The extension of the Bush tax cuts is not a tax cut in itself, and yesterday Rep. Paul Ryan articulated that point perfectly.
WALLACE: Well, I don’t understand. Why — I mean, I understand that stimulus has become a politically loaded word, but why isn’t it a stimulus? Tax cuts are a stimulus. You guys think that they’re the best kind of stimulus.
RYAN: Look, only in Washington is not raising taxes considered a tax cut. Nobody’s getting a tax cut here. We’re not cutting taxes. We’re preventing tax increases from occurring.
If we were actually cutting tax rates, then we might have a stimulus. We’re not actually cutting tax rates here. We’re simply preventing them from being increased. That is why we do not see this as particularly stimulative. It just prevents bad policies going forward.
Nailed it.
Many are pushing the meme that extending the tax rates will be some type of stimulus that will jumpstart the economy.
Listen to Paul Ryan. We’re just fighting over whether there should be a tax hike or not.
