President Barack Obama doubled-down this year on his campaign pledge to roll back the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest Americans while keeping them in place for the middle class.
Raising taxes is always tough to do. But Democrats this year would be doing so within a particularly brutal political environment — during a midterm election season, in a still-limping economy, amid a ballooning federal budget deficit.
And a newly emboldened Republican Party would just love to pounce on the issue, too.
The situation promises to cause plenty of heartburn, especially for vulnerable incumbents campaigning in Republican-leaning districts, over letting any of the Bush tax cuts expire in December as scheduled, even on individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000, as Obama has proposed.
The situation could be particularly treacherous in the Senate, where Democrats no longer enjoy a filibuster-proof majority.
“I don’t agree with letting the tax cuts expire,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska. Up for reelection in 2012, Nelson has seen his poll numbers back home plummet after he backed health care reform legislation.
“I have serious concerns about raising taxes at any time,” he said, “but particularly at a time when the economy is suffering as it is right now.”
“That raises serious concerns for small businesses that file individual tax returns. They’re predominantly the ones that create the jobs,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a moderate who is generally among Democrats’ best bets for bipartisan cooperation.
“I think that [letting top-tier tax cuts expire] would have a profound impact at this moment in time.” - Politico Story
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