Ezra Klein On Why The Tax Deal Is Better For Democrats Than Republicans

Ezra Klein deconstructs the deal between Republicans and the White House and explains why liberals should be happier than they are:

If you look at the numbers alone, the tax cut deal looks to have robbed Republicans blind. The GOP got around $95 billion in tax cuts for wealthy Americans and $30 billion in estate tax cuts. Democrats got $120 billion in payroll-tax cuts, $40 billion in refundable tax credits (Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and education tax credits), $56 billion in unemployment insurance, and, depending on how you count it, about $180 billion (two-year cost) or $30 billion (10-year cost) in new tax incentives for businesses to invest.

Republicans think they won a philosophical argument that tax cuts are always good. The White House wasn’t looking at it that way. When the deal runs out in two years, there will be big deficits and Democrats can point to the Republicans who caused them. Ezra thinks the debate in two years will favor the Democrats, or at least that’s how those who favor the deal see it.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.