Obama Willing to Compromise on Taxes - Wall Street Journal

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—President Barack Obama said Monday he was willing to compromise with Republicans who want to extend tax cuts on the wealthy in order to make sure taxes do not go up on the middle class. But he said extending unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed was a priority.

"We've got to make sure that we're coming up with a solution even if it's not 100% of what I want or what the Republicans want," he said at a visit to Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, N.C.

His comments reflect the continuing negotiations in Washington. The White House said over the weekend that the president told allies he would sign a temporary extension of tax cuts for all Americans, including upper-income families, but only if is accompanied by an extension of unemployment benefits.

White House officials say he also wants to extend a variety of other tax breaks affecting lower- and middle-class families as well, though it was less clear if those will be part of the final package.

Over the weekend, White House officials and congressional Republicans closed in on a deal that would extend current income-tax rates for all Americans as well as a benefits program for the long-term unemployed. Leaders of both parties appeared optimistic about reaching an agreement on a broad tax package by midweek.

Speaking Monday, Mr. Obama made a particular pitch for the unemployment insurance, which has already run out for some two million Americans.

"We should also extend unemployment insurance for workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. That is a priority," he said. "It's not only the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do."

Democrats say this aid helps the overall economy because families who benefit have little financial cushion and spend the money right away.

Mr. Obama repeated his view that tax cuts should expire for families earning more than $250,000 a year, meaning the top 2% of earners would see a tax increase. Republicans say the government shouldn't raise taxes on anyone given the slow economic recovery.

On Saturday, the Senate rejected the Obama-preferred plan to extend the tax cuts for middle-class families and allow taxes to rise on top earners.

"There are some serious debates that are still taking place. Republicans want to make permanent the tax cuts for wealthiest Americans. I have argued we can't afford it right now," Mr. Obama said Monday. "What I've also said is we have to find consensus here because a middle-class tax hike would not only be very tough on working families but a drag on our economy."

Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com

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Lame Duck Debate Rages on Taxes, Deficit, Arms - CBS News

(CBS)  This year's lame duck session of Congress is turning into more of an excited goose, as both political parties have engaged in recent days in lively public negotiations over federal spending, unemployment benefits and nuclear weapons disarmament.

But foremost on the agenda is the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts and Republican leaders appear to be successfully wielding leverage to have the cuts extended across the board, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"It looks like the president has come around to the idea, with encouragement from other Democrats, that we can't raise taxes in a recession," said Republican South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint on the CBS' "Early Show" on Thursday. "I would prefer a permanent extension of the current tax rate. I suspect the president is going push for something more temporary."

After meetings Wednesday between GOP leaders that many called civil and positive, Mr. Obama also voiced confidence that a compromise would be reached.

"There are gonna be ups and downs to this process but I'm confident that we're gonna be able to get it done," Mr. Obama said.

Democrats had been hoping to let the tax cuts for wealthy Americans - those making more than $200,000 individually and couples making more than $250,000 - to expire at the end of the year.

"We are going to extend tax breaks to all; it's just a matter of how long those extensions will be," said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Republicans issued an ultimatum in a letter stating they would not let any legislation move forward before funding the federal government and extending the tax cuts, providing leverage over the Democrats whose lame-duck agenda also includes extending long-term unemployment benefits which lapsed for 800,000 jobless Americans this week.

Republicans are insisting that the $65 billion benefits extension be paid for by cutting the budget elsewhere. Democrats say it's an emergency, exempt for the usual rules.

"This is not a big new welfare program," said Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. "This is extending employment benefits. I just don't get it. They'd rather do tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires."

Amid the wrangling over tax cuts and spending, President Barack Obama's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform began seeking votes for plan to rein in the massive federal deficit.

The commission made recommendations to add an average of 1,700 to the average American's tax bill, slash 200,000 federal jobs and raise the retirement age from 67 to 69 years old, Cordes reports. It remains doubtful the 18-member commission will get the necessary 14 votes to even bring their recommendations up for debate in the full Congress. Only seven panel members have indicated their support so far.

The White House is also pushing the Senate to ratify the U.S.-Russia nuclear disarmament treaty, or START. Republicans have been repeating rumors that the State Department made a side deal with Russia to limit a proposed missile defense shield in Europe in exchange for signing START, a nuclear disarmament treaty. Even though the State Department came out yesterday to vigorously deny the claims, DeMint repeated them on "The Early Show" this morning.

"Reports in the last couple of days suggest there have been side deals that would limit our missile defense capabilities," Sen. DeMint said. "My biggest concern about the START treaty is that it accepts parity with Russia and I think explicitly or implicitly limits our ability to develop missile defense which may be the most important of our defense system in the next ten years."

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The Rent Is Too Damn High Party: Jimmy McMillan Shows Dems How It's Done - Death and Taxes

Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party stole the show at last night’s New York gubernatorial debate.

Yesterday we wrote a piece about how ineffective Democrats were this year at fighting back against the conservative Tea Party candidates. Maureen Dowd’s “Mean Girls” article about the Mama Grizzlies only reinforced their perceived strength by calling them mean. If you don’t like the things your opponent is saying, we argued, you have to change the conversation.

Reinforcing the meanness of your successfully mean opponent is not a conversation changer. “The rent is too damn high”—now that’s a conversation changer.

Last night Jimmy McCmillan, head of The Rent Is Too Damn High party, and that party’s candidate for Governor of New York, showed mainstream Democrats how you effectively change a conversation. Gawker has a great report on McMillan, but it suffices to say he’s an eccentric Brooklyn candidate who wears gloves on his because he was exposed to agent orange in Vietnam (but, he says, “it could be psychological”) and who focuses his campaign on a singular issue with brilliant clarity: the rent is too damn high.

Jimmy McMillan will not win the governor’s race. Not by a long shot. But he does stand for progressive Democratic values (“the Rent Is 2 Damn High Party feels if you want to marry a shoe, I’ll marry you”) and he holds a valuable lesson for more mainstream Democratic candidates who actually stand a chance of winning: Political winners set the conversation, and political losers respond to the conversation.

Like them or hate them, the Tea Party has been highly effective in the last two years at setting the conversation. Democrats would do well to take a look at Jimmy McCmillan and learn from what he’s doing. Though they may not want to start the exact conversation he’s choosing to, they should take note of how many people are talking about him this morning. It’s not because he called Carl Paladino “mean.” It’s the oldest trick in the book: if you don’t like the argument on the table, change the conversation.

Below check out a clip of McMillan from last night’s debate. Below that, check out four glorious minutes of McMillan sitting on a stoop, ranting.

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