Comment & Debate
Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota: “As a general rule, you don’t want to be cutting spending or raising taxes in the midst of a downturn.”[1]
Debra J. Saunders. “Ending the Bush tax ‘cuts’ is a tax increase.” San Francisco Chronicle. August 15th, 2010: “But this is no time to be pure. With the new jobless numbers out and the economic recovery teetering, this is simply the wrong time to raise taxes. The smart move for Obama would be to announce that he’ll start raising taxes when the economy shapes up, stop proposing stimulus packages because they don’t create private sector jobs, and stick to that plan. That would rally the country.”
Sarah Palin said in early August 2010 on Fox News Sunday that it is “idiotic to think about increasing taxes at a time like this” and that cutting them will “lead to even fewer job opportunities for Americans.”[2]
Rep. Harry Mitchell (D., Ariz.), a second-term congressman who held on to his seat in 2008 with 53% of the vote, wrote Obama in August of 2010 asking him to extend the lower capital gains and dividend rate, and estate tax rates. “Given the unique economic difficulties we face as a nation, this is the wrong time to raise these taxes. We need to retain these tax cuts that encourage investment that stimulates growth and job creation.”[3]
Dino Rossi, Republican candidate for US Senate: “Washington families are struggling to find work and pay their bills, and the last thing they need is to get slammed by a huge tax increase.”[4]
Sen. Richard Burr: “Raising taxes in the middle of a recession would kill job creation. These tax increases would have a negative impact on almost every taxpayer and small business, which is the last thing American families, and our economy, need.”[5]