The battle over the Bush tax cuts

Would Democrats be hampering the recovery if they let the Bush tax cuts expire? Or are Republicans being fiscally reckless by arguing we should renew them?

George W. Bush
(Image credit: Getty)

With deficits and the prospect of a double-dip recession weighing on voters' minds, Democrats and Republicans are debating whether it's appropriate to extend George W. Bush's tax cuts, scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The GOP says Democrats will be putting the economy at risk if they let the cuts expire, as President Obama promised during his campaign, because that would amount to a massive tax hike at a time when Americans desperately need more money in their pockets. Democrats say Republicans are showing their true colors by protecting budget-busting tax breaks for the rich while oppposing an extension of benefits for the unemployed: (Watch a Fox report about the fight over Bush tax cuts)

The Republicans are being reckless: It's ridiculous for the GOP to try selling this as a $3.8 trillion "Democratic tax hike," says Ezra Klein in The Washington Post. Republicans controlled Congress and the White House when they passed the Bush tax cuts, and they're the ones who set the expiration date. So let's have a reality check: Democrats aren't calling for a massive tax hike — Republicans "are calling for the largest increase in the deficit in memory."

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