DAILY BEAST Column:
…1. President Obama
Wish list: Higher taxes on the wealthy, stimulus spending, limited cuts to entitlements
Worries of a “fiscal cliff” got a whole lot more real after the Nov. 6 election, which promised the return of divided government. Acutely aware of this, the newly re-elected president began publicly advocating the need for higher taxes on the wealthy as a cornerstone of any deal, offering his first official proposal to House Speaker John Boehner on Nov. 29th. His package called for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue over 10 years by continuing Bush-era rates for all but the wealthiest Americans; a $50 billion stimulus program; and new executive power to raise the federal debt limit without congressional approval. It was swiftly denied. Epitomizing the budget talks, his next offer was received with equal contempt. That time, the proposal was a compromise for the Democratic president—an agreement to raise the income threshold on higher rates to $400,000 (up from $250,000).
2. House Speaker John Boehner
Wish list: Limited tax increases; keeping his job
As House Speaker, the fiscal-cliff crisis is in many ways John Boehner’s cross to bear. And bear it he has. Pleasing a fractious Republican caucus, the majority of whom signed Grover Norquist’s “no new taxes” pledge, is no easy feat, especially if Boehner wants to keep his leadership position in the new Congress. After staunchly rejecting Obama’s initial offer in late November, Boehner presented one of his own on Dec. 3rd. That package called for $800 billion in new tax revenue over 10 years, to be generated through unspecified changes to the tax code (about half of what Obama proposed), and $600 billion in cuts to health-care programs, including Medicare. The White House quickly rejected the offer, claiming that it did not “meet the test of balance.” After a few days of talking and finger-pointing in mid-December, Boehner came back with what many considered a triumphant compromise:“Plan B.” That proposal presented tax-rate increases only on those making over $1 million per year, protecting the other current tax rates. But in a turn of events that ultimately exposed his own vulnerability as speaker, Boehner was unable to garner enough votes from his tax-weary party to pass the compromise. Embarrassingly, he had to yank the bill from the House floor at the last minute.
3. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Wish list: Extending Bush-era tax cuts for households making less than $250,000
After Obama and Boehner’s efforts ended in stalemate, an exasperated president called on the two leaders of the Senate to create a bipartisan package that, with any luck, will help the nation successfully avert the fiscal cliff. At the least, Obama said, he deserved an up-or-down vote on something. That something, if Reid, the Senate’s top Democrat, gets his wish, will be simple, clean, and look very much like what Obama himself would have drawn. Reid’s bill would most definitely extend the Bush-era tax cuts for households making less than $250,000 a year, and would likely include spending cuts to offset the change. Last week, an openly pessimistic Reid proclaimed this the “only viable escape route” to avoid tumbling over the cliff. But with many of his fellow Democrats looking to be reelected in 2014 (and many in red states), Reid has another agenda as well: keeping everyone happy… (more)
