LF: Obama Will Back Extending Tax Cuts for Rich, Axelrod Tells Huffington Post

Title: Obama Will Back Extending Tax Cuts for Rich, Axelrod Tells Huffington Post
Source: Bloomberg
URL Source: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news ... 0601087&sid=agXpi02sjRW8&pos=8
Published: Nov 11, 2010
Author: By Ryan J. Donmoyer
Post Date: 2010-11-11 11:40:59 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1440
Comments: 3

Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will agree to Republican demands that Bush-era tax policies benefiting high- income Americans be extended, his top adviser said in an interview with the Huffington Post.

David Axelrod, the adviser, said that will be the only way to ensure lower tax rates for middle-income Americans also are continued. Unless Congress acts, the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire on Dec. 31.

“We have to deal with the world as we find it,” Axelrod told the Huffington Post during a 90-minute Oval Office interview. “The world of what it takes to get this done.”

Axelrod said Obama didn’t want to “trade away security for the middle class” to continue making the point that the country can’t afford to also extend tax cuts for high-income Americans, defined by Obama as individuals making more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000.

“The president has been clear that extending tax cuts for middle-class families is his top priority and he is open to compromise to get that done,” White House spokesman Amy Brundage said today. “He has also expressed concern about the cost of making the highest-income tax cuts permanent and is looking forward to discussing this and other issues with bipartisan congressional leaders next week.”

Obama said last week he would negotiate on the tax cuts after Republicans took control of the House in midterm elections and gained six seats in the Senate.

Ohio Representative John Boehner, a Republican in line to be House Speaker in the next Congress, yesterday said his party would continue to insist on extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels. An across-the-board extension would cost the government about $5 trillion in foregone revenue and interest cost on the debt, the Congressional Research Service estimated last month.

The Morning Plum

UPDATE: White House denies giving in on Bush tax cuts: The White House is sharply denying the Huffington Post >www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/10/white-house-gives-in-on-bush-tax-cuts_n_781992.html"> story I noted below claiming that David Axelrod signaled a willingness to accept a temporary extension of all the Bush tax cuts, claiming that their position remains unchanged.

Axelrod emails:

There is not one bit of news here. I simply re-stated what POTUS and Robert have been saying. Our two strong principles are that we need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, but we can't afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

And White House comm director Dan Pfeiffer adds:

The story is overwritten. Nothing has changed from what the President said last week. We believe we need to extend the middle class tax cuts, we cannot afford to borrow 700 billion to pay for extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and we are open to compromise and are looking forward to talking to the Congressional leadership next week to discuss how to move forward. Full Stop, period, end of sentence.

The question remains, though, whether the White House will hold fast to Obama's demand last week that the extension of the tax cuts for the middle class remain permanent while extending the high end ones temporarily. The main sticking point is that Republicans won't allow the two categories to be extended for different durations, because that would force them to push for just an extension of the cuts for the rich later.

voices.washingtonpost.com...the_morning_plum_129.html

Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'!

if Obama gives in on this, he's writing his own primary challenger's ticket in 2012.

It's already written. He's a fookin incompetent loser. Hillary must be licking her slobbering chops!