Don’t compare me to the almighty, compare me to Mitt Romney

Just a quick note to keep in mind as the President makes the case for extending the Bush tax breaks for Americans earning under $250,000 a year. Mitt doesn’t just want to extend the Bush tax breaks for the rich, which gave millionaires on average $140,000 a year. He wants to give rich Americans more than two and half times what Bush did.

Michael Tomasky explains:

If you don’t credit Romney with extending the Bush cuts–that is, if you just assume they were going to be extended anyhow–then his plan cuts the tax bill for those making more than $1 million a year by $250,000. But if you credit President Romney with the extension of the Bush cuts, then Romney’s gift to uber-million households come to $390,000 a year.

The President’s refusal to sign an extension is a brave stand if you factor in that Wall Street is mewing about the so-called “fiscal cliff,” which is a fancy way to describe a situation when Republicans are forced to compromise. These TEMPORARY Bush tax breaks will expire at the end of the year. By extending these tax breaks he could have given the markets a measure of “certainty,” which would allegedly improve market conditions. However, the President has decided to make this election about the kind of tax breaks Mitt Romney would give Mitt Romneys. It’s one in a series of bold moves that includes same-sex marriage and stopping the deportation of DREAM-eligible youth.

Since this is a brave stand with risks, we should be clear. Mitt wouldn’t just extend the Bush tax breaks for the rich, he would explode them.

[CC photo credit: Sondra | Flickr]