Obama and the Democrats' utter capitulation on the Bush tax cuts is too Horrifying to analyze, but check this out:
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/12/07/comparing-priorities/
...[I]n order to get desperately needed help for the long-term unemployed and to provide the middle-class with tax relief in a weak economy, Obama agreed to tax cuts for a small, wealthy portion of the population that the Republicans were willing to go to the mat for, even if it meant that everyone’s taxes went up if the Bush tax cuts expired.
For comparison’s sake, here is a chart detailing both the number of people (in millions) who benefit from each side’s priorities, as well as the total cost (in billions). Obama’s components of the tax deal (extended unemployment benefits, the payroll tax cut, and the extended credits) will cost $214 billion to aid 156 million people. The Republicans priorities (extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich and cutting the estate tax), meanwhile, will cost $133 billion, but only benefit roughly 4.8 million people.
Excluded from this analysis is extension of the broad-based Bush tax cuts, on which everyone agreed. The total package will cost about $900 billion over the next two years, entirely financed through deficit spending.
How politicians keep getting elected pulling crap like this in a society where Votes are counted on a Numerical Basis is one for the ages. Even with an extra $133 billion dollars, how do 4.8 million people buy off 156 million?
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