An Opportunity For Compromise

The following op-ed appeared yesterday in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It states that Congressman Runyan should do the right thing and let the Bush Tax Cuts expire for top-income earners

By Joshua Henne

Over 13 years in the NFL, Jon Runyan's job was to protect the quarterback. Now that he's in the House of Representatives, his job is to protect his constituents. Runyan (R., N.J.) can do that by agreeing to President Obama's plan to preserve Bush-era tax rates for the middle class while letting them expire for the richest 2 percent.

Democrats and Republicans alike can agree that middle-income families' taxes shouldn't go up. But they will increase if Congress fails to act. With a Dec. 31 expiration date looming, Runyan would be wise to heed the advice of his colleague Tom Cole, the first Republican congressman to openly urge approval of Obama's plan. Cole served as the Republican National Committee's chairman and as its chief of staff during George W. Bush's presidential run. But even this rock-ribbed partisan knows there is no good reason to hold all the country's taxpayers hostage simply to fight for the uber-wealthy.

It's fine if you still believe in trickle-down economics, unicorns, and leprechauns. But what truly fuels small-business success is regular folks' having money to spend. And if Congress fails to act, tax hikes could force Americans to reduce their spending on clothes, cars, and other consumer products by almost $200 billion next year alone.

Ending tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires is also essential to avoiding the fiscal cliff's automatic spending cuts, which would cripple many government programs that families rely on. Obama's proposal to let taxes go up for the wealthiest households would bring in half the money needed to avoid those cuts. Meanwhile, 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses would keep the tax rates they currently enjoy.

Runyan should show he's not willing to allow middle-class taxes to spike just to avoid asking the wealthiest to pay their share. New Jersey's employment has consistently trailed the nation's under Gov. Christie. Unemployment hovers around 10 percent, significantly worse than the U.S. rate, and middle-class incomes are languishing even as those of the top earners are rising.

Runyan has already said he won't be beholden to Grover Norquist's silly no-tax pledge, as has his colleague across the Delaware, Pat Meehan (R., Pa.). They should take the next logical step and embrace Obama's proposal.

Last month, Americans voted resoundingly for the president after a campaign that focused squarely on the fairness issue. At his own election-night victory party, Runyan said, "The political positioning is over, and it's now time to have the adult conversations with the American people." Runyan was completely correct: His constituents want action, not posturing.

There is no better way for the former lineman to tackle the real problem and put his money where his mouth is - and to put more money in the pockets of the middle class and small businesses - than by supporting the president's call for tax relief for 98 percent of Americans.

Joshua Henne is New Jersey spokesman for The Action. He can be followed on Twitter at @JoshuaHenne.

Opinion: As fiscal cliff nears, we are better off without Bush tax cuts for top 2 percent

The following editorial appeared last week in the Times of Trenton

By Joshua Henne

Mere days after the polls closed in 2004 — the election he actually won – President George W. Bush proclaimed, “I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” Bush garnered 286 electoral votes and called it a mandate.

Well, last month, President Barack Obama racked up a whopping 332 electoral votes in his re-election bid. Now, that’s a mandate.

At its heart, the 2012 campaign was about fairness. And there’s no better way for Obama to level the playing field than by letting the Bush tax cuts expire on the wealthiest 2 percent.

The Senate has already passed legislation S3412, providing tax relief for middle-class families. Right now, Obama would sign a bill extending tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans if it came across his desk. Yet, some stubborn House Republicans continue holding this plan hostage to keep the system rigged in favor of those at the tippy-top. Obama has drawn a line in cement that he’d veto any legislation continuing cuts for those making more than $250,000.

By any metric, America’s most affluent aren’t hurting. In fact, they’re far richer today than at any time in history — taking home a larger slice of total wealth and income than top earners have received in more than 80 years. If the Bush tax cuts were to expire for the top 2 percent, they’d still be able to keep up with the Kardashians.

Allowing the clock to run out on these cuts isn’t merely a symbolic gesture of finally shaking off the yoke of Bush’s failed legacy. There are practical, real-life implications, as well.

Currently, there’s a spirited discussion regarding how to stop our nation from falling off a fiscal cliff. By letting the Bush tax cuts lapse on top income earners, we’d take care of half that conundrum. About $1 trillion would come flooding in over the next decade, half-filling America’s coffers with the money needed to avoid the plunge off said cliff. That’s not a drop in the bucket. It’s a significant contribution toward what’s needed to put our nation back on sound financial footing.

Every year, millionaires receive, on average, $128,832 back from the Bush tax cuts. Economists across the board say this strategy is the least effective way to grow our economy. The very rich simply sit on the additional money, rather than re-circulating it. Ayn Rand’s silly theory that the super-wealthy are society’s saviors has smacked against reality time and time again. Prosperity won’t come from the top down. Rather, we need policies that stimulate and strengthen the middle class.

Furthermore, if we hand hedge fund managers more money to simply add to savings accounts and shore up stock portfolios, we won’t have the funds needed to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and energy grid or invest in education, health and innovation. Congress shouldn’t hold the middle class captive just to make sure the Scrooge McDucks of the world can continue swimming around in ever-deepening vaults of cash.

It’s also a canard to claim small businesses would be harmed by ending the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent. The truth is 97 percent of them would still see their tax cut extended. Many of the remaining “small-business owners” are lawyers, Wall Streeters and folks who classify as such to take advantage of tax loopholes.

Real small-business owners will tell you they don’t need tax reductions to help them grow. Rather, they need more customers with more money to purchase goods or use their services. Supplying tax cuts to the super-wealthy would purely perpetuate an unfair advantage by giving them more cash on hand, making it even more arduous for actual mom-and-pop stores to compete. So, it’s no surprise that a Small Business Majority poll shows 52 percent of business owners support letting tax cuts lapse for those making more than $250,000.

There is no rational argument for everyone’s taxes to go up just so billionaires get another cut. Congressional members from coast to coast — and especially here in New Jersey — should slip free of the shackles of Grover Norquist’s childish pledge. In terms of sheer self-interest alone, Republican representatives would be wise to stop holding middle-class tax relief hostage, lest constituents remember this in the mid-term elections.

An Americans for Tax Fairness poll shows 67 percent said “making the tax system more fair” was a “very” or “fairly important consideration in making their voting decisions” this year. More people believe in dropping the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent than even voted for Obama. The people have spoken from the ground up. They won’t stand for trickle-down economics any longer. This president truly has capital. And he is going to use it.

Elections are about much more than the names at the top of the ticket. They’re also about the ideas, policies and philosophies for which voters are truly pulling the lever. In 2012, the American people clamored for fairness. By allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest income earners, Congress can show it is listening to the will of the people.

Joshua Henne is a founding partner of White Horse Strategies and New Jersey spokesman for The Action. You can follow @JoshuaHenne on Twitter.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/8/12 : Congress Must Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to extend the middle class income tax cuts for 98% of Americans and 97% of small businesses without delay, and made clear that a balanced approach to deficit reduction means that Republicans in Congress must agree to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay higher tax rates.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/1/12: Urging Congress to Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts

President Obama speaks to the American people from a busy factory floor in Pennsylvania about the urgent need to pass the middle class tax cuts, which will give families and businesses preparing for the holidays the certainty they need going into the New Year. Democrats and Republicans must come together to pass one thing that everyone agrees on—extending income tax cuts for 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses, and there is no reason to wait. The President urges Congress to take action to help grow our economy and strengthen the middle class.

President Obama's Weekly Address 11/10/12: Extending Middle Class Tax Cuts to Grow the Economy

In his weekly address,President Obama says that it’s time for Congress to pass the middle class tax cuts for 98 percent of all Americans. Both parties agree that this will give 98 percent of families and 97 percent of small businesses the certainty that will lead to growth, and so there is no reason to wait. On Tuesday, the American people voted for compromise and action, and the President calls on Congress to come together in that spirit to help create jobs and strengthen our economy.

President Obama's Weekly Address 7/28/12: The House of Representatives Must Act on Middle Class Tax Cut Extension

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to act on his proposal to protect middle class families and small businesses from being hit with a big tax hike next year. Everyone says they agree that we should extend the tax cuts for the middle class and the Senate already passed the President’s plan to prevent a typical family from seeing a tax increase of $2,200, but Republicans in Congress are holding these tax cuts hostage until we extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The President called on Congress to pass the middle class tax extension so that we can continue to grow the economy and create jobs the American people.