House Rejects Payroll Tax Cut. What. The. Fuck.
Photo courtesy of gageskidmore
The basics:
On January 1st, the payroll tax cut will expire. Lengthened unemployment benefits will end.
The Senate wanted to propose a compromise that would have extended those benefits a bit longer. The measure worked. The vote was 89-10 in a landslide win to extend them. This included 39 Republicans. Uncanny! A bi-partisan legislation that actually passed with flying colors. Because why? Because it’s good for the American people. People are down and out right now and it would be an insult to not extend the benefits.
But guess what. That insult happened. Today, the House, controlled by the Republicans for now, rejected the Senate bill that would have helped millions of Americans days before they head to recess, effectively killing any opportunity for an extension to happen. Merry fucking Christmas.
Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, “If Republicans vote down the bipartisan compromise negotiated by Republican and Democratic leaders, and passed by 89 senators including 39 Republicans, their intransigence will mean that in ten days, 160 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase, over two million Americans will begin losing their unemployment benefits, and millions of senior citizens on Medicare could find it harder to receive treatment from physicians.”
There’s an agenda here. According to MSNBC, this will “[force] a reluctant President Barack Obama to make an election-year choice between unions and environmentalists over whether to build an oil pipeline through the heart of the country.” This is about politics, folks. Not what’s good for the American people. It makes me sick to see this country diving down into the ridiculousness that is government-for-politics-not-people.
Thanks, House Republicans. Nice holiday present you just gave the country there.
(Source: cbsnews.com)
