It’s getting chilly in Pennsylvania… You can almost (almost) sense that Christmas is on the way. It’s no wonder then that President Obama would invoke the holiday spirit in his address from the Keystone State. Speaking from Scranton, Obama encouraged Congress to extend the existing payroll tax holiday.
Originally, the extension looked dead in the water, with Republicans signaling that they would oppose the measure.
However, with unemployment still quite high, the President seized on the chance to remind Congress that the economy may still need a boost. Comparing the wishes of a few to cut taxes for those at the top to the payroll tax for the middle class, Obama questioned:
Are you going to cut taxes for the middle class and those who are trying to get into the middle class or are you going to protect massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?
That sentiment will play well in Scranton, a former coal mining boomtown, where unemployment is above the national average (you can watch the speech here).
Obama levied his harshest criticism at Republicans who had previously promised to block a payroll tax extension this week. Calling attention to the timing, he warned:
Don’t be a Grinch. Don’t raise taxes on Americans during the holidays.
Republicans must find an answer. Their party line is that the payroll tax cut is too expensive to maintain. But pretending to be fiscally responsible now – of all times – is not going to fly with most voters. The party risks alienating more than 160 million Americans who benefited from the one year payroll tax cut.
And yes, we knew it was a one year payroll tax cut. One year.
And before that, we had the Making Work Pay Credit. For two years.
And then before that… well, you get the picture.
Why would Congress choose now to put their foot down – all while still touting other cuts? I think we know the answer.
