Senator Orrin Hatch nails it today when he discussed Obama’s ideas regarding budget negotiations:
“What [Obama] proposed this week was a classic bait and switch on the American people—a tax increase double the size of what he campaigned on, billions of dollars in new stimulus spending and an unlimited, unchecked authority to borrow from the Chinese,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in Saturday’s weekly GOP address.
“Maybe I missed it but I don’t recall him asking for any of that during the presidential campaign. These ideas are so radical that they have already been rejected on a bipartisan basis by Congress.”
Obama’s proposed deal includes: $1.6 trillion in tax hikes, $400 billion in spending cuts, and at least $50 billion in economic stimulus spending! (some estimates are more than $250 billion of stimulus
On the Republican side, they have sought additional and larger spending cuts that will also include entitlement reform as a baseline for considering increases to the tax margin.
So far the discussions are at a stalemate. This means Congress has 30 days to act before the tax tsunami comes.