“It would be inexcusable for Congress not to further extend this middle class tax cut for the rest of the year,” President Obama said after the Senate passed a two month extension of the payroll tax cut Saturday. It should be a formality, and hopefully it’s done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January.”
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, agrees, although he doesn’t think the American people should have to wait till January for some certainty on what their paychecks will look like next year. On Meet the Press, yesterday, Boehner said, “How can you do tax policy for two months? I believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. The American people are tired of that.”
Boehner is ready to call Obama’s bluff. Last night, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.., sent out a notice for a Monday vote on the Senate deal. It is expected to fail easily. Boehner is now calling on Democrats to agree to a bicameral conference to merge the Senate and House payroll tax legislation. The House managed to pass a full-year payroll tax cut, like Obama says he wants, last week.
The Senate’s two-month extension is ridiculous on its face. How to do the extension without adding to Social Security’s financial distress (“Pay-fors” in Hillese) still have to be worked out, but expect a year-long deal before the New Year.
Around the Bigs
The Wall Street Journal, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il Is Dead: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died last night. In September 2010, he tapped the youngest of his three sons, Kim Jong Eun, to succeed him, and North Korean state television said the younger Mr. Kim will lead the country, Monday.
The Wall Street Journal, Oldest Baby Boomers Face Jobs Bust: The number of Americans aged 55 to 64 who can’t find full-time work has nearly doubled in the last five years, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures.
The Hill, Obama more likely to lose than win again: President Obama will be a one-term president, according to 46 percent of likely voters polled by The Hill, and only 41 percent think he will win re-election. When it comes to grading his first term, 51 percent of polled voters said Obama was either a failure (37 percent) or not very successful (14 percent), while 48 percent said he was either very successful (16 percent) or somewhat successful (32 percent).
Campaign 2012
Iowa: The latest Public Policy Polling survey, released yesterday, shows Newt Gingrich collapsing to third at 14 percent. Ron Paul is first with 23 percent and Mitt Romney is second with 20 percent.
Romney: The Des Moines Register endorsed Mitt Romney yesterday, writing, “Sobriety, wisdom and judgment. … Those qualities help the former Massachusetts governor stand out as the most qualified Republican candidate competing in the Iowa caucuses.”
Paul: The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney predicts that If Ron Paul wins Iowa, Republicans will stop ignoring him and attack him as “a racist, a kook, and a conspiracy theorist.”
Righty Playbook
The Wall Street Journal editorial page details how the latest EPA report linking fracking to water contamination isn’t all that environmentalists make it out to be.
Cato‘s Chris Edwards explains why Unemployment Insurance is an expensive free lunch.
RedState‘s Steve Maley notes that small companies didn’t bother participating in the Obama administration’s first sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lefty Playbook
At The New Republic, The Brookings Institution’s William Galston notes that recent Gallup polling shows voters are not buying Obama’s class-warfare rhetoric.
Talking Points Memo‘s Pema Levy reports that women’s groups and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee differ over who should Democrats should nominate to replace Sen. Joe Lieberman next year.
Mother Jones‘ Adam Sewer explain what the National Defense Authorization Act does and does not do.
