JOHN BOEHNER

Lame-duck Democrats enter tomorrow’s meeting of congressional leaders at the White House showing “no signs of relenting” on their plan to impose a job-killing tax hike on families and small businesses.  Even after Americans clearly rejected job-killing policies such as this one, Democrats reportedly continue to cling to these tax hikes at all costs, allowing the uncertainty gripping families and small businesses to continue.  One senior Senate Democratic aide went so far as to ask aloud: “How the hell should we know when we will figure this out?”  All this dithering and doubling-down only validates the American people’s repudiation of Washington and politicians who refuse to listen. 

Republicans made a pledge to America to cut spending and permanently stop all the tax hikes, and that’s exactly what we’re fighting for, and with good reason.  Small businesses are hesitant to make critical investment and hiring decisions on account of this Washington-induced uncertainty.  Cash-strapped states are “in budget limbo.”  Tax conditions are also hurting charitable giving this holiday season.  Economists – including architects of the ‘stimulus’ – agree with Republicans on the need to stop all the tax hikes:

• Allen Sinai – pictured here with Speaker Pelosi after a ‘stimulus’ meeting  – tells the Associated Press that raising taxes on small businesses “could reduce the flow of money into private equity firms, venture capital and other investments that ‘grease the wheels of entrepreneurship in the U.S. economy.”  According to Dr. Sinai’s estimates, stopping all the tax hikes “would provide the biggest boost to spending and growth.  People and businesses would know they could count on the money in the future.”
  
  
• Mark Zandi – who’s also worked with House Democrats – says the president’s plan to raise taxes “will have an impact on small businesses…”  He continues, “why take a chance when the recovery is so fragile?  I think small businesses are very important to the job machine.  Without them, the job machine can function, but it can’t function well.”
  
  
• USA TODAY delves into the “heightened uncertainty” over whether Congress will stop the tax hikes.  One analyst notes, “Unless Congress acts, workers across the income spectrum could see sharp reductions in take-home pay in January.”  The same analyst says, “It is still a wild card.”  In their head-long rush to build a culture of dependency, Democrats have made Washington just plain undependable.

Now, here’s why lame-duck Washington Democrats are reportedly set to for this job-killing tax hike:

• As today’s Wall Street Journal notes, “when Mr. Obama and his top advisers signaled willingness to give ground after the election, they were slammed by liberals who viewed it as a capitulation.”  The ‘capitulation’ charge was led by union bosses.  Typical, but unfortunate: taking cues from liberal special interests instead of listening to the American people is a major reason why Democrats find themselves in their current predicament.
  
  
• House Democrats retained Speaker Pelosi as Democratic Leader in part because they want her to serve as a “counterweight” should President Obama express willingness to work with Republicans on the people’s priorities.  Her stance on raising taxes, according to the AP, is a “recent example” of this retrenchment.  This job-killing tax hike shouldn’t be used as a test case for Democrats’ ability to obstruct critical progress on creating jobs and cutting spending. 
  
  
• Some Democrats are floating a compromise that calls for raising taxes on families and small businesses starting at a higher income level, $1 million.   To his credit, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) conceded this “dividing line” is more about making it easier to explain raising taxes to folks: at that point, he says, “it becomes a very simple argument.”  In the most recent issue of National Journal, we learned that Sen. Schumer actually ran the $1 million figure through “focus-group and polling data” before the election.  This is just another way of Democrats saying that they have a communications problem, not a policy problem.  Of course, the most consequential focus group of all – the electorate – had its say earlier this month. 

Republicans heard the voters loud and clear: end the uncertainty Washington, help small businesses and get our economy back to creating jobs.  Democrats and Republicans don't have to wait until January to stop all the tax hikes and start cutting spending.  We can – and should – get started right now.  The clock may be winding down on Democrats’ hold on power in both houses of Congress, but there’s still time to do the right thing.