How Special!

The haves and have mores get five more years of extra coddling that they really don't need and that will contribute nothing back to society. Way to go Congress!

GOP Reaches Deal on Tax Cuts: "Republican leaders hope to pass the agreement swiftly. House consideration is scheduled for tonight, with the Senate likely to send the measure to the White House for the president's signature by the end of the week. But the package remains controversial, with GOP leaders saying it is essential to sustain a strong economic recovery and Democrats and a few Republicans saying the cuts would mainly benefit the wealthy and add to the long-term deficit.

'Keeping taxes low helps Americans find and keep work, supports families and communities with good job bases, and makes America a great place to do business for companies both here at home and those overseas looking for a place to invest,' Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said in a statement.

But with the budget deficit still expected to epected to exceed $300 billion this year, despite a strong economy, opponents say the government cannot afford to add $70 billion more over the next five years.

"The point is the preponderance of these revenues will go to upper-income people, people who make a million dollars or more," Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said yesterday. "It's a question of priorities."

Republican leaders say the tax cuts, especially the investor breaks passed in 2003, are responsible for strong economic growth that has bolstered federal tax receipts over the past year and whittled down deficit forecasts by as much as $70 billion.

Even though the dividend and capital gains tax cuts are not set to expire until 2008, Republicans say extending them now through 2010 is vital to preserve economic stability and maintain a robust investment climate that has pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to near-record heights.

Critics maintain that those tax cuts have overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy, while budget cuts target programs for the poor to close a deficit created largely by tax cuts totaling nearly $2 trillion since Bush took office.

Middle-income households would receive an average tax cut of $20 from the agreement, according to the joint Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, while 0.02 percent of households with incomes over $1 million would receive average tax cuts of $42,000."

Remember to take the $20 and go to the movies, that's about all it's good for as long as it is the matinee.

Tags: tax cuts, congress, rich get richer