Obama on signing the two-month payroll tax-cut extension … finally

I promise you, the American people, your voices made a difference on this debate. You reminded people in this town what this debate and what all of our debates should be about: It’s about you; it’s about your lives; it’s about your families.
President Obama • Speaking about the debate around the payroll tax cuts, which finally reached his desk today after a solid week of hand-wringing by the House GOP. Here’s the plan from here on out, according to the president: “We’re going to have to roll up our sleeves together, Democrats and Republicans, to make sure that the economy is growing and to make sure that more jobs are created.” Think he’s making headway? source

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The GOP lost one. The tell-tale signs were everywhere. On a day where John Boehner lost support from the GOP establishment on blocking a payroll tax-cut plan — which mind you, was just for two months, and otherwise would’ve been a big GOP victory because of the Democratic concessions made — the political kayfabe finally gave way to inevitability. Here’s how it went down. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, that guy who takes all the GOP politician photos on Flickr)

cause For months, Republicans were soft on the idea of extending payroll tax cuts into 2012, a key issue for Democrats, because they thought it didn’t stimulate the economy. Eventually, the Senate passed a limited extension, but the House wouldn’t go for it.
reaction For days, House speaker John Boehner faced significant pressure over the House’s stance, and eventually his own party started criticizing the late-December move, which they believed could give the Democrats major leverage in 2012.
result Today, Boehner gave in, with the House speaker allowing for a voice vote on the issue. “We have fought the good fight,” Boehner said. “Why not do the right thing for the American people even though it’s not exactly what we want?” source

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» Those who refinance will feel the pinch, too: To help pay for the $33 billion cost of the extended-by-two-months payroll tax cut, the federal government will increase the cost for homeowners to get their homes insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who currently back nine out of ten home mortgages in the U.S. The fee, currently around 0.3 percentage points, would jump by 0.1 percentage points, which translates to roughly $17 per month for most homeowners. However, this fee would not affect current homeowners unless they refinance starting next year. Is this the best way to handle the extension?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

deal The Democrats, after much pushing, got through a modest two-month extension of the payroll tax cuts which Republicans had long fought against. This sounds like a pretty crappy victory.
compromise However … it came at a cost: Democrats had to give up on their plan to tax millionaires, and Obama has to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. Wow, they sure twisted the GOP’s arm! source

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deal One Republican state senator, Dale Schultz, made a plan that would force even deeper cuts on the unions, but, in a concession, would allow them to keep their collective bargaining rights.
no deal Unfortunately, Schultz never submitted this proposal because every other Republican – along with Gov. Scott Walker – made it clear that there would be zero compromise. They suck. source

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23 Dec 2011 14:28