Hold Your Nose and Vote ‘Aye’ -By Eugene Robinson-Approve the lousy deal.

[kpete]

Hold Your Nose and Vote ‘Aye’

Posted on Dec 9, 2010

By Eugene Robinson

Approve the lousy deal.

It pains me to write those words, because the agreement President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans on tax cuts is really quite awful. I know that some progressives have come to see the package as a cleverly disguised “second stimulus,” but they’re just rationalizing. The fact is that nobody would start from scratch and design an economic boost offering so little bang for so many bucks.

For a two-year cost of nearly $1 trillion, we get a bit more than $300 billion worth of new measures that are truly stimulative: a cut in the payroll tax, a provision allowing businesses to write off capital investment and an extension of unemployment benefits. We’ll spend the rest—I should say borrow the rest, then spend it—to continue existing tax breaks that obviously are not roaring engines of job growth.

The deal invests basically nothing in the nation’s future. We need to be channeling money into education and clean energy, where it can help the United States remain competitive against China and other economic rivals—not into the well-stuffed bank accounts of the rich.

Yet congressional Democrats have no real choice but to hold their noses, approve the thing and live to fight another day. The opportunity to shape a better deal—one without those unnecessary, unfair and supremely galling tax cuts for households making more than $250,000 a year—is long gone.

more:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hold_your_nose_and_vote_aye_20101209/

[MrCoffee]

1. No.

I'm sick to death of holding my nose to vote for shit that stinks.

[jaxx]

6. You don't get to vote unless you're in the House or the Senate.

Which is it?

[Larkspur]

2. The Dems should drag it along til the end of the year

and try to get the Social Security time bomb removed. Obama is already talking about changes to his deal. If the Rethugs can bully him, than Progressives should do the same. Obama only seems to respond to bullying tactics.

[OHdem10]

3. Both the House and Senate would be wise to do just one thing

BEFORE THE LOUSY Deal gets signed GET RID OF that
PAYROLL TAX break as fast as you can. Otherise
you are complicit in Destroying the NEW DEAL.

Otherwise, hold your nose and vote.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. It seems that Obama's endless "compromises' have finally worn out a few noses.

[aquart]

5. No.

[bushisanidiot]

7. Yes. Do it. We will not get a chance to get 60 votes for our position

after Dec. 31st. It WILL.NOT.HAPPEN.

[myrna minx]

8. No - that SS time bomb is despicable.. n/t

[somone]

9. No

[ddeclue]

10. NO.

[laughingliberal]

11. He's smart enough to see where that 'payroll tax holiday' is leading. I'm disappointed in him. nt

[Life Long Dem]

12. Some are catching on.

Hold your nose. That's what everyone has been saying all along. Is Obama too smart for some?