In yet another sign that campaign rhetorc will turn out to be far different from governing reality, Barack Obama’s advisors are making clear that any tax increases for “wealthy” Americans will be delayed for at least two years:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama may consider delaying a campaign promise – to roll back tax cuts on high-income Americans – as part of his economic recovery strategy, two aides said on Sunday.
David Axelrod, the Obama campaign strategist who was chosen to be a senior White House adviser, was asked if the tax cuts could be allowed to expire on schedule after tax year 2010 rather than being rolled back by legislation earlier. “Those considerations will be made,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Bill Daley, an adviser to Obama and commerce secretary under former President Bill Clinton, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the 2010 scenario “looks more likely than not.”
President George W. Bush’s tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2010. After that they would revert to 2001 levels, when the top individual tax rate was 39.6 percent.
Obama has called for reducing taxes for the middle class, but requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay more than the current top rate of 35 percent.
His aides’ comments suggest Obama may be wary of imposing any additional tax burden at a time of deep crisis, despite the outlook for record budget deficits and mounting national debt. He may also be seeking to bolster Republican support for his recovery measure
It’s good to know that someone sat Obama down and taught him the fundamental fact that you don’t raise taxes during an economic downturn.
Another sign, I think, that Obama will be far more of a centrist than some might have anticipated.
