Republicans in the Senate defeated two bills on Saturday that would have extended tax cuts for the middle class. The first vote was to extend tax cuts for those earning up to $250,000, the second vote, which immediately followed would have extended the Bush tax cuts for incomes up to a million dollars a year.
The extension of the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires has been a sticking point for the GOP. Last week, Senator Mitch McConnell sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid that said the republicans would block all legislation until tax cuts for the rich was passed.
Although there is no evidence to support suggestions that trickle-down economics creates jobs, the republicans have been claiming that the tax cuts for the top 2% will help the economy.
Since the Regan Administration began lowering tax rates for the wealthy, the budget deficit has grown and the gap between the rich and poor has widened.
“We are now living in a period when more money is concentrated in the hands of a smaller group of people. For the first time since the beginning of the 19th century, the majority of America’s wealth is held by 1/100th of 1% (.01%) of the population,” according to reports.
A Pew Research Group survey in July 2010 said, 74% of Americans believe large banks and financial institutions have been helped more by the federal government’s economic policies. 57% said wealthy people benefited most. Only 27% said the middle class has been helped by US economic policy.
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