Economy Alarm: Hoyer to Middle-Class Families: Tax Breaks Won’t Last Much Longer

President Obama Has Repeatedly Promised Middle-Class Families Would be Exempt from Tax-Hikes

“Obama repeatedly vowed during the 2008 presidential election campaign that he would not raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 and households earning less than $250,000 a year.” (Rich Miller, “Obama ‘Agnostic’ on Deficit Cuts, Won’t Prejudge Tax Increases,” Bloomberg, 2/11/2010)

“He went on to say that the initiatives would ‘focus on easing the burdens on middle-class families who are struggling in this economy, and providing the help they need to get ahead.’ Well, they would ease them a little bit, perhaps, but not much.’” (Michelle Singletary, “President Obama proposals offer modest help to the middle-class,” Washington Post, 1/28/2010)

Credibility Crash: Dem Leader Steny Hoyer Warns Middle-Class Tax Breaks Won’t Last Long Much Longer

Tax cuts that benefit the middle class should not be “totally sacrosanct” as policymakers try to plug the nation’s yawning budget gap, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday, acknowledging that it would be difficult to reduce long-term deficits without breaking President Obama’s pledge to protect families earning less than $250,000 a year.

Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat, said in an interview that he expects Congress to extend middle-class tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration that are set to expire at the end of this year. But he said the extension should not be permanent. Hoyer said he plans to call for a “serious discussion” about the affordability of the tax breaks.

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Hoyer’s comments come as Republicans are battering Democrats over the soaring budget deficit in advance of the fall midterm elections, accusing Obama and his colleagues in Congress of sinking the nation in red ink with spending to combat the recession.

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Hoyer also indicated he plans to support an effort by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to eliminate wasteful spending at the Pentagon. “Any conversation about the deficit that leaves out defense spending is seriously flawed before it begins,” he says in the speech.

The overarching point in Hoyer’s remarks is the need for a bipartisan plan that includes spending cuts and tax increases, in the tradition of deficit-reduction deals cut under former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Drafting such a plan would require a reexamination of tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, Hoyer says — cuts that benefited most taxpayers. (Lori Montgomery, “Rep. Steny Hoyer says middle-class tax breaks may not be affordable long-term,” Washington Post, 6/22/2010)

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