On the recordDecember 5, 2012
in less than 1 month American taxpayers face the greatest tax increase in our Nation's history. Two years ago the President and the Senate Democrats opted to postpone these tax increases for 2 years. They did so knowing that raising taxes in a weak economy is an unnecessary and counterproductive jolt to the system. Forty Democrats supported doing that. Since then, however, the President has been single-minded in arguing for tax increases on certain wealthy taxpayers. He and his Democratic friends promoted these tax hikes in the name of a so-called balanced approach to deficit reduction. Now, with the country fast approaching the fiscal cliff, it is time to pay the piper. But as the President issues ultimatums about what kind of tax increases are necessary to avert the fiscal cliff, it is worth noting that he has abandoned any pretense of seeking a balanced approach to deficit reduction. Last week's proposal from the White House amounts to little more than a massive set of tax increases--by the way, far in excess of the tax hikes he ran on or anything that Senate Democrats would support, coupled with new spending. Even Democrats don't support what he called for. And his response to Speaker Boehner's balanced plan is raise taxes today, and next year we will come back and discuss raising taxes again. The President's commitment to a balanced approach to new tax revenue and spending reforms has morphed postelection into new tax revenue and increased spending.…
