Seems to me if George W. Bush could not find a way to make his tax cuts permanent, we cannot blame the present administration or Congress for not finding a way to extend these cuts during a recession. Should any increase now be called the Bush tax increase? Or perhaps the George W. Bush delayed tax increases.

It also bothers me that the Republican minority is holding up extending these tax cuts for the vast majority of citizens. If the majority in Congress cannot find a reasonable compromise with this very stubborn minority, I would have no problem with letting the entire tax cut expire on schedule. I think that would be bad for the economy and bad for the American people but preferable to allowing a minority to dictate policy and increasing the deficit to give a larger tax break to the richest Americans.

As I understand it if the tax break is limited to the first $250,000 of income, everyone still gets a tax break. It is just that the person who makes a million a year gets the same tax break as someone making a quarter of that.

Can’t Congress reach a reasonable compromise? – higher income cut-off, estate exemptions, temporary extensions, etc. I think the uncertainties about future income and estate taxes are more causing problems than any compromise I can imagine.