Taxes

The "grand bargain" agreed to by the White House to preserve the Bush-era tax rates, extend unemployment insurance for another year and reduce the payroll tax for 2011 doesn't get to the heart of the country's main financial problem: overspending. The Irish were told this week they are going to have to bite the bullet and sharply reduce their expectations of what government can do for them,…

Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Thursday offered misleading, sloppy reporting on a congressional tax deal, bizarrely suggesting that the proposal "slashes" the estate tax. In a follow-up piece, news anchor Juju Chang asserted that many Democrats "are still opposed, especially to the estate tax cut." In reality, the so-called death tax is currently at zero. Under the deal, it will increase…

Shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday, Time's Michael Scherer laid out his reasons why he believed Democrats would eventually come around to President Obama's compromise with congressional Republicans on tax policy. In "Why Democrats Will Probably Swallow The Tax Cut Compromise," Scherer noted that, according to one economic analysis, the Obama-GOP compromise would result in both stronger economic…

 As MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe - formerly of  Newsweek - appeared as a guest on Wednesday’s Late Late Show on CBS, after Wolffe conveyed his left-leaning take on the deal to extend the Bush tax cuts, host Craig Ferguson asked, "You’re a Democrat, aren’t you?" as he stared at the MSNBC contributor for comedic effect, inspiring audience laughter. After Wolffe responded, "I am a journalist,"…

For the second night in a row, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell exposed a prominent liberal for being totally ignorant about the tax code. His victim on Wednesday's "The Last Word" was liberal media darling Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), and this time O'Donnell had some assistance from two very unlikely participants (video follows with partial transcript and commentary):

In the wake of November's election results there was much discussion in the press over whether or not the newly strengthened Republican Party would be willing to compromise with Democrats. However, since Monday's announcement of a deal on extending current tax rates, many in the media have been critical of President Obama for giving in to the GOP. Before the votes had even been cast in the…

Apparently unhappy at the idea of a compromise with Republicans over taxes, Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday attacked the deal from the left, wondering if the "White House [is] open to renegotiating" portions that have made liberals in Congress unhappy. Stephanopoulos, a former aide to Democrat Dick Gephardt, highlighted Nancy Pelosi's opposition to a high exemption…

NBC's Meredith Vieira, on Wednesday's Today show, hit David Axelrod repeatedly from the left as she lectured the White House senior adviser that the left is "furious" at Barack Obama for making a deal with the GOP on tax cuts as she pressed: "Why shouldn't Americans look at this as a disaster in the making?" During a segment headlined: "Tax Cut Compromise: Did President Go Too Far In…

Matching the distortion documented in a MRC study posted Tuesday, though under the Obama-congressional GOP compromise income tax rates will remain unchanged for all, fill-in CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor introduced a story by characterizing a “battle over tax cuts” and how at a White House news conference President Obama “said agreeing to cuts for high-income earners was the only way to get…

Lawrence O'Donnell on Tuesday surprisingly exposed how ignorant liberals are of the tax code. In a sometimes heated discussion with prominent progressives about President Obama's new compromise tax plan, "The Last Word" host aggressively challenged the knowledge of two of his guests (video follows with transcript and commentary):

On Tuesday's Newsroom, CNN tried to spin the proposed compromise between President Obama and congressional Republicans to keep the current tax rates as a "package that increases spending dramatically." Correspondents Jessica Yellin and Joe Johns forwarded the liberal talking point that the Republicans were breaking their campaign promise to reduce government spending with this proposal.…

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough slammed President Obama Tuesday for not standing up to Republicans but rather compromising over extending the Bush tax cuts. Scarborough called the tax cuts for millionaires "inefficient" and agreed with co-host Mika Brzezinski that the Republicans are "complete hypocrites" when it comes to dealing with the deficit. The deal includes an extension of the Bush tax…

On Tuesday's Andrea Mitchell Reports, Republican Senator Judd Gregg had to remind Andrea Mitchell that hardworking Americans' money belongs to them and not the government, after the NBC reporter pressed him to "justify" a "larger tax cut for those who really don't need it." On to discuss the tax cut deal in Congress, Gregg explained to Mitchell that the "problem we have as a government today…

At the top of Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith made liberal reaction to President Obama's Monday announcement of a tax deal with Republicans the central focus of coverage: "Let's make a deal. President Obama and Republican leaders agree to extend Bush-era tax cuts for everyone. What did the President get in return? And will it be enough to stop any challenge from angry Democrats…