Democrats are a notoriously fractious bunch. Everyone has her own priorities, his own top issue that's more important than everyone else's top issue. That's understandable, because there's so much screwed up crap to fix.
But there are a couple of basic governing strategies on which just about all Democrats can agree: 1. We want a sustainable government, which implies, among other things, one that is fiscally responsible. 2. Our government should help the people that need help. Most Republicans vehemently disagree with both of these goals, especially when there is a Democrat in the oval office. So how do those goals translate to policy? 1. Tax. 2. Spend.
"Tax 'n spend liberal" has been successfully turned into an insult by Republicans, even thought it's the basis for a civilized society. That's what governments do. They raise taxes, which they spend for the common good in ways that are impractical to expect people to do on their own.
Taxes are at 15% GDP, which is well under the 19% level that had been the norm since WWII. Taxes should be going up, not down.
Spending has been drastically cut, especially at the state and local levels. Teachers are getting laid off, libraries are reducing their hours. Given the market failures that have caused private spending to drop, leading to our current recession, our government spending should be going up to tow our economy out of the ditch. Labor is plentiful and inexpensive, interest rates are at historic lows, and we have decades of deferred infrastructure maintenance and clean energy development waiting to be done. Government spending should be going up, not down.
Policies which enable a sustainable government that helps the people who need it are Democratic policies. Policies which give more money to the wealthy, throw the needy into the cold, and starve the government of the revenue it needs in order to fulfill its mission, are Republican policies.
Democratic policy choices are simple, rational policy decisions that every Democrat should be advocating at every opportunity. So in this light, let's look at the "compromise" being advocated by President Obama:
- Freeze government worker salaries. Republican.
- Extension of Bush tax cuts on the wealthy: Very Republican
- Extension of Bush middle-class tax cuts: Republican, though you'd never know it in today's environment.
- Cut estate tax rate to 35%: Very Republican.
- Extension of unemployment insurance: Democratic.
- Payroll tax holiday: Very, very, Republican. This is the beginning of the end of Social Security. SS cuts and privitization haven't taken hold only because there are just enough people who realize that the "crisis" is total hogwash. This compromise makes the crisis real. SS cuts will be inevitable.
- Extension of refundable tax credits: Republican
- Capital investment writeoffs: Republican
ATM indexing ? WTF is ATM indexing?
- Increasing estate exemption to $5M: Very, very Republican.
A true compromise would have some combination of tax increases, spending increases, spending cuts, and tax deductions. Instead, we got a very small spending increase for unemployment insurance extensions, which have historically been supported equally by both parties, and every other provision is a Republican policy that gives them the deficit crisis stick that the need to further slash spending.
Taxes are so hard to raise, that we should not give the first thought to reducing them now. We need to stimulate the economy, but we need to do it with spending increases which are, simultaneously, more efficient at stimulating the economy, and don't cripple our ability to advance progressive priorities in the future. Repeat after me: All tax cuts are Republican policies. Always. This "compromise" is an even bigger abandonment of Democratic principles than even most people on this site give it credit for.