Why did obama say this will help the economy and that when we make tough choices

[xultar]

To bring the deficit down well see that we cannot afford the tax cuts for the rich...this shit will add to the fucking budget.

If we can't afford them in 2 years we couldnt afford them now.

Why did Obama say that?

[Skittles]

1. it's called sucking up

to the wrong people

[DJ13]

2. Just remember this when he tries selling austerity next year

Every time he talks deficits, remember the $700B added by the wealthy tax breaks.

When he talks about "burying our children and grand children in debt", remember those tax cuts.

As he talks about "shared sacrifice", remember he expects everyone BUT the wealthy to do the sacrificing.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. $700 billion is incorrect

The number $700 billion refers to a ten year extension (i.e., another decade), not a two year extension. That number (for over $250,000) is roughly $100 billion. Add the utterly awful estate tax provision, and we're up to roughly $120 billion. The majority of the tax credits are for working class tax credits and unemployment extensions, together with other stimulative credits.

Where did you get the number $700 billion? Easy. This was a number invented by the administration and the Democrats in Congress in order to argue most forcefully against permanent extension of all the tax cuts for all brackets. They basically said, "If we permanently extend everything, it will cost $700 billion over the next ten years." So, somehow that argument has transformed itself into "any extension of the full Bush tax cuts will cost $700 billion." It ain't true.

Now, that doesn't mean that extending the tx cuts over $250,000 isn't a terrible fucking idea, and a deficit buster of first order. Tax cuts for the wealthy are the shittiest and most ineffective form of stimulus. But the majority of the money here is not in the tax extensions over $250,000 and the estate tax. It is in working class tax cr3edits, unemployment insurance, and various business credits meant to create jobs.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. There's no doubt that this will hurt the deficit

It's an odd phenomenon. Whenever I read one of the so-called Catfood Commission threads, I see a dozen posters citing Krugman, exclaiming that there is no deficit problem we have to deal with for at least a decade, and that it is not a bad idea to run deficits in a recovery, and everybody's a deficit Keynesian. Then, we hit one of these tax cut deal threads, and there are a dozen posters - oddly enough, many of them the same people - arguing that these deficits are crazy, and must be dealt with immediately, and suddenly everybody's a deficit hawk.

To be fair, it's quite true that deficit reduction should proceed by massively increasing taxes on the top brackets, and massively reducing military spending. It's also quite true that tax cuts - especially for the top brackets, have little stimulative effect. So I can see how this back and forth might be motivated. At the same time, it would be more coherent if people decided whether they were deficit Keynesians or deficit hawks, at least for the purpose of consistency.

[PufPuf23]

4. Total bullshit. Obama said ignore arithmetic

and basic economics.

[Bluerthanblue]

5. I believe he was talking about the extention of UE benefits. THAT

money goes right back into the system.

Unlike the tax-cuts, which aren't doing that.

[bigtree]

7. the payroll tax cut and the earned income extension also benefit in that way

[Bluerthanblue]

8. you're right-

thanks
:hi:

[bigtree]

6. he was referring to the negative effects on this bad economy

. . . of increasing the incomes of so many wage earners right now. There are several economists who agree that allowing the tax breaks that affect tens of millions of Americans to expire right now would have a detrimental effect on the already faltered economy.

[ProSense]

9. The missing piece

is that the President is planning to address the deficit so we'll see going forward. The shortfall from the payroll tax holiday has to be made up.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Obama stated openly that these were going to have bad effects on the deficit

And that he didn't want them. That's what he said in his statement.