September 8, 2010

Mixing Economics With Politics

Introduction

Barack Obama on Bush-era tax cutsStephen Crowley/The New York Times
President Obama spoke about the economy during a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday.

In unveiling his economic agenda on Wednesday, President Obama called for an end to the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy and proposed extending tax cuts for the middle and working class.

He said the country cannot afford the $700 billion price tag for tax breaks that would benefit “millionaires and billionaires.” Instead, he laid out a proposal for $180 billion in expanded business tax cuts and infrastructure spending. The two major pieces of the package — expanding and making permanent a tax credit for research expenses, and allowing businesses to write off the full value of new equipment purchases immediately through 2011 — are clearly aimed at garnering business support, which could put pressure on Republicans to back the measures.

While President Obama's speech was meant to set the political tone for the next few months leading up to the mid-term election and to give support for Democrats in difficult races, is this a good economic strategy or a bad one?

Read the Discussion »

Debaters