Hey look, when you’ve got nothing to show for over three years of effort (such that it is) on the economy, you’re pretty much left with demagoguery. That’s exactly what President Obama is going to attempt, by talking about “tax fairness.”
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is launching a push to extend tax cuts for the middle class, as he seeks to shift the election-year economic debate away from the dismal jobs market and toward the issue of tax fairness.
Mr. Obama, in an address from the White House Monday, will call on Congress to pass a one-year extension of tax cuts for people making less than $250,000 a year, a senior administration official said.
The president’s appeal to middle-class voters is aimed at drawing a contrast with Republican rival Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans. The House GOP is expected to make its own push this month for an extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year, including reductions on wealthier income earners. Mr. Obama opposes extending the tax cuts for higher income earners.
Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign also plans to use Washington’s tax debate to ramp up its criticism of Mr. Romney. The campaign and its Democratic allies have slammed the presumptive GOP nominee for not releasing several years of tax returns and for having some of his money in offshore bank accounts.
Of course the problem is that the tax system isn’t particularly fair, and raising taxes on the wealthy isn’t really much of an answer. And then there’s the issue of the $250,000 break point, that probably won’t really be $250,000, but some number lower.
All of this has no chance of going anywhere before the election, it’s just a campaign tactic. The Romney folks need to get out in front of Obama on this one, as they really haven’t dealt with the offshore bank account issue.
