Public Doesn't Support Republican Tax Policy

During the last election the Republicans kept beating the deficit drum.   They convinced the American voters (too many of them at least) that the cause of all our economic problems was the growing budget deficit.   It's not true, but the American people bought the argument and put far too many Republicans back in power.

Now that they control the House of Representatives and have enough power in the Senate to kill any bill they don't like, a reasonable person would expect they would act on their campaign promise and cut the deficit.   But that's not what they want to do.   Their most important goal is to extend the Bush tax cuts for the rich, which would just cause the budget deficit to grow larger.

As the chart above (from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) shows, tax cuts are the largest contributor to budget deficits.   The country was in pretty good shape before George Bush became president, but Bush cut taxes and raised spending (a common Republican practice) and created a budget deficit larger than any president before him.   He passed that huge deficit on to President Obama.

Now the Republicans want to continue their old policies of cut taxes, in spite of the fact that this has failed to create jobs or decrease the deficit (the two biggest worries of the American public).   In an effort to help ordinary people who have been squeezed by Republican economic policies and the recession created by those policies, the Democrats have agreed to keep the tax cuts for everyone making under $250,000 (adjusted gross income).   But that is not good enough for the Republicans.

The Republicans are hanging their credibility and economic policy on giving further tax cuts to the richest 2% of Americans (who already have far too much of the wealth and income in this country).   They are prepared to stop any legislation (including the reduction of nuclear weapons and the extension of jobless benefits for hurting Americans) until they get their massive tax cuts for the rich.

If they think they have the support of the American people in this further giveaway to the rich, they are wrong.   A new CBS News Poll shows that a majority of the population supports the Democratic version of the tax cut bill, while only about one in four supports the Republican tax cuts for the rich (including less than half of Republican voters).   Here are the numbers:

TAX CUTS EXTENDED FOR ALL (INCLUDING RICH)
All...............26%
Republicans...............46%
Democrats...............10%
Independents...............25%

TAX CUTS ONLY FOR THOSE MAKING <$250,000
All...............53%
Republicans...............41%
Democrats...............70%
Independents...............47%

NO TAX CUT EXTENSION FOR ANYONE
All...............14%
Republicans...............11%
Democrats...............14%
Independents...............17%

I think the Republicans are making a big mistake in pushing this policy.   If the job situation is still this bad or worse in 2012 (and there's no reason it wouldn't be since tax cuts don't create jobs and Republicans insist on continuing job outsourcing), the voters could well take their anger out on Republicans next time.   They'll remember that Republicans increased the deficit by giving more money to the rich while doing nothing for people out of work.

The Republicans talk a lot of noise about cutting deficits, but the sad fact is that every modern Republican administration has increased the deficit, not cut it.   Now it looks like the Republicans are going to do that again, and for no better reason than to reward their rich friends and donors.   It's too bad they have no shame, because they should be ashamed of themselves.