Last updated on July 11th, 2012 at 09:01 pm
President Obama has turned up the heat on congressional Republicans and Mitt Romney by explaining exactly why he will veto any extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
Here is the video from WWLTV New Orleans:
The president explained why he would veto more tax cuts for the wealthy,
I would veto it and here’s why. What I’m proposing is that we give a tax break, that we make sure that taxes don’t go up on 98 percent of Americans. 98 percent. But to extend tax breaks for that top 2 percent of wealthiest Americans would cost us a trillion dollars over the next decade.
Now at a time when we’re trying to bring down our deficit to give me a tax break or Warren Buffet a tax break that costs a trillion dollars and 80 percent of that would go to people who make a million dollars or more, that would mean that we would have to cut something. So a trillion dollars would be cut out of student loan programs for kids going to college, for you know projects that take care of our veterans, for projects that benefit our seniors, and that’s not the best way for us to grow our economy.
So I understand the Republicans disagree with me on this. My attitude is let’s go ahead and work on the things we agree on, which is give 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of the small businesses confidence and security that their taxes aren’t going up and that we can have a good debate between now and the election about what we do for that top 2, 3 percent. I’m happy to have that debate but no need to hold hostage most Americans who need some certainty right now.
Obama has already got Romney and his party painted into a corner. Either they explain why the rich deserve another big tax cut, or they unreasonable by refusing to support and pass a cut that everybody supports for 98% of American taxpayers.
The Romney campaign has so far been bumbling and fumbling for answer to the question why do the rich deserve another tax cut. Yesterday, the Romney campaign tried to tell the middle class that what would be best for them is a tax cut for the wealthy.
Today, they have decided to go the fear route and tell voters that a tax cut for the middle class would be a job killer unless taxes are also raised for the top two percent. The Romney campaign is on their third different variation of an answer to this in less than two days. Just like on the Supreme Court’s immigration and ACA decisions they are clueless on the Bush tax cuts too.
Remember how the media was telling us all how the latest jobs numbers would allow Romney to pivot to the economy and get his campaign back on track?
That lasted for three days. President Obama has once again set the agenda and put Mitt Romney back on the defensive by shifting the agenda to tax fairness, but larger and more looming issue is income inequality. This debate over who should get an extended tax cut is opening the door for the president to make income inequality an issue. It is virtually impossible for quarter billionaire Mitt Romney to discuss income inequality without looking bad.
Obama has the message, the argument, and the American people on his side. With congressional Republicans appearing willing to fight to the death all summer long over these tax cuts, Mitt Romney has a big problem. The longer the House tea partiers drag this fight out, the more it hurts Romney.
Should Obama have to follow through on his promise to veto a full tax cut extension that includes the wealthy, Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans will have to explain why the president was wrong to not give the rich more.
It’s a win-win for Obama and an inescapable quagmire for Mitt Romney.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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