Congress Passes Reviled $801 Billion Tax Cut Bill

Last night at midnight (the witching hour), Congress gave the OK to Obama's $801 billion GOP compromise, extending tax cuts to the wealthy for two years while offering workers a payroll tax cut of only one year. A last minute push by Democrats to eliminate a generous-to-the-rich estate tax provision was unsuccessful, and the bill passed healthily, with 277-148 votes in the House and 81-19 in the Senate.

The Dems who've been the most vocally disgusted about the bill, which they viewed as less of a compromise and more of a concession, voiced their concerns post facto. The New York Times:

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, accused Republicans of forcing Democrats “to pay a king’s ransom in order to help the middle class.”

Many of the Democratic opponents said the package would do too much for the wealthy, and warned that the payroll tax cut could undermine the stability of Social Security.

“It’s a huge giveaway to the super-rich in tough economic times,” said Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, who called the plan “craziness.”

Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, said, “This legislation creates too few jobs and too much debt.”

Yesterday, Matt Taibbi appeared on Uprising Radio and expressed his confusion and dismay about Obama's concession to the GOP. “Given the situation, I think there must have been some kind of support within the White House for doing this deal, because they just didn't put up any kind of fight at all,” he said. “It seems to me they used the Republican grandstanding as an excuse for caving in and giving away these tax breaks. It's an extraordinary deal, made more amazing that he's already making the promise that in 2012, he won't do this again. I just don't know how he has any credibility about this issue anymore.”

Meanwhile, Dems gave up on the omnibus bill, pushing major budget decisions into the next Congress. Good times.

Go here to listen to Uprising Radio, and here to read more about the bill's specifics.