Reporter Strategizes With Jay Carney at White House Briefing

    At the White House briefing on Monday, an unidentified reporter (pictured on right) asked Jay Carney about the payroll tax holiday, now "back on the table," and how that might impact the White House's current My2K campaign to pressure Congress into passing President Obama's version of the Bush Tax Cuts extension.  Here is the transcript (the exchange begins on the video around 40:13):

Q    Okay.  Second of all, I saw that the Obama administration has put the payroll tax cut extension back on the table in its proposal.  I know that the White House is doing these “my2K” hashtag tweets to engage the public --
MR. CARNEY:  You say that like it’s just the kids.  (Laughter.)
Q    -- but to engage the public in getting involved in the middle-class tax cut.  So why wouldn’t you change it to “my3K” now that you’re putting the payroll tax cut back in it?
MR. CARNEY:  Well, that's a very good question.  And I appreciate the contribution to our communications thinking.  (Laughter.)  The fact of the matter is we have been very clear that we believe unemployment insurance has to be extended, and we believe that all of the provisions that are expiring at the end of the year need to be part of the conversation here and part of the discussion.  And we are interested in payroll tax cut being very much part of that discussion...
Q    What about the hashtag?
MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’ll bring that up in our next communications meeting.
Roger.

    The partial tongue-in-cheek nature of the exchange obscures the larger issue.  For weeks now, the Obama administration's narrative has been that if Congress would pass President Obama's tax cut extension, "it means that 98 percent of all Americans, and 97 percent of all small businesses won’t see their taxes go up a single dime." As a matter of fact, the White House has forcefully pushed the idea that the average family will save about $2,000 under the president's plan.  All the while, the expiration of the payroll tax holiday, which takes effect the same date (January 1st) as the Bush Tax Cuts expiration, has been largely ignored by the White House, along with its $1,000 tax increase on the same average Americans that the White House has targeted for its misleading My2K campaign.

    The reporter should have called out the White House and President Obama for the deception and suggested that the campaign should have more accurately been called "My1K".  Instead, she coyly suggested now that the White House is considering extending the payroll tax cut too, it should make sure to publicize that fact by switching from "My2K" to "My3K" and tout a $3,000 "savings" instead of $2,000.  The lack of interest in pointing out such a clear contradiction is astounding.  In this case, the "adversarial press" took a back seat to the "advisory press."  If the Republicans are going to hold the president accountable for this hypocrisy, they are on their own.

President Obama: Every [Other] Dollar is Important

    In view of the president's continued yet veiled intentions to allow the payroll tax holiday to expire at the end of 2012, the latest blog post at BarackObama.com is especially audacious.  The looming expiration of this same tax cut last year brought about the What $40 Means campaign from the White House, wringing stories of the destitution and desperation the loss of $40 per paycheck ($1,000/year for the average middle class taxpayer) would bring.  But this year, the Bush tax cuts have taken center stage, and the president appears ready to allow payroll taxes to increase back to the original level while the audience's attention is focused elsewhere.  Even so, it takes a special kind of nerve to frame the middle class tax issue as the president's team has here:

Middle class taxes: “Every dollar is important”Supporters across the country are joining President Obama in urging Congress to keep taxes low for middle-class families. Here's what $2,000 a year would mean to just a few of the folks who have shared their stories.

    Apparently "every dollar" doesn't include those extra payroll tax dollars that will hit every wage earner effective January 1st.  So, let's revise some of the examples the president has elicited from citizens so far at the White House website on what $2,000 means (revisions in italics):

Stephen, Florida - It could be the difference in sustaining our small family business from one month to the next.  Of course, with the payroll tax holiday expiring, that will make our survival that much more difficult.Sheri, Arizona - $2,000 is the January mortgage payment, February mortgage payment, March car payment.  But since my payroll taxes will be going up $1,000, I guess I'll be late on the February mortgage payment.  Hmmm... but what about the car payment...@swellgalmary on Twitter - #My2K goes to prescriptions, mortgage, and other necessities. It's not discretionary income for me. I need it to keep on keeping on.  But if the president thinks I can do without half of that $2,000, maybe I can just take my meds every other day.

    Although I am making light of the situation, for some of these people January's first paycheck is going to bring a nasty shock.

My2K Versus What $40 Means

    Last year, as the payroll tax holiday neared its expiration, the Obama White House invited the American people to let Congress know What $40 Means.  This year, both the president and the GOP Congress agree that the so-called Bush Tax Cuts should be extended for everyone earning $250,000/year or less, but the GOP believes the rates should be extended for all taxpayers.  So this year, the White House has put together a new campaign, My2K, and is urging Americans to "Tell us what $2,000 means to you and your family," to try to bully the Congress into going along with him plan by implying Congress wants to raise taxes on families by $2,000.

    What makes this so remarkable is that the payroll tax holiday is once again expiring, but this time, the Obama administration has no plans to extend it.  So while last year's What $40 Means campaign remains on the White House website even now, the Obama administration has launched a smokescreen My2K campaign to ostensibly protect taxpayers from a $2,000 increase that neither the Democrats or Republicans are planning.  President Obama himself today deceptively declared that with his plan, "That means 98% of Americans and 97% of small businesses wouldn't see their taxes go up by a single dime."  In reality, the passage of the president's plan (or the GOP's plan) would "save" average taxpayers $2,000 by preserving current rates while costing them $1,000 from the payroll tax holiday expiration.  The bottom line is $1,000 less net pay in 2013 for average taxpayers, who will soon discover What $40 Means.