"Hours after President Bush today explicitly said he would not repeal the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tax cuts for the wealthy that are slated to come in the next few years, the Associated Press reported that two Michigan Republican Congressman are raising the possibility that they will break ranks with the White House and support repealing the Bush tax cuts in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI) said, "We have to look at the wherewithal to get the job done, and you can't do it with smoke and mirrors. It may require some adjustment of the tax structure -- that's just being honest, and if that means suspending or rescinding some of the tax cuts that have already been made, so be it.
Similarly, Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) "suggested some Americans might be willing to make sacrifices." He said, "Tax increases are a dirty word, but the question is if the public would be willing to accept a small surcharge on their taxes to cover the cost of Katrina. The public might well respond to something that would ensure that we pay for it in our generation and don't just pass it on to our kids and grandkids."
These Republicans should be applauded for their candor, and, as I have written, Democrats should press this issue hard. It is simply irresponsible for America to give away $336 billion in new tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of the country in the next five years. Advocating for the repeal of those tax cuts is not only the responsible thing for Democrats to do, but as the AP article shows, it has the potential to split the GOP apart. Furthermore, it is a way for the party to seriously differentiate itself from Republicans and show it is willing to stand up on a controversial - and critically important - issue."-from Sirotablog.
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