“Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act” on The Daily Caller

Mark Thursday, Dec. 17, 2010, on your political calendar as the day twin cultures were defeated. The culture of spending, embraced by both parties, was repudiated decisively when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rose to pull the monster 1,924-page, 6,630-earmark omnibus spending bill. And the culture of class envy was repudiated with equal decisiveness when the House overwhelmingly passed the extension of the Bush tax cuts and defeated an amendment to raise the estate tax on large estates. (more)

On a historic night this past Thursday, a new Tea Party Republican Congress completely transformed U.S. economic policy. Elections matter, and so do their ideas. Smaller government, low taxes, and less spending were key election themes in the Republican landslide. And those themes triumphed this week as a large tax-cut bill finally passed the House and a monstrosity of a spending bill was defeated in the Senate. (more)

Taxes must not be allowed to increase in 2011. However, the deal on the table today to extend the Bush tax cuts is not a good one. Americans sent a clear message on Election Day — that Republicans need to stand firm on what they really believe: the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent, and that spending must not be increased. The current deal made with President Obama and some Democrats in Congress does neither. (more)

Nothing changes so much as it stays the same. The Democrats continue to be relentless in their determination to destroy this country, and Republicans, despite just coming off an historic electoral victory nationwide, still don’t get it. (more)

Campaigns have a saying: if you see your opponent making a mistake, let him.  This must have been going through the minds of Republican negotiators as President Obama agreed to extend all the current tax rates for two years. (more)

Is cutting taxes immoral? Some people are arguing that extending tax cuts to the wealthy is just that. Was supporting Obamacare and taxpayer-funded abortion moral then? (more)

Senate lawmakers expect a bipartisan group of negotiators to announce a deal in the coming days that would extend the Bush tax cuts for two years and federal unemployment benefits for up to a year. (more)

Unemployment jumped to 9.8 percent in a very disappointing November jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 39,000 and private jobs expanded by just 50,000. This is way below what the economy needs. Most discouraging, the smaller-business household employment number fell for the second time in a row, down 173,000 in November after a 330,000 drop in October. This is the nineteenth straight month with unemployment above 9 percent. (more)

Over the years, Germany has exported a number of bad ideas and bad actors — including public education and Adolph Hitler. (more)

As the lame-duck session of Congress starts to heat up, debates will rage over which tax cuts and credits to keep, which laws to try to ram through and how best to slap unethical members of Congress on the wrist so as to not really impose anything resembling punishment while appearing to not tolerate corruption. It’s a full plate. (more)

Here we go with the liberal rhetoric again. You’ve seen the Democrats whine that keeping the “Bush tax cuts” would stuff the pockets of the richest Americans, while doing nothing to help the middle class. But that simply isn’t the truth. (more)

Steny Hoyer, the number two in the House Dem leadership, told Democrats at a caucus meeting this morning that they would get to vote this year on just extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, a senior Dem aide tells me, signaling support for a confrontational move towards the GOP that liberals have been pushing. (more)

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is ready to accept an across-the-board, temporary continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. (more)

In 2007, the newly minted Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, promised that Congress would remain in session for full five-day work weeks, just like most Americans.  Three years later, Speaker Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic Congress have all but forgotten the promise they made to hardworking taxpayers.  The House adjourned this past Wednesday for the October recess after being in session for just two days this week.  With the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts looming, the failure to pass a National Defense Authorization Act, and the ongoing absence of a budget for the next fiscal year — taking more time off should be the last thing on the Democratic Leadership’s mind.  Since when did campaigning for Congressional seats come before the peoples’ work?  This is yet another example with how out-of-touch the Democrats are with reality. (more)

House Democrats barely won a 210-209 vote to adjourn the House without extending the Bush tax cuts. (more)

Senate Democrats are considering abandoning plans for a pre-election showdown with Republicans over expiring tax breaks for the wealthy, saying a lack of consensus within the party and a desire to focus on job creation may delay a vote until after the November elections. (more)

With income tax rates set to go up on Dec. 31, Congress is hotly debating what to do next. But most economists agree: Keep them where they are. (more)

In a break with the White House, Peter Orszag, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), recommended Tuesday that Congress extend the expiring Bush tax cuts for two years, then do away with them altogether. (more)

With the economy rapidly weakening, some senior Democrats are having second thoughts about raising taxes on the nation’s wealthiest families and are pressing party leaders to consider extending the full array of Bush administration tax cuts, at least through next year. (more)

Will higher tax penalties on investment really spur jobs and faster economic growth? Most commentators would say no. It’s really a matter of economic common sense. But Tim Geithner says, Yes! (more)