This will shape up as a test of strength. The republicans can call obama's bluff and let rates rise drastically for all taxpayers. Will Obama ever allow that, knowing it will cause a huge recession and basically sink his second term before it even begins? The media will savage republicans for not agreeing with obama, but WTF do they care? The next elections are two years off. If they force Obama to back down, they will have set the tone for his second term. If they wuss out and sell out their base by going along with obama, they will also have set the tone. Then it's time for a new party.
If Obama lets them all expire on Jan 1st then asks for a vote Jan 1st to reinstate the middle class tax cuts will The House vote against it ?
Yes, they will. What was their vote on the payroll tax cut? What's funny to me about McConnell's ultimatum is that if Obama goes to fly a kite, allowing the FC to occur, taxes WILL go up!
So both sides say they're willing to "compromise" yet both say they're dug in. Gee, what could possibly go wrong? WASHINGTON (AP) â President Barack Obama, laying down his marker for grueling "fiscal cliff" negotiations, said Friday he won't accept any approach to federal deficit reduction that doesn't ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes. "This was a central question during the election," Obama said in his first postelection comments on the economy. "The majority of Americans agree with my approach." The president, speaking in the White House East Room, said he wasn't wedded to every detail of the plans he outlined during the election, adding, "I'm open to compromise." But he offered no indication that he was willing to back down on his insistence that the wealthy pay more. Republicans stood their ground. At the Capitol, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he remains unwilling to raise tax rates on upper-income earners. But he left open the possibility of balancing spending cuts with new revenue that could be achieved by revising the tax code to lower rates and eliminate some tax breaks.
They are already talking about kicking the can down the road for another year, lol.... washington is a joke.
As a public service announcement remember: The government is not your friend. Many here seem to not understand this.