White House Unveils Payroll Tax Cut Countdown Clock
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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney with payroll tax countdown clock. Charles Dharapak/AP Photo
In the latest effort to ramp up pressure on Congress to extend the payroll tax cut, the White House today unveiled a digital clock counting down to the year-end deadline.
The clock makes clear the president’s position on what will happen if the tax holiday is allowed to expire. The clock says, “If Congress doesn’t act, middle class taxes increase in,” followed by the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until the tax cut ends).
The clock was first shown in the White House briefing room just moments after President Obama made a public plea for lawmakers to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, saying failure to do so would cost middle-class families $1,000 next year and raise taxes on 160 million Americans.
“What this clock dramatizes is that there isn’t a lot of time and that Congress needs to act to do the right thing,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters. “We can’t afford to let that clock go to zero.”
The White House has not always been so fond of countdown clocks. Carney was not nearly as enthusiastic about the clocks during this summer’s debt ceiling debate that counted down to default.
“The issue we had with the debt ceiling countdown clock is that … it could have a negative impact in raising the specter, which we hoped would never be raised, of the United States defaulting on its obligations, which would have the impact, if it were to come to pass, of causing global economic chaos,” Carney said today.
“This is quite different. This is about whether or not 160 million Americans, working-class, middle-class Americans, are going to have their taxes go up on Jan. 1 because Congress refuses to act.”
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Where is the countdown clock to when oBama takes his 17 day vacation to “Asia”. That is his biggest priority right now…to get out of town. The countdown clock is just the latest flashy gimmick to mesmerize the gullible oBama supporters and distract them from his endless failures.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | December 5, 2011, 10:57 pm 10:57 pm
POSTED BY: MICHELLE SHU JAS | DECEMBER 5, 2011, 10:57 PM 10:57 PM
Seems to me the purpose of the clock is to do exactly what is said – to alert millions of Americans to the fact the Republicans are the ones about to raise their taxes and that they’re about to do it pretty darn soon unless they’re convinced to change their ways.
Posted by: Peter | December 5, 2011, 11:36 pm 11:36 pm
A shiny object! The base will love it.
Posted by: foggy | December 6, 2011, 12:10 am 12:10 am
A payroll tax cut at this point in time is dumb. We need to raise more money, not less. The extension of tax cuts for the wealthy which democrats also supported was also dumb. If they really want to get the country back on track, they’ll return the tax rate to Clinton’s level and they’ll stop all attempts to cut taxes.
Posted by: whatever | December 6, 2011, 5:19 am 5:19 am
The extension of tax cuts for the wealthy which democrats also supported was also dumb.
POSTED BY: WHATEVER | DECEMBER 6, 2011, 5:19 AM 5:19 AM
Actually, the Democrats didn’t really support the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy – it was predominantly the Republicans.
Congressional Democrats offered two attempts to extend the Bush-era rates for “middle income” families but restore the previous, higher rates for “high income” people. The first proposal had a cutoff at $250,000, while the second raised the dividing line to $1 million. Both proposals were able to pass in the House, but on December 4, 2010, both fell short in the Senate, getting only 53 votes and not the 60 needed for cloture.
Posted by: Jamie | December 6, 2011, 5:44 am 5:44 am
If they voted for it and took a pass on voting for it, they supported it. Democrats have embraced these policies just as much as republicans have at this point. I don’t approve of their attempts to curry favor with the wealthy minority while ignoring the needs of the majority. I’ll be going third party or write in.
Posted by: whatever | December 6, 2011, 6:23 am 6:23 am
Once again this is not a middle class tax cut. This is an effort to fundamentally change the funding of social security. The sacred cow of entitlement programs. Your
government retirement check that you have payed into, all your working life.
If they are allowed to change the funding, how long before they change more of the rules. This is the democratic party playing with that promised lock box fund. Funny how the democrats call underfunding the Social security fund a tax cut.
This is nothing more than pitting people against each other. So much for the great
u niter.
Posted by: deadwrestler | December 6, 2011, 12:29 pm 12:29 pm
POSTED BY: WHATEVER | DECEMBER 6, 2011, 6:23 AM 6:23 AM
I don’t think you understand. Democrats supported your issue in both the House and the Senate. In the House, they had the votes to defeat the Republicans. In the Senate they did not have the votes to defeat the Republicans. Bottom line, they voted FOR your issue, the Republicans voted against it.
Posted by: Jamie | December 6, 2011, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
Why does oBama and the DEMOCRATS want to destabilize Social Security more than they already have?
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | December 6, 2011, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm
If Congress had to pay the bill until they do the piss poor job they already do, I bet a “countdown” clock would never be in place. If I did my job the way they do my company would never get paid and I would be out of a job. Reboot the govt.
Posted by: Paula | December 7, 2011, 7:06 am 7:06 am