Bernie’s On Board: Sen. Sanders Stands With President Obama On Tax Cut Plan

Last updated on January 20th, 2015 at 01:17 pm

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Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that he is supporting the president’s plan to cut taxes for the middle class while closing loopholes that the wealthiest Americans use to avoid paying their fair share. Sanders said, “President Obama’s plan moves us in the right direction.”

In a statement Sen. Sanders said:

“At a time of obscene levels of income and wealth inequality, President Obama’s plan moves us in the right direction. I look forward to working with the administration to adopt a tax system that eliminates unfair tax loopholes that only benefit the wealthiest people and largest corporations and to increase the take-home pay of working Americans.”

The Obama plan to cut taxes for the middle class while raising capital gains taxes on wealthiest Americans should enjoy broad support within Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate. Obama’s proposal is the first shot in what could be a year-long battle over tax reform. Republicans thought they could get President Obama to agree to corporate tax reform, but they now know that the reforms they are seeking will come at a price.

Sen. Sanders (I-VT) will be using his power position as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee to push the president’s plan for tax cuts for those who have been harmed the most by the gap between the rich and the poor. Republicans who are opposing the president’s plan are arguing that the wealthiest among us should not have to pay their fair share in taxes. In November 2014, Bernie Sanders and other congressional liberals teamed up with President Obama to kill a plan to give $440 billion in tax cuts to corporations. Sen. Sanders blasted the corporate tax cut plan, “This tax cut agreement does exactly the wrong things. At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, it extends huge tax cuts to the rich and large corporations while threatening programs that help low-income children.”

The tax cut debate is a debate about values and priorities. Republicans are committed to building an oligarchy by redistributing resources to those who already have the most. Democrats and their allies firmly believe that the middle class must be rebuilt and that strong economies grow from the middle out instead of top down.

Members of the congressional Democratic caucuses are standing with President Obama on his tax plan, which means that the Republican plan to divide Obama and his allies just became a lot more difficult.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association