The deal on the extension of the Bush tax cuts is the big news today, and I thought I’d give you just a wee sampling of some of what is being said:
From the unhappy environs of the Huffington Post: “I’ll do whatever I can” to derail the deal, vows Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the left-most member of Congress: “If we’re serious about creating jobs in this country, which should be our main priority, that’s the worst way to do it. Much better to take that money, invest in our roads, bridges, railroad systems, infrastructure — you create jobs doing that.”
Yeah-the stimulus worked so well, let’s do it again, Bernie.
From the happier, libertarian Reason magazine: Nick Gillespie says that the extension of the cuts won’t lead to higher deficits: Gillespie argues for cuts to spending rather than raising taxes.
National Review editors are generally pleased: The Democrats have lost the argument and, even if the extension doesn’t improve the economy, it will save us from a massive blow to a fragile economy.
Tax guru Grover Norquist quoted saying that the deal is “a much bigger victory than people see” for the Republicans: Norquist says that the Democrats have revealed their true nature in the tax debate:
According to Norquist, this GOP victory is really a failure on the part of Democrats, who had every opportunity to extend most of the Bush tax rates (and to take the political credit). Their failure to do so not only exposes the party’s ideological commitment to higher taxes, but puts them on poor footing politically. “Look at the last four years,” he says. “They never intended to extend the rates for anyone, or they’d have done it by now.”
One note: It’s become fashionable to call the cuts the “Bush era cuts.”
Let’s give credit where credit is due: They are the Bush tax cuts. Thanks, George.