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Obama Stimulus Package to Include Major Tax Cuts.
The Volokh Conspiracy —
President-elect Barack Obama is reportedly about to announce a much bigger tax cut than was expected, as part of his stimulus package. Obama Eyes $300 Billion Tax Cut Huge Breaks for Firms, Individuals Are Aimed at Winning GOP Support for Stimulus President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer about $300 billion of tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs. The size of the proposed tax cuts which would account for about ...
Is Obama relying too much on tax cuts?
Paul Krugman —
... morning certainly raise questions. Let’s lay out the basics here. Other things equal, public investment is a much better way to provide economic stimulus than tax cuts, for two reasons. First, if the government spends money, that money is spent, helping support demand, whereas tax cuts may be largely saved. So public investment offers more bang for the buck. Second, public investment leaves something of value behind when the stimulus is over. That said, there’s a problem with a public-investment-only stimulus plan, namely timing. We need stimulus fast, and there’s a limited ...
Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
Daily Kos —
... incursion is part of the war on terror, and any retreat means the terrorists win. Roger Cohen: Sean Penn is as bad a writer as he is a good actor. See Milk. But don't bother with Penn's pen. James Surowiecki: On Wall Street, fraudulent schemes tend to thrive during economic booms, and to blow up when times turn tough. While bank robbers are getting busier, the Bernard Madoffs are starting to get caught. Jonathan Weisman And Naftali Bendavid: $300 billion in tax cuts should garner bipartisan ...
Progressive Breakfast: Tax Cut Redux?
LiberalOasis : The Blog —
... organizations:
Middle-class tax cut: $145B (16%)
Infrastructure (inc. green investment, R&D;, education and health care): $490B (54%)
Unemployment and anti-poverty aid: $140B (16%)
State government aid: $125B (14%)
QUESTION: Will more in tax cuts mean an unbalanced package with insufficient investment in critical areas?
The higher tax cut number comes from added business provisions. WSJ carried the Obama argument:
...a key provision would allow companies to ...
Obama's Stimulus Upgrade
Power Line —
... Barack Obama says he wants to include $300 billion in tax cuts in his proposed stimulus package, about 40% of the total dollars involved. The tax cuts would go to both individuals and businesses. The details are important, obviously. There will be a cap on personal tax cuts so that upper-income taxpayers don't benefit; that's bad, as it will make our income tax system, which is ...
Elizabeth Rigby: Tax Credits vs. Spending: Why Progressives Should Care How the Stimulus is Delivered
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... As Obama gets to work brokering a deal for his stimulus package, bipartisan agreement actually seems possible. This optimism stems from Obama's recent indication that his proposal will include a greater reliance on the tax system as a means of delivering needed aid. ...
Obama's clever fiscal stimulus strategy
The Next Right —
Barack Obama appears to be making significant overtures to cultivate Republican support for his fiscal stimulus plan with massive tax cuts (albeit short-term tax shifts rather than structural changes or actual cuts). The Leftroots (and Paul Krugman) are fairly upset about this. Kevin Drum says this attempt to win bipartisan support (rather than just the few Republican votes he absolutely needs to secure passage) is a bad idea, because Obama is making concessions he doesn't have to make and diluting Democratic policy.
The netroots is understandably anxious to enact all of their favorite policies ...
