• Oh Alan … Lame Duck congressman Alan Grayson decided to make the most of his last month in office by calling out every single GOP loudmouth he could think of on the floor of Congress today, pointing out that all of them stand to gain by extending the Bush tax cuts – many of them in seven figures. Best bit: Noting that George W. Bush will make over $100,000 from his own tax cuts. This oughta get a lot of play on Fox News tomorrow morning. source

• 95% the percentage of people who got an Obama tax cut

• $400 the size of the maximum tax cut for individuals ($800 for couples)
• 1:10 the ratio of people that realized they were actually getting a tax cut
• 8:10 the ratio who thought their taxes went up or stayed the same source

• » Why nobody noticed: Well, Obama’s method for doling out the tax cuts was a little weird. Most people expect tax cuts on the back end, in the form of giant refund checks. Obama, on the other hand, put the cuts (as part of his $787 billion stimulus plan) directly in paychecks, to be distributed slowly, week to week. In a way, it’s brilliant because nobody thinks about a couple extra bucks in their paycheck and will spend the money like nothing ever happened. But in another way, it means the effects of the stimulus went unnoticed by millions of people. Hmm. For point of comparison, most people are well-aware of Bush’s tax cuts.

• 3% of all businesses would be affected by rescinding the high-end of the Bush tax cuts
• 8% of non-hobby businesses would be affected, say conservative groups
• 750k the real number of businesses that would roughly be affected by the cuts source

• » And a possibly positive side-effect: Studies have shown that increases in tax rates at the top end can lead to more small businesses starting up because of the tax breaks offered, boosting overall growth anyway.

• The tax cuts at the high end have not produced any jobs; it only increased the deficit. We’re still paying the price that they have contributed to the deficit all along.
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi • Regarding extension of the Bush tax cuts for individuals making more than $200,000 a year (and families making over @250,000).

But not everyone agrees with Nancy …

• 31 House Democrats support extending tax cuts for the rich source

• $3.9 trillion cost of extending all of the Bush tax cuts source

• » And that’s not even including an additional $950 billion in interest payments. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports extending all of the cuts, says we can offset this massive increase in the deficit by instituting a $300 billion spending freeze. This would pay for about 6% of the cost, which is sort of like if I take your iPhone and offer you a DVD of “Corky Romano” in exchange.