GOP TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH IS THE WORST IDEA EVER

(Click on Image for a larger view)  This chart is worth 1,000 words. Compiled by Ezra Klein in The Washington Post, this shows clearly who truly benefits from the Bush tax cuts.   Note:  It amazes us at the Voice Reporter that the number of people who parrot the GOP's talking points and who support extending the Bush tax cuts can not comprehend the disasterous outcome for the middle class if the GOP get their way.



Rochester, N.Y.-- Yes, it's true. The economy is in shambles. People everywhere are struggling to make ends meet. So naturally, Republicans first concern is the well being of the richest Americans.  Have they lost their marbles?

They're looking to make Bush's tax cuts for the rich— which expire at the end of the year— permanent. The worst part is that some blue dog Democrats have already come out and agreed with the Republicans' reckless approach, and the White House has signaled that they're open to compromising on this issue.

It seems ridiculous to even debate this. Help the rich? The Republicans and those that support their party are whining and complaining about the super-rich receiving a tax hike. The stupidity, economically and politically, is just astounding.

As it stands now, all of the tax cuts are set to expire on December 31. Both the GOP and Democratic Party agree on extending the cuts for the lower and middle classes. The Republicans believe this doesn’t go far enough and want to extend the cuts for everyone.

Democrats punted on this issue before the Congressional recess, but it has to be hammered out during the lame duck session before the end of the year. Even though the Democrats will still have the majority vote in both the Senate and the House, they have not shown enough political backbone to do what is right.

The wealthy in America pay far less taxes than the middle class, based on percentages. Warren Buffet was quoted in a 2006 interview and has recently repeated the assertion that his tax bill was “far, far less as a fraction of my income than the secretaries, or the clerks, or anyone else in my office.” Does that seem right to you?

Have we lost our collective mind? This is the worst idea since—well, ever. Middle class families shouldn't have to pay more in taxes than millionaire hedge-fund managers, period.

The Bush tax cuts for the super rich aren't just bad policy, they are bad politics too. Voters consistently reject extending those giveaways in poll after poll but somehow they will try and convince you otherwise.  Democrats, are you listening?

Most economists agree that the top 2 percent of the richest folks who the Republicans are going to bat for do not spend this money or create jobs with it. It means this is simply a tax giveaway and doesn't have any stimulative effect on the economy.

At a time in history when we are suffering from such horrible mistakes by the Bush administration and his eight years of wild spending, how can we let this happen?  We know from personal experience that struggling families will spend the tax break because they have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck. They need relief now, and a break for the 98 percent of us will also jumpstart our struggling economy.

For those Tea Party ideologues like Kentucky's Rand Paul, here is your conundrum. Extending permanent tax breaks for the richest people will only add $700 billion to the deficit at the expense of everyone else with no return on investment-- Paul and his right wing cronies are hypocrites when they campaigned on being watchdogs for fiscal conservativism and calling themselves "budget deficit hawks." Either they are liars, incompetent or really stupid people and do not understand basic economics 101. What they do understand is now they are beholden to corporate America, the big banks, Wall Street and the donors of the GOP and now everybody knows it.

Now more than ever it is essential that every day working families and Democratic lawmakers stand up for the middle class. The Democrats have just a few weeks to pull this off. Let's hope the 111th Congress goes out on a high note and does the right thing.