If a compromise by definition is a deal that pleases no one, then the tax deal that cleared Congress Thursday was a rousing success: Conservatives and liberals both dislike it, but those who voted for it agreed that the alternative -- letting taxes rise for everyone -- would have been worse.
The $858 billion compromise tax bill passed the House Thursday at midnight, and is on its way to President Obama's desk. With its passage, and the GDP growth it will propel, his reelection is more in the bag than ever. What effect it will have on jobs for the rest of America, though, is far less clear.
With a tax bill tilted to benefit the wealthiest Americans poised to pass Congress this week, U.S. income inequality is poised to set new records. One key to that shift -- a change in the tax rules that lets the rich pass their wealth on to their heirs at the lowest tax rates in decades.
The biggest question many investors have about President Obama's compromise tax cut deal is how it will benefit the economy. But so far, there is little agreement on Wall Street about what the stimulative effects of the deal will be.
If the agreement between congressional Republicans and President Obama is ratified, Pimco, which manages the world's largest bond fund, says the stimulative measure will contribute much to economic growth -- and to the deficit.
DailyFinance writer Jonathan Berr sees much to like in the compromise President Obama reached with congressional Republicans on taxes and unemployment compensation. And while he'd never call it perfect, as he notes, the American voters elect politicians to get stuff done, which this plan does.
President Obama insists that his agreement with Republicans will help working people avoid a pay cut. But as tax experts look at the full package more closely, it has become clear that low-end wage earners will indeed take a painful hit.
The tax cut compromise between Obama and the GOP is now being touted as a back-door stimulus plan, one that some economists predict will create or save 3.1 million jobs. Unfortunately, the model on which those forecasts are based makes some flawed assumptions.