Going into today’s leadership meeting with President Obama at the White House, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) drew the battle lines against Democrats in a floor speech this morning, attacking Dem proposals to have the Bush tax cuts expire on incomes of over $1 million.
As The Hill reports, McConnell slammed a proposal from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), though he did not directly name Schumer according to the prepared remarks. McConnell fired back, saying that this was a purely political move to raise taxes on businesses.
“Some Democrats now say they only want to raise taxes on businesses that make more than $1 million a year,” said McConnell. “Where did that number come from? Well, it turns out this figure has no economic justification whatsoever. Nowhere will you find a study or survey which indicates that raising taxes on small businesses with over $1 million in income will create jobs or help spur the economy.”
Key quote from McConnell’s prepared remarks:
“But our Democrat friends are apparently still reluctant to draw any clear lessons from the election. With millions of American households staring at the imminent prospect of smaller paychecks in just a few short weeks unless Congress does something, Democrats are still searching for a solution that enables them to benefit politically — regardless of what it does to the economy or to families.
“Just take the latest proposal.
“Some Democrats now say they only want to raise taxes on businesses that make more than $1 million a year. Where did that number come from? Well, it turns out this figure has no economic justification whatsoever. Nowhere will you find a study or survey which indicates that raising taxes on small businesses with over $1 million in income will create jobs or help spur the economy.
“In fact, the author of this proposal freely admits it isn’t an economic policy proposal at all, but rather one that was designed to provide better political messaging — an astonishing admission.
“Let’s get something straight. Millions of out-of-work Americans don’t want a message. They want a job. Millions of struggling families trying to make ends meet don’t need the Democrat messaging to improve; they need the economy to improve.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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