Obama's Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment B

[Wehrwolfen]

Obama's Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment Benefits​

By Terence P. Jeffrey
December 28, 2012



(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said on Friday evening that if he cannot make a bipartisan deal with congressional leaders before the Monday "fiscal cliff" deadline, he has asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring legislation up for a vote in the Senate that would extend the Bush tax rates for "middle class" Americans only and extend unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans whose government payments would otherwise expire.

[Snip]

"But let’s not miss this deadline," he said. "That is the bare minimum that we should be able to get done."

“For the past couple of months I’ve been working with leaders of both parties a balanced plan that would cut spending in a responsible way, but also ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more," said Obama. "I still want to get this done. It is the right thing to do for our families, our businesses and our entire economy.

[Snip]

Ordinarily, according to the Congressional Research Service, unemployed workers are entitled to 26 weeks of federal-state unemployment benefits. However, since 2008, both President George W. Bush and President Obama have at signed legislation extending the duration of unemployment insurance benefits. At one point, workers in some high unemployment states were eligible for up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. Currently, some workers are eligible for 73 weeks. The latest extension program ends next week, however, and without a new extension workers would be limited to only 26 week of unemployment payments.


(Excerpt)

Read more:
Obama's 'Fiscal Cliff' Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment Benefits Again | CNS News

 

[Flopper]

Obama's Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment Benefits​

By Terence P. Jeffrey
December 28, 2012



(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said on Friday evening that if he cannot make a bipartisan deal with congressional leaders before the Monday "fiscal cliff" deadline, he has asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring legislation up for a vote in the Senate that would extend the Bush tax rates for "middle class" Americans only and extend unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans whose government payments would otherwise expire.

[Snip]

"But let’s not miss this deadline," he said. "That is the bare minimum that we should be able to get done."

“For the past couple of months I’ve been working with leaders of both parties a balanced plan that would cut spending in a responsible way, but also ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more," said Obama. "I still want to get this done. It is the right thing to do for our families, our businesses and our entire economy.

[Snip]

Ordinarily, according to the Congressional Research Service, unemployed workers are entitled to 26 weeks of federal-state unemployment benefits. However, since 2008, both President George W. Bush and President Obama have at signed legislation extending the duration of unemployment insurance benefits. At one point, workers in some high unemployment states were eligible for up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. Currently, some workers are eligible for 73 weeks. The latest extension program ends next week, however, and without a new extension workers would be limited to only 26 week of unemployment payments.


(Excerpt)

Read more:
Obama's 'Fiscal Cliff' Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment Benefits Again | CNS News

If a deal can not be reached, he has asked for an up down vote on unemployment compensation, the payroll tax increase, and a tax increase on the wealthy. This is clearly designed to put republicans on the hot seat since these issues have strong support from the public.