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Bush Tax Cuts

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George W. Bush signed his first round of tax cuts into law on June 7, 2001, and a decade later, people are still debating whether or not they were a "colossal failure."

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opinion briefs on this topic

Bush Tax Cuts : The Bullpen

David Frum: Democrats should extend the Bush tax cuts

Posted on July 6, 2011, at 11:51 AM

Promising the GOP four more years of Bush-era tax rates may be the key to successfully inking a deal on the debt ceiling

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

The Bush tax cuts turn 10: Were they a 'colossal failure'?

Posted on June 10, 2011, at 8:00 AM

The unemployment rate is stubbornly high, the national debt is ballooning, and many Americans are despondent over their finances. Are the Bush tax cuts to blame?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Will the rich jump at the chance to redirect their tax-cut-extension savings to charities, including Habitat for Humanity and Children's Aid Society?

Should the rich give their tax-cut money back?

Posted on January 4, 2011, at 1:42 PM

A website launched by Ivy League professors encourages the rich to calculate how much the Bush-era tax cuts are saving them, and donate the money to charity

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

The tax deal gives "President Obama... reason to celebrate," says Mitt Romney in a "USA Today" op-ed.

Could conservatives kill Obama's tax-cut deal?

Posted on December 15, 2010, at 12:18 PM

Some GOP leaders, led by Mitt Romney, oppose the compromise deal to temporarily extend the Bush tax cuts. Could they sink the bill?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Tweeters using the hash tag #filibernie shared the exploits of Bernie Sanders' eight-plus hour speech protesting a vote on the tax deal.

What did Bernie Sanders' speech accomplish?

Posted on December 13, 2010, at 10:13 AM

The independent Vermont senator delivered an impassioned eight-hour "filibuster" against the Obama-GOP tax deal. Did he change anything?

Bush Tax Cuts : Sunday Talk Show Briefing

The Obama-GOP tax truce: Good deal?

Posted on December 13, 2010, at 9:20 AM

President Obama is getting grief from the Left, and even a little from the Right, over his deal to extend all Bush-era tax cuts for two years

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Did House Democrats doom the tax deal?

Posted on December 10, 2010, at 12:18 PM

Angry Congressional Democrats voted to ignore the Obama-GOP compromise in its present form. What happens next?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Majority Leader Harry Reid said the deal with Republicans was "only a framework" and changes were needed.

Will Democrats get behind Obama's tax deal?

Posted on December 8, 2010, at 10:37 AM

After striking a compromise with Republicans, the president faces his next big challenge: Rallying his own party

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

The cost of extending the Bush tax cuts represents "only about 37 percent" of the agreement's total tally.

Did Obama 'sucker' the GOP?

Posted on December 8, 2010, at 10:19 AM

Democrats are furious over President Obama's tax deal with Congressional Republicans, and the GOP is thrilled. Do they both have it backwards?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

While on the campaign trail, Obama pledged that he would not allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to continue past the Dec 31 expiration.

Will Obama's tax deal boost the economy?

Posted on December 7, 2010, at 10:45 AM

The president and GOP leaders have a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts. But will their compromise help create jobs and spur spending?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who has headed tax cut negotiations, says no one should have their taxes raised in such a bad economy.

Is the GOP on the verge of a tax-cut victory?

Posted on December 6, 2010, at 10:22 AM

Obama seems ready to compromise on extending tax cuts for the rich, infuriating many Democrats. But does he really have a choice?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Hotel tycoon Leona Helmsley famously left her Maltese Trouble (example of the breed shown here), a $12 million trust fund when she died in 2007.

Leona Helmsley's dog enters the tax-cut debate

Posted on December 3, 2010, at 2:46 PM

A House Democrat says Republicans care more about a multimillionaire Maltese named Trouble than about the middle class

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

House Dems' tax cut move: Bold or 'chicken crap'?

Posted on December 3, 2010, at 10:32 AM

House Democrats maneuvered through an extension of Bush-era tax cuts for everyone but households making $250,000 or more. The GOP was not amused

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says Democratic leaders are just trying to push through a liberal agenda before the end of the year.

Is the GOP really holding government hostage?

Posted on December 2, 2010, at 11:35 AM

Republicans say nothing will get through Congress until Democrats extend Bush-era tax cuts. Is that obstructionism or a path to progress?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Millionaire Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, says the Bush tax cuts for the super-wealthy should expire.

The 'patriotic' millionaires who want to pay more taxes

Posted on November 22, 2010, at 11:46 AM

Dozens of wealthy liberals are urging President Obama to kill their Bush-era tax cuts. Are they being patriotic or political?

Bush Tax Cuts : Opinion Brief

Obama may "surrender" the fight against extending the Bush tax cuts.

Obama's 'surrender' on Bush tax cuts

Posted on November 11, 2010, at 1:25 PM

David Axelrod says the White House will agree to a temporary continuation of all the steep Bush-era tax cuts. Has it given in too easily?

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