Why are Republicans against extending the payroll tax cut?

Part of President Obama’s economic plan is to extend the payroll tax cut, passed last year as part of a compromise package, into next year. It’s a small tax cut and doesn’t really affect the real deficit, because they’re on payroll taxes, as opposed to income taxes—yeah, it’s not obvious—it’s the part of taxes that go to Social Security and Medicare.

You’d think that Republicans would be all over this shit. They love tax cuts, and hate raising them. That’s what the whole last six months have been all about. But, no, they oppose extending the cuts because, as “Serious Guy” Paul Ryan said last week on Fox News, “it would simply exacerbate our debt problems.”

Yeah, this is the same guy who doesn’t want to add any revenues to help solve the debt problem saying that he wants to add some revenue to help solve the debt problem. He’s not the only one. Rep. Camp, of the Ways and Means Committee also scoffed: “I’m not in favor of that. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

What’s the problem? If you take at face value the Republican opinion that tax cuts are good for the economy, then you’d have to think they’d be on board with that idea. It’s tax cuts! Tax cuts are good!

Unless the aim of the Republican party is to stimulate the economy when they’re in office, and do everything they can to stagnate the economy when they’re not. Which is exactly what it looks like, and, if the so-called debt “crisis” is any clue, it is exactly their aim. They know full well that the next election will turn on the economy, and if it’s slow, they have a much better chance of winning. Then, they can insist on the massive cuts to the federal government, scrapping protections from people from the growing power of their corporate backers, all the while explaining it away with empty phrases like “small government” and “liberty.”

Of course, if this isn’t their plan, then they’re just plain dumb. Or Hanlon’s razor is in full effect: Never attribute to malice what can be satisfactorily explained away by incompetence.

Related posts:

1. The payroll tax cut extension: Where are we?
2. Why is the estate tax cut popular?
3. Surprise: Republicans and Democrats working out a compromise on tax cuts