From USA TODAY:
In any circumstance other than the current dangerously weak economy, the tax deal between President Obama and congressional Republicans would be indefensible.
It borrows money the nation doesn’t have — unofficial guesses range from about $700 billion to $1 trillion in the next two years — from creditors such as China to shower tax breaks on Americans who are eventually going to have to pay more. Concern about the deficit? Warnings from the debt commission? Apparently, that was so last week.
Most objectionable are the continued tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. The argument that restoring their marginal rates to Clinton-era levels would seriously damage the economy should embarrass those who make it. The fact that Republicans made this their price for extending jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed is appalling…
The best case for the deal is that the economy is perilously weak, growing too slowly now to even begin replacing the 8 million jobs lost during the recession. The number of those out of work for more than six months is at record post-Depression levels. Tax cuts could provide more fiscal stimulus to complement the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies, and extending unemployment benefits throws a lifeline to some of the jobless…
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