Nearing the Fiscal Cliff End Game
Posted at 8 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2012
The Wall Street Journal reports that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has proposed a “Plan B” in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” that would allow tax rates to increase for those with incomes over $1 million and leave in place across-the-board spending cuts.
However, “GOP officials said his goal was to step up pressure on President Barack Obama to make further concessions in budget talks, and also to send a message to the GOP rank and file about how much more they could accomplish by securing a broader budget agreement that cuts spending as well as raises taxes.”
Ezra Klein is more pessimistic about the Speaker’s actions: “Republicans increasingly think the White House will concede more now, and that if they don’t concede more now they’ll definitely give Republicans a better deal if threatened with debt default. Whether or not that’s true, it pulls Republicans — and Boehner — to the right.”
