时评： “削减工资税”提案，政客的圣诞节玩物

“削减工资税”提案，政客的圣诞节玩物

最近几周来，“削减工资税”（Payroll Tax Cut）提案，在“民、共”两党的政客手里揉去揉来，惨不忍睹。区区几十大洋（老百姓月收入的平均多得，$40），是否是有点小题大做？其实，焦点还是明年的大选，民主党要接力保位，而共和党奋力夺权。提案虽小，确很可能影响百姓的选举取向，难怪政客们都把它小心翼翼的捧在手里，生怕有个闪失，进而痛失良机。

简言之，民意、民意，还是民意！这也是老人家若干年前就给“国、共”两党政客们明示了的，“人民，只有人民，才是创造历史的动力。”

其实，“削减工资税”四年前由前总统小布什签署实施以来，除了工薪阶层多几个零花钱外，对整个国民经济的改善是微不足道的，这一点，是有目共睹。但对政客而言，谁都不敢这么说。在“民生”面前，小百姓关心油、盐、酱、醋、柴更胜于关心民主、政治，“民生”当然是会左右“民意”的。

为了争取“民意”，“民、共”两党的政客都在这“民生”提案上大做文章，你附加一条，我再附加一件，弄得原始的“民生”提案在“附加”之下，已是面目全非，从而要想在短时间内达到两党都能共识的“民生”提案，已经不可能了，这就产生了两周前在参议院通过的妥协方案，先延缓两个月，安抚“民心”，等权贵们酒醉饭饱、花天酒地之后，再回来继续战斗。殊不知，众议下院的政客们是否觉得有被上院忽略之感，周前就大胆的否决了上院已经通过的临时妥协提案。特别是两天前，众议下院的议长震震有词，要想让我为这临时妥协提案开绿灯，是绝对不可能的。可今天一早，在议长手里仅把玩了两天的玩物，就以圣诞的名义，通过了，确实是丢了共和党的面子，当然也就为民主党总统奥巴马的脸面加了点光。

毕竟，圣诞节之际扫大众之兴，肯定是得不偿失的。

道理很简单，共和党自己的战略家，Karl Rove，道破天机，如果共和党不让这临时提案通过，将会是共和党政治上的重大损失，直接影响到明年的总统大选。

政治、肮脏的政治，政客的玩物，愚民的工具。

House passes payroll tax cut for Obama's signature

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/house-passes-payroll-tax-cut-150713137.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress on Friday approved a two-month renewal ofpayroll tax cuts for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits formillions, handing President Barack Obama a convincing victory for his jobsagenda.

Back-to-back voice vote approvals of the measure by the Senate and Housecapped a retreat by House Republicans who had insisted that a full-year billwas the only way to prevent an immediate tax increase on Jan. 1.

The measure passed despite lingering grumbling from tea party Republicans.It buys time for negotiations early next year on how to finance a year-longextension of the 2 percentage point Social Security payroll tax cut.

It will keep in place a salary boost of about $20 a week for an averageworker making $50,000 a year and prevent almost 2 million unemployed peoplefrom losing jobless benefits averaging $300 a week.

Passage in the House — Friday's action on the measure took less than aminute — capped a swift retreat by House Republicans. Their move to force aholiday season confrontation with Obama and Senate Democrats had threatened tohit 160 million workers with a tax increase on Jan. 1. But it backfired badly.

Just 24 hours earlier, House leaders had insisted the only way to prevent thattax hike and a phase-out of jobless benefits for people out of work for morethan six months was to pass a full-year renewal.

Those goals had been embraced by virtually every lawmaker in the House andSenate but had been derailed in a quarrel over demands by House Republicans forimmediate negotiations on a long-term extension bill. Senate leaders of bothparties had tried to barter such an agreement among themselves a week ago butfailed, instead agreeing upon a 60-day measure to buy time for talks next year.

Thursday's decision by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to cave in to theSenate came after days of criticism from Obama and Democrats. But perhaps moretellingly, GOP stalwarts including strategist Karl Rove and the Wall StreetJournal editorial board warned that if the tax cuts were allowed to expire,Republicans would take a political beating that would harm efforts to unseatObama next year.

House GOP arguments about the legislative process and what the"uncertainty" of a two-month extension would mean for businesses wereunpersuasive, and Obama took the offensive.

Friday's House and Senate sessions were remarkable. Both chambers hadessentially recessed for the holidays but leaders in both parties orchestratedpassage of the short-term agreement under debate rules that would allow anyindividual member of Congress to derail the pact, at least for a time. Nonedid.

The developments were a clear win for Obama. The payroll tax cut was thecenterpiece of his three-month, campaign-style drive for jobs legislation thatseems to have contributed to an uptick in his poll numbers — and taken a tollon those of congressional Republicans.