Obama to Disperse $300 Billion in Tax Cuts

Peter baker and Carl Hulse report in the New York Times that: "President-elect Barack Obama plans to include about $300 billion in tax cuts for workers and businesses in his economic recovery program, advisers said Sunday, as his team seeks to win over Congressional skeptics worried that he was too focused on government spending. The legislation Mr. Obama is developing with Congressional Democrats will devote about 40 percent of the cost to tax cuts, including his centerpiece campaign promise to provide credits up to $500 for most workers, costing roughly $150 billion. The package will also include more than $100 billion in tax incentives for businesses to create jobs and invest in equipment or factories." It has been estimated that: "The overall economic package, of $675 billion to $775 billion." Democrats believe "that the economic package would not be ready for Mr. Obama’s signature immediately after his inauguration on Jan. 20, as they once hoped." Republicans are anxious to slow down the legislative process with intense scrutiny of the plan and will also make efforts to include their own ideas in the legislative package. "The economic package under consideration by the president-elect and his Congressional allies would commit $675 billion to $775 billion over two years. If the tax cuts represent 40 percent of that, as Mr. Obama’s advisers said Sunday, that would mean about $270 billion to $310 billion. About half of that would go to workers under what Mr. Obama during his campaign called the Making Work Pay credit, worth up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. The Obama campaign estimated that about 150 million Americans making less than $200,000 would qualify, including those who make too little to pay federal income taxes but would receive a check that would offset Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes." The next several weeks will witness a flurry of activity in both the Congress and the White House with numerous possible pitfalls looming that could delay and change the Obama plan before it becomes law. The future of the Obama Presidency and of the Congressional Democrats hinges on their being successful in delivering on their campaign promises made to the American people.