1:36 pm ET
May 25, 2012


Cantor Plans Vote on Bush Tax Cuts by August

    • It won't pass...wasting our time. Vote on it in November or January; elections are there for a reason

    • Cantor is worthless bile. The very worst that Congress has to offer.

    • Don't complain about the deficit if you are not willing to raise taxes.

    • It's time for Congress to stand up and be counted BEFORE the election.

    • ThIs Semitic opportunist has unhealthy fantasies of being the 1st Jewish Vice President. He is unworthy of being a B'nai Brith camp counselor.

    • Shhh...the Jews don't really claim him.

    • A Mormon Hebrew ticket. Good with money.

    • By August we'll have 5 trillion more debt with nothing to show for it. Another recession will be looming. Donkeys will tell us we need bigger government wasting money on an even larger scale. Republicans will tell us we need an even larger military to keep Muslims from hurting themselves. They'll all need to hide in fortress DC to keep the American people from knock, knock, knocking on their front doors.

    • John Boehner will be sure to shed a tear. A whole bunch of them... 'cause he's a crybaby. Waaaaaaaah!

    • If the house and senate can actually do anything that will lock in certainty for the next several years that would help. Keep all of it, or none of it....who cares, just do something that we can count on. And as far as that goes, how about the deadbeat senate actually pass a budget. Lets shine some light on where OUR money is actually being spent.

    • I'm just thrilled that the criminals in Congress are going to vote on letting us keep the same amount of our own money as in the recent past.

      There was a Russian saying just before the 1917 Revolution: No one believes words any more.

      The most dangerous threat to this nation is the federal government.

    • just political grandstanding. it would be vetoed even if it passed both houses.

    • You the man.. good with $$$. LOL my boy!!!

    • Keep the tax cut and cut spending. The only ones against this stance are the pay no taxes and the live off gov't handouts crowd. What will happen in reality is the tax cut may or may not be kept but spending will surely increase regardless.

    • You know who should pay more in taxes? Those Indians! I mean, seriously, do you have any idea how much money they make off of the 7-11's they own??!! If anyone can afford to pay their fair share, it's them! What's up with them and their 7-11's anyway?!

    • Obama and Pelosi and Reid raise federal spending in 2009 by $800 billion, then blame Bush! Too funny except for the fact that all of that was borrowed (along with an additional $500 billion)!! THe Stilmulus was meant as a one time boost to the economy. Of course, the Dundercrats then kept the increase in spending baked into the budget base. Now the Liar in Chief is saying on the stump that spending increased under him at the lowest rate in 60 years. Funny how his four years of deficits ($1.5 trillion, $1.3 trillion, $1.3 trillion and $1.2 trillion) are the biggest in history! And happy new Federal employees (union members all!!!) were added during this incompetent administration? 150,000!!!

      So to the morons on this blog who say that we can only cut the deficit by raising taxes, lets lay off 150,000 workers and lower the budget by $800 billion. If that does not reduce the deficit, then by all means raise taxes across the board at the same rate - that is only fair!

    • If you look at who gets hit the hardest if the Bush era tax rates go up its the $70K per year bracket. They get absolutely walloped. As a percent increase their taxes go up most of all, which menas anyone above that bracket gets walloped too, as that segment of oncome is now taxed much more heavily. So much for the hot air from the Donks being for the "middle class" We have a SPENDING problem not a REVENUE problem. The Feds take in and spend a bigger percent of GDP than ever before. THIS is what needs to be reined in. Also don't bring out that tired boring argument that the top income tax rates were 70%+ from WW2 thru the 70's and everything was peachy (it wasn't). We went from 1776 to 1914 and became a superpower with NO income tax!

    • I and the republicans in congress will move heaven and earth if necessary to keep or increase tax cuts for the rich.

      The middle class need not apply. They have to pay for the deficits.

    • I'm OK with letting all the tax cuts expire.

    • A national sales tax on the middle class and the working poor will be very hard on the worker bees. Some of them are even getting angry before Romney and the republicans put it in place along with our new tax cuts.

      Well let them get angry. That's what a gated community and stand your ground laws are for.

    • One of the candidates for President was asked about making deep cuts in spending, essentially balancing the budget in one shot. His response:


      It is the perfect Keynesian answer.

      The speaker? Mitt Romney. Keynes most loyal disciple.

    • @Joe Biden - I couldn't agree more. Plus, their cookies are AWFUL!!! You didn't make these, did you? They taste like 7-11 cookies! Gross. I wouldn't let my dog eat these! Mainly because I don't let my dog eat. He gets plenty of bugs in his teeth from riding on the roof.

    • and I'm an Obama troll.

    • Trolls stole my ACORN.

    • I'm a moronic poster. I want everyone who makes more than me to have his/her taxes raised so I can continue to live off the government teat. I don't want to pay any taxes but instead want everyone else to pay taxes for my free crap I deserve.

      Tax the Rich!!! They never pay their fair share!!!

    • My stupid listeners believe everything I tell them!

      Republicans started two stupid wars and a decade of nation building without raising a single tax to pay for any of it. Then they cut the taxes for the rich by 50% while Cheney and I told them that deficits don't matter. Then republicans sat back and let the economy burn down. A million people a month lost their jobs in Bush's last year.

      And then I blame the deficits and the economy on the democrats and those dummies believe me!

      Ha! Ha! Ha! I think I will start selling prayer rugs. Yeah.

    • As long as I can keep these dumb lazy voters convinced they can have everything for FREE if we raise taxes on the millionaires, billionaires, trillionaires, and gazillionaires we'll be okay. This class warfare thing works because too many voters are morons and will believe anything.

      I'm a genius!!

    • Let the Tax Cuts expire...it was only supposed to temporary anyway.

    • Even better are the morons who believe everything I say when I blame Bush and the Republicans. My trolls are so effin stupid I sit back and laugh at them. I can do anything I want to destroy this country and my stoned, lazy, hippie supporters will continue to buy into my "Blame Bush" rap.

      Ha ha ha ha...nice job morons. Keep drinking my kool-aid.

    • Stop it! Stop it, ALL of you!!! You're destroying this country that I just LOVE so MUCH!!! Waaaaaaaah! Sob! Boo-hoo!

    • My ancestors in South Carolina would be proud of me.

      During the Civil War, my ancestors were able to get all those poor SOBs (I mean real poor) SOBs to fight a war to preserve slavery for the rich plantation owners. None of them had any slaves Millions of em died.

      Today, we have got the ancestors of those same poor SOBs fighting for tax cuts for the rich to be paid for by cuts to their Social Security and Medicare and with a new, big federal sales tax and every dollar they spend. And they spend every dollar they get.

      Ha! Ha! Ha! Suckers! I feel like a reincarnation of Jefferson Davis.

    • Mitt Romney, Keynesian

    • I can't wait until Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House again. She is one hot mama. Plus she's a lot smarter and funnier than John Boehner. She's just incredible.

    • Raise taxes so we can get stoned all day and live off free stuff from the government...like two years unemployment!! Now THAT's awesome!

    • I'm drunk right now.

    • @Glenmier Quag

      Actually, I am against austerity (cutting spending). I don't live off government handouts either. I have a MBA, not a liberal arts degree. I have a very good job, and I run my own startup in my spare time.

      The people who support austerity mostly do so because they believe it will help our economy in the long run. They do so out of ignorance, because they can't (or won't) take a quick look at Europe or the academic work. Austerity pretty much does the opposite of what people who support it believe it will do:

      Drives borrowing costs up, not down.
      Makes balancing a budget impossible because it puts economies into recession, lowering government revenu at the same time it drives up government cost.

      It's a policy only the ignorant can support, because anyone who ha seen what it does in the real world know its nothing but damaging to economies.

    • Mitt Romney looks like the guy on the 'Just For Men' bottle.

    • Mitt Romney looks like a man playing an American President in a Canadian movie.

    • Vote on it now, so that the voters can see who is for and who is against it. If it fails, then vote on it in the lame duck session. If it fails in the lame duck session, then vote on it next year.

      If it fails next year, then prepare for the 2014 election, assuming the people don't bring down the government before then.


      But will he admit that the Bush tax CUTS were the largest in history? AND unfunded? Somehow I doubt it.

    • Mitt Romney looks gay in jeans - not that there's anything wrong with that.

    • By gosh, Mitt Romney won the primary in Michigan. How about that? Which, as you know, now makes him a shoe-in to become president of Michigan.


    • Mitt Romney said the other night at the debates that he's the one of all the candidates who is the most optimistic about the future. Well, there's a shock -- a rich, white guy with $200 million in the bank. What's everyone worried about?

    • And basically, the sense of the 'Pledge to America' is this: Republicans understand when we were in charge, we got fired in '06. We spent too much money. We defied the trust that the people had put in us. And we know that there is a better way.

    • Look, we know we screwed up when we were in the majority. We fell in love with power. We spent way too much money - especially on earmarks. There was too much corruption when we ran this place. We were guilty. And that's why we lost.
      Wall St. Journal, Oct. 2, 2010

    • Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was asked to explain why none of his five sons are in the military and he said that his sons demonstrate their patriotism by going on the road and campaigning for him. Now there's a tough choice: 'Iraq, or Iowa? Fallujah or Cedar Rapids? Honey, what do you think?

    • Last week, presidential candidate Mitt Romney called himself a lifelong hunter. Turns out he's only hunted twice in his life. And, of course, both of those times were for Easter eggs. He said he hunts only small animals, like Jed Clampett did. Comparing himself to Jed Clampett? Is that a good idea? Anybody gonna want to vote for President Jed Clampett, especially after eight years of President Jethro?

    • The Koch brothers told me to get their tax cuts back before we go home, and I plan to do just that.

    • Scotty, beam me up, there is no intelligent life forms in this comments section...

    • I hate taxes, government spending, give a way programs.

      But you better not touch my farm subsidies! Or gasahol!

    • You mean we are not the Olive Garden State?

    • Damn....I just LOVE Obama and all of his useful idiots on this board!

    • At least GOP has the courage to stick to their ground. They are not afraid to take the position that all Bush-Obama tax cut should be extended. They are not afraid to take the position that every dollar in debt ceiling increase be matched by dollar in spending cut. They are not afraid to take position in medicare reform (Ryan's plan). They are not afraid to take position in Balance Budget Amendment... etc.

      Compare this with democrats. Well, ok, they added entitlement like Obamacare, added regulation like Dodd-Frank, or added big spending like the failed stimulus...

      As to debt and fiscal policy, well, they have Bowles-Simpson and sit on it for years, and kick all other difficult decisions till after the election (XL Pipeline, Bush-Obama tax cut extension, Payroll tax extension, Debt-ceiling limit extension, Spending sequester to start in 2013, etc...)

      What a contrast! What a Surprise?


    • Thanks to the GOP, the Bush tax cuts will expire for all of us. I guess if the deficit matters, that's a good thing. Although Cheney said it didn't so to hell with paying more taxes!

    • time for pain
      but politicians are going to cut taxes and increase budgets on useless programs.

    • What the hell is wron with you people? The economics, the real world experience, NONE of it points to cuts and tax increases. You know it would hurt, but you want to do it anyway.

      Well, I guess the founders said we all get to vote, even the ignorant traitors.

    • What a wicked evil man

    • That denise is not me, the conservative denise is me and only me.

      Obama said he was born in Kenya. Here is a photograph showing Obama as a child warrior.

      He does not look polinesian or hawaiian, does he?.


    • Let's cut to the chase. The only important thing to republicans about the Bush tax cuts, is he cut taxes on the rich big time. If republicans could get away with it they would keep the tax cuts for the rich, and they would raise taxes on everybody else.

    • I want to be the first Jewish President of the United States. I am running in 2016.

    • Just an observation: In 2001 George W Bush was president and signed the bill which cut tax rates, which might appropriately be called "the Bush tax cuts". In 2003, George W Bush was president and signed the bill which reduced tax rates, which might appropriately be called "the Bush tax cuts". All of these bush tax cuts expired at the end of 2011. Now in December 2011 Barack Obama was president and signed a bill which instituted a new set of identical tax cuts.

      Why is it that the 2011 tax cuts signed by Barack Obama are not called "the Obama tax cuts" so that his supporters can accurately state that he is currently responsible for having signed that bill into law last year? It is in fact a bill that was passed by the republicans in the House and then passed by the democrat controlled Senate and subsequently signed into law by the democrat President. There is no rational reason for continuing to call the contents of that 2011 bill "the Bush tax cuts". We are all cognizant of the fact that Mr. Bush has been a private citizen since January 20, 2009 and had no input into the law passed in December 2011.

      Just wondering ????????

    • Romney said that pushing drastic spending cuts during shaky economic times is a prescription for “recession or depression.”









    • The Republican solution is lower taxes and less spending - austerity. Sounds good, but does it really work?

      That has been the approach in Europe. It has caused the GDP to shrink and many well educated people are now looking for work. We are not necessarily talking about liberal arts graduates majoring in anthropology; 20% of our GDP is healthcare.

      We hear about all of the people collecting benefits who are not paying income tax. We keep hearing about illegal immigrants, the truth is most of the these people are elderly, mostly women who spent most of their savings when their husbands died and children.

      People in Europe and the Middle East have responded in many ways.

      There were riots that were expensive to control, that resulted in property damage, market and job losses, injury and death.

      There were elections that that tended to move further away form Free Market economies. The trend on South America seems to be to nationalize. A growing cry in Russia is not for Freer Markets but rather a return to the good old days of state owned business with guaranteed jobs.

      There were runs on the banks as the unemployed defaulted on loans and the banks no longer had deposits to cover withdrawals. Withdrawals were demanded to beat currency devaluations. If you deposited euros and your withdrawals in a new currency worth half as much, that is a problem, if you need the money to pay bills or meet a payroll. Germany makes good quality products, but a growing number of her customers can no longer afford their goods.

      Many countries have bigger problems then we do, if we are smart we will be watching to see how well their solutions work, pick the ones with the best outcomes and reject the failures. If history has value, it is to learn from the mistakes of the past. Clearly the French Revolution did not end well for the aristocrats and royalty or the Russian Czars.

    • Because the freshmen Congress held Obama hostage to extending the Bush tax cuts in exchange for extending unemployment insurance. If you want to be technical, it could now be called the Tea Party tax cuts.

    • A wealthy republican businessman who became president?

      Herbert Hoover.

      Romney is a Hoover republican.

    • Isn't the easiest way to "prevent uncertainty" to allow to happen what businesses and individuals have known would be happening for ten years, ever since these were first touted as "temporary, targeted stimulus" and passed under reconciliation with the obligatory ten-year sunset?

    • You ever notice how "fair share" is *never* defined? It only means "more" whenever it is used.

    • Two things. First, these are not the "Bush tax cuts". Those expired in 2010. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, in their lame-duck session, renewed those cuts for two more years, and Obama signed them. That makes the current cuts the Obama tax cuts. Which means Democrats are railing against their own tax code adjustments they made not even two years ago.

      Second, those cuts *were* passed not even two years ago by Democrats Congress and Obama, so it seems reasonable to expect that they renew them again, especially as it will go down as "Democrats prevented tax increases on the middle-class", Funny, though, how the Bush tax cuts were only tax cuts for the rich.

      The fight two years ago was this: the Bush cuts were set to expire *for everyone*. No one, not even Democrats, wanted to let that happen. Democrats wanted pass, effectively, a new law that increased taxes on higher0income people while keeping the Bush rates in effect for everyone else. That turned out to be a much harder thing to do than simply to extend the Bush cuts en mass. The former would require a large bill defining the changes, etc., and which could be modified and tacked onto, or even not passed; the latter simply says "The tax act of 2003 is continued through Dec 31 2012".

    • The math is not that difficult. There's really a simple choice-raise taxes or cut spending. We've been at this threshold many times before; however, there is a difference this time. Are we as a nation going to "bite the bullet" and address the problem of our deficit now or "kick the can down the road" to our children and grandchildren. We seem to have forgotten the lessons of "The Greatest Generation," to steal a title from Tom Brokaw's book. We have to be adults. We have to face our problems head-on. We have to compromise, whether we be Democrats or Republicans. IWe all have to be Americans, and, while we're at it, we have to broaden the tax base; so that everyone, at every level of inocme, pays tax. Rather than President Obama's divisive, let's tax those making more than $250,000 a year (as if that makes one weatlhy living in the Northeast or West Coast), we have to spread whatever pain there might be across the whole spectrum of taxpayers.

      Practically speaking, we cannot address our long-term budget deficit without tackling entitlements. Neither party seems willing to substantively deal with this issue. We can't get serious about tackling our fiscal ills unless we get serious about tackling entitlements, something neither neither President Obama nor Congress seems to have the stomach to do. That suggests a bad outcome to this debate.

      We should remind President Obama, while we're at it, of his campaign promise which did not survive the first bill to hit desk--eliminate the pork in most legislation. I'll remind you of President Obama's pledge before he went off the deep end..."I'm going to go line item-by-line item through the budget and eliminate earmarks." Well, that didn't happen, and, in fact, he, together with the Democratic Congress that then existed, went on a wild spending spree.

      From my perspective, it really doesn't much matter which party gets elected in November-neither seems very inclined to compromise, and only through compromise, can real progress be made.

    • It's an election year. The bush tax cuts will become the Obama tax cuts.

    • @ politics == the Bush tax cuts became the Obama tax cuts in Dec 2010 when he signed off on all of them for another couple years.

    • Nothing positive to say about Rep. Cantor.

      Very pretty wife though.

    • Speaker Boehner, Speaker Eric Cantor. Which one is the current Speaker of the House?? Can't be both, fellas.

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