• So, fun fact on the Obama compromise: A lot of the stuff here could be considered short-term stimulus. While the Bush tax cut extension itself wouldn’t be, because it’s just extending a current tax rate, about half of the things in it (Social Security and business tax breaks, unemployment benefits, individual tax credits) could be. The overall result, which includes the Bush Tax Cuts would lead to a $600 billion to $800 billion total cost for the government. But hey, lower taxes for everybody! (And the Social Security tax break is, let’s face it, a not-terrible idea. As long as people notice that less money is getting taken out of their paychecks. Which they didn’t before.) source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink