Physicians take the Hippocratic oath upon entry to their profession and famously promise to “First, do no harm.” National policy makers and lawmakers, unfortunately, make no such pledge.
The question now is whether Washington will get tangled up in politics and let the so-called Bush tax-cuts expire next year, effectively raising taxes at a time when the fragile recovery can least afford it. Last week, President Obama proposed temporarily extending the tax cuts for the first $250,000 of annual income, a full extension for approximately 98 percent of American taxpayers.
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This is a catch22 situation. From a very selfish standpoint I would like to see the Bush tax-cuts extended because it put extra money in the household budget and yes we would spend it. On a more realistic note, kicking the can down the road is a big problem. The can is now a 55 gallon drum. There are roughly 300 million people in the USA. The federal debt is roughly $ 14 trillion. This means every man, woman, & child owes $ 47,000 towards this debt. A family of four owes $ 187,000. This is a very big problem especially when only 50% of taxpayers are paying any federal income taxes. "Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455
Furthermore, the Constitution has a major tenet as "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"...it is NOT "Life, Liberty, and Happiness". Our government is spending tons of money trying to make everyone Happy. This is not the job of government. We need to figure out a way to have everyone contribute to the debt we have all incurred and pay it off in our lifetime.
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We cannot afford a continuation of the tax system that allows the wealthy to pay the lowest tax rates while the middle class dwindles. I'm not sure that the "Bush" tax cuts are in our long-term interest, since they do nothing about budget deficits. I fear needed reforms--or fair reforms--will not happen as long as Republicans pander to the reality-denying Tea Partiers and billionaire-funded PACs. The best solution for the short term is to extend the middle class tax cuts and hope for more sense from Congress. Geez... I've just completely depressed myself now.
I concur with the gist of Goodman's perspective. I have previously commented that I could support short-term extension of the Bush rates provided Congress CONCURRENTLY legislates a long-range plan to rein in the national debt. (Think Simpson-Bowles.) [NEW PARAGRAPH] Washington needs to move ASAP on this dossier. The country is fast approaching a triple "witching hour": income and Social Security taxes are currently slated to rise in January, while automatic spending cuts also start. The economy probably could not withstand so much additional "drag" at once.
Physicians take the Hippocratic oath upon entry to their profession and famously promise to "First, do no harm." First, not all physicians take the Hippocratic oath. Second, the term "First, do no harm" is NOT in the Hippocratic oath. It is associated with a Roman physician, Vesalius. Third, don't start and end articles with mistakes, it casts serious doubt on the remainder of your argument.