I agree. The Byrd rule is the reason.

Wanna bet ?
Obama will cave to the Goopers
He's a WEAKLING
Haven't you noticed ?

I don't doubt that Republicans will be apoplectic -- fighting for tax breaks for the wealthy is just part of their DNA

Yeah, and if the Democrats stick to their guns and fail to hand the Reptiles a victory on this issue, it'll get Republicans in trouble with their base for a change.

If Obama did allow the tax cuts to be extended for a few years, Boner and the other GOP hacks would suddenly remember they are supposed to be fiscally conservatives.

There would be a rash of Republicans wondering out loud and without irony how the President intends to pay for them.

"No, he isn't going to cave." Can you seriously
believe this about the current President or majority
party in the Congress? Maybe he and they will or won't,
but what possible confidence could you have either way?