That Didn't Take Long: Democrats Reject Boehner's Plan B

Democrats were for raising the income floor for tax hikes before they were against it.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney issued a statement saying the president remains willing to work with Republicans to reach a bipartisan solution to the fiscal cliff and he is “hopeful” they will.

The president, however, “is not willing to accept a deal that doesn’t ask enough of the very wealthiest in taxes and instead shifts the burden to the middle class and seniors,” Carney said. “The Speaker’s ‘Plan B’ approach doesn’t meet this test because it can’t pass the Senate and therefore will not protect middle class families, and does little to address our fiscal challenges with zero spending cuts.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was also swift to reject the plan.

“It will not protect middle-class families because it cannot pass both Houses of Congress. The Senate bill is the only ‘plan B’ that can be signed into law and prevent taxes from rising by $2,200 on the average middle-class family,” Reid said in a statement. “Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road. Speaker Boehner should focus his energy on forging a large-scale deficit reduction agreement. It would be a shame if Republicans abandoned productive negotiations due to pressure from the Tea Party, as they have time and again.”

Not asking "the rich to pay enough"? Obama ran on raising the taxes of "millionaires and billionaires". Suddenly $200K-$999K makes you "a millionaire".

Boehner's plan to only raise taxes on people making a million a year can't pass the Senate? Hey Ripper Reid, it already has.

Oh and the White Houses line of bull about their not being spending cuts (as if they care about that)? More bull. Plan B leaves sequestration in place, so there are your spending cuts.

From a Republican perspective Boehner's Plan B is a pretty strong play. The GOP won't technically be voting to raise taxes (they'll just let current law, the expiration of the Bush rates, take its course) but will be protecting a lot more people from tax hikes.

From a "Let It Burn" perspective, it's a terrible idea. Anything that plays into the myth that all we need is a little tweak in revenue and some relatively minor spending cuts to pull us out of our entitlement and spending death spiral, is simply a band aid that will only make the inevitable reckoning that much worse.

But no one expects Boehner, or any elected leader, to be a Let It Burn guy. They are just trying to kick the can down the road long enough for someone else to be in the hot seat when it all comes down.

posted by DrewM. at 02:36 PM

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