Democrats Want Economy-Killing Taxes

Republicans have been urging Democrats to extend the "Bush tax cuts" that are set to expire at the end of this year. I have also been in favor of doing this... lower taxes are MUCH better for the economy AND for individuals than are high taxes. Yesterday we actually saw a CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRAT agree...
http://www.automatedtrader.net/real-time-dow-jones/6602/us-sen-conrad-democrats-should-postpone-tax-increase-for-wealthy

Sen. Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) a senior Senate Democrat with influence over tax and budget policy, said Wednesday that Congress should not allow taxes on the wealthy to rise until the economy is on a more sound footing. Conrad told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview outside the Senate chamber that Democrats should cancel plans to let the top individual income tax rates and capital gains rates rise for the wealthy at the end of this year. He said chronic unemployment and turmoil in European debt markets call those plans into question.

Too bad that their Congressional leadership doesn't agree.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/22/nancy-pelosi-rejects-extending-bush-tax-cuts-for-wealthy/

"I believe the high-end tax cuts did not create any jobs, increased the deficit and should be repealed. Our position has been that we support middle-income tax cuts. The tax cuts at the high end have increased the deficit enormously."

Heck, even Ben Bernanke doesn't agree with Princess Pelosi on this one.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-22/bernanke-says-extending-tax-cuts-maintains-stimulus.html

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said extending the tax cuts passed during former President George W. Bush’s administration would help strengthen a U.S. economy still in need of stimulus.

“In the short term I would believe that we ought to maintain a reasonable degree of fiscal support, stimulus for the economy,” Bernanke said today in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. “There are many ways to do that. This is one way.”

The bottom line is that the tax increases we're going to be saddled with next year are going to further harm the economy. These increases are NOT trivial!
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/541131/201007211841/The-Tax-Tsunami-On-The-Horizon.aspx

- As of midnight Dec. 31, the death tax returns — at a rate of 55% on estates of $1 million or more.

- The lowest bracket for the personal income tax, for instance, moves up 50% — to 15% from 10%. The next lowest bracket — 25% — will rise to 28%, and the old 28% bracket will be 31%. At the higher end, the 33% bracket is pushed to 36% and the 35% bracket becomes 39.6%.

- The marriage penalty also makes a comeback, and the capital gains tax will jump 33% — to 20% from 15%. The tax on dividends will go all the way from 15% to 39.6% — a 164% increase.

- Both the cap-gains and dividend taxes will go up further in 2013 as the health care reform adds a 3.8% Medicare levy for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and joint filers making more than $250,000. Other tax hikes include: halving the child tax credit to $500 from $1,000 and fixing the standard deduction for couples at the same level as it is for single filers.

Letting these tax increases happen will cost taxpayers an additional $115 BILLION next year, and $2.6 TRILLION over the next decade.

So our economy is in for a pretty big hit when these tax increases take effect, and the Democrat leadership in Congress is perfectly fine with letting it happen.

UPDATE: Tax cheat and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner affirmed that the White House favors allowing the "Bush tax cuts" to expire. So much for Obama wanting our economy to grow.

The Obama administration will allow tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire on schedule, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday, setting up a clash with Republicans and a small but vocal group of Democrats who want to delay the looming tax increases.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383131306753688.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5