This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Single-minded seekers of re-election

Can Congress Ever Restore Payroll Taxes to Their Usual Levels?

The fight to extend the payroll tax cuts has put some congressional Republicans in a tough spot. Republican's usually favor tax cuts, but many have expressed concern that extending the payroll tax cuts will only add to the federal deficit. However a vote against extending the payroll tax cut, which puts money back in the pockets of workers would be politically unwise. This is an example of representatives as single-minded seekers of re-election, here the congressional Democrats benefit.

2 comments:

Jacob Goehl said...

Agreed. This is probably going to continue to be a "break" in the long run due to the fact that the benefits of keeping it around far outweigh the negatives of getting rid of the payroll tax break in order to help create a more balanced budget.

milmayes said...

I see this lasting maybe 2 more election cycles. At some point it will either be declared the new standard, or the government will be in such straights they will absolutely need the income at the federal level that they will be forced in to raising taxes or making serious cuts to programs.

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