Politics Plus

Yesterday House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), introduced the Republican proposal to extend the payroll tax cuts for American workers.  Needless to say, the people hit to pay for it are the people who can least afford it, while keeping millionaires, billionaires and corporate criminals safe from having to surrender any of the proceeds from the Republican welfare they receive.

House Republicans introduced legislation that would extend a payroll tax cut into 2012, restructure unemployment compensation, extend write-offs for capital investments and postpone cuts to physician reimbursements from Medicare for two years.

The bill, backed by House Speaker John Boehner, includes provisions to cover the cost to the Treasury. Those items include extending a pay freeze for civilian federal employees, selling portions of the wireless spectrum and limiting tax credits for illegal immigrants. The measure was released today.

The bill also includes language designed to expedite approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, revamp the federal flood-insurance program and prevent top earners from receiving federal unemployment benefits or food stamps.

The House is likely to vote on the measure next week, according to the Rules Committee. The vote will set up a collision with congressional Democrats, who have criticized the Keystone provision and the changes to unemployment compensation… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Business Week>

On the surface this just looks like standard Republican economic terrorism, holding the payroll tax cuts hostage to blackmail Democrats.  But the article covered up just how draconian these Republican demands are.  In that light, they probably have a different motive.

Republicans, while claiming to support a payroll tax cut extension that will primarily benefit the middle class, have cycled through a list of reasons to oppose proposals from Senate Democrats. The GOP refuses to pay for the cut with a surtax on millionaires, even as the wealthiest Americans’ tax rates have fallen to historic lows. Other GOP members have claimed the extension — which would put an extra $1,000 a year in the average American’s pocket — would undermine Social Security (it wouldn’t).

Now, with some members of the party worried that opposing the extension would cause it to lose its reputation for anti-tax zealotry, House Republicans are attempting to make it look as if they support the extension by proposing an alternative plan full of demands they know Democrats won’t accept. One of those demands, the Hill reports, is a drastic reduction in unemployment insurance that lowers a person’s maximum time on benefits from 99 weeks to 59 weeks:

The Republican proposal is expected to reduce the total number of weeks unemployed workers are eligible for aid by as much as 40 weeks and tighten rules for eligibility.

Such a reduction would significantly reduce the cost of extending federal unemployment benefits, making it easier to secure GOP support for a measure that will also include an extension of a payroll tax cut many conservative Republicans dislike.

Unemployment insurance remains one of the GOP’s favorite targets… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Rather than economic terrorism, I think this is a big quack, disguised as their normal blackmail.  A big quack comes from a big duck.  Republicans have to know that Democrats will not swallow these poison pills.  What Republicans intend, I think, is to pass their bill in the House early next week and go home.  The Senate Democratic leadership has already announced that the Republican plan is DOA.  Republicans can then claim that they tried to extend payroll tax cuts, and blame Democrats for not passing their bill.

Here’s the bottom line.  Republicans want to raise YOUR taxes.  The only cut taxes for the rich.  Their only reason for offering a bill they know Democrats will not accept is that the do not want to extend payroll tax cuts, period.  They ducked with a resounding quack!