When Congress returns from August recess, high on their list of priorities will be figuring out what to do about the Bush tax cuts. They’re scheduled to expire at the end of the year and, if that happens, it will look and feel like an across the board tax increase — a scenario the GOP is happy to peddle to anxious voters. It’s shaping up to be another round in the perennial fight between Republicans and Democrats over the size of government and economic inequality. But it’ll also be a fight about debt. In the end, Congress will choose between a number of options, each of which will blow a big hole in the deficit. The question is how big will it be.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=121741