Here's the latest.
The Senate passed the deal last night. It included raising taxes on the top bracket (income of $400,000+) to the Clinton-era 39.6 percent. There's $30 billion in renewed unemployment benefits (spending that will create $48.6 billion in economic growth, per Moody's). There's no spending cuts and no cuts or changes to Medicare or Social Security. The sequestration moves to two months from now when we'll have to do this all over again.
But the House Republicans appear to be turning down the deal, which would risk a panic tomorrow when markets open. Then again, the usual faction of angry anti-Obama liberals will probably be happy with the bill's death, believing that "Obama caved." So the bill will either die or include House Republican-mandated spending cuts.
Ultimately if the bill passes as is, it will undeniably be a victory for the White House and the Democrats. They simply won more of what they wanted, especially considering some of the awful proposals that had been on the table and aren't a part of the deal (as of this writing).
The deal "adds" to deficit relative to current law's abrupt austerity. Instead, deal offers step toward gradual, fairer deficit reduction
— billscher (@billscher) January 1, 2013
Exactly as much liberal disappointment with the Bartlet administration as with the objectively much more liberal Obama administration.
— Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias) January 1, 2013
If this bill becomes law, President Obama will reverse 20 years of Republican tax policy without any corresponding spending cuts.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 1, 2013
Progressives whining over Obama deal remind me of tweens who complained about getting a white iPhone instead of a black one for Christmas
— TBogg (@tbogg) January 1, 2013
Obama successfully breaks GOP back on raising taxes for the wealthy, after 20 years of resistance. Tell me again how this a cave?
— billscher (@billscher) December 31, 2012