Comment & Debate
“GOP has no problem extending tax cuts for the rich.” Washington Post Editorial. July 14th, 2010: “SENATE REPUBLICANS, committed as they are to preventing the debt from mounting further, can’t approve an extension of unemployment benefits because it would cost $35 billion. But they are untroubled by the notion of digging the hole $678 billion deeper by extending President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace asked Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) about this contradiction. Mr. Kyl’s response is worth examining because of what it says about the GOP’s refusal to practice the fiscal responsibility it preaches.
Mr. Kyl’s first line of defense was to dismiss Mr. Wallace’s query as “a loaded question” because “the Bush tax cuts applied to every single American.” Mr. Wallace pointed out that he was only referring to the top tax brackets, but Mr. Kyl persisted in his refusal to answer. “So let’s, first of all, start with those that don’t apply to the wealthy. Shouldn’t those be extended?” Never mind that no one in a policymaking position — not President Obama, not Democrats in Congress — is arguing against extending those tax cuts, at least temporarily. So when Mr. Kyl contends that “all of that goes away,” he is just blowing smoke. [read full article for more].