United Liberty

Despite a new report claiming that the recession ended in June of last year, a new survey shows that 60% of economists support extending all of the tax cuts passed under the Bush Administration:

[A] majority of a panel of leading economists surveyed by CNNMoney.com said that the tax cuts should be renewed for everyone.

The first in a series of economic surveys revealed that extending the tax cuts for all taxpayers is the most important thing Congress can do to help the economy. Of the 31 economists surveyed, 18 chose that from a list of options now being debated on Capitol Hill.

“Extend tax cuts for all income levels and do nothing else,” said Sean Snaith, economics professor at the University of Central Florida. “More of the same piecemeal, patchwork policies put forth by this administration will undermine confidence and do little to change the path the economy is on.”

The concern is that these looming tax hikes will hurt job creation in what are still volatile, and all you need to do is look around to see that things are still tough. And as Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said yesterday, extending the cuts is about keeping the economy moving:

I know that many people, including the President, have argued that the tax cuts should not be continued for people making more than $200,000 a year, but to me these are the people we need to be using their income to spend and invest to spur growth and job creation.  The fact is that the top three percent of American income earners account for 25% of the consumption in our economy.  Remember consumer demand is still the major driver of economic growth in America.  I want the top income earners in our country to have the confidence and the money to spend and invest over the next year, rather than worrying about paying more in taxes to the federal government.

I think there is a path forward on extending the tax cuts that can also cut through the partisan gridlock and heated rhetoric that has been paralyzing Washington and keeping us from taking the actions that we need to get our country back on the right track.  I have had promising discussions over the past several days with colleagues from both sides of the aisle who see a bipartisan path forward on a permanent extension of the middle-class tax cuts and a temporary extension of the tax cuts for the highest income brackets to make sure that nobody’s taxes go up while the economy is still struggling to recover.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is seeking to put pressure on vulnerable Democrats back launching the “Democrat Tax Tracker” to find out where they stand on renewing the tax cuts.

With adjournment targeted for October 8th, the clock is ticking and taxpayers and job creators are wondering.