We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
The three Democratic Senators appointed by Harry Reid to sit on the “super committee” established under the debt deal voted for the President’s disastrous budget compromise in December of 2010 that extended the Bush tax cuts for another two years.
Sending these three in to negotiate with members who passed an anti-tax litmus test to get there is worrying.
How did the three perform on other tax votes? Senators John Kerry and Patti Murray have a record of voting against costly and regressive tax cuts, while Senator Max Baucus has a mixed record.
Baucus actually received a failing score on CTJ’s legislative report card during the Bush years because of his support for many regressive tax cuts. On the other hand, Senator Baucus led the charge in 2010 to end the Bush tax cuts for the rich.
All three of these Senators deserve credit for voting last year to extend the Bush tax cuts only for those earning below $250,000, which was, at least, better than the Republican proposal to extend the tax cuts entirely.
If these are the Senators charged with holding the line against no-revenue-no-way Republicans, then they’re going to need some reinforcements.