Goofy -- Even for the AP

This morning I read a "news report" from the AP that purported to analyze the reason why there is a fiscal cliff. According to the AP, here is the short answer: the reason why the middle class and the wealthy face the possibility of higher taxes is the fault of Republican policies. The AP is not talking about the current negotiations; no, the AP is blaming the Republican policy of fighting tax increases for the last decade. Think about that. It was Republicans who lowered taxes for all taxpayers twelve years ago. That tax cut supported the recovery of the economy after 9-11 and led to many years of unemployment below 5%. Democrats denounced the move as tax cuts for the rich even though more than 80% of the cuts went to those who everyone agrees is middle income. In the years since that cut, Republicans have steadfastly opposed raising taxes on anyone. If there is no agreement by the end of the year, we will go over the fiscal cliff. That means that the tax rates will go back to where they were prior to the Bush tax cuts that the Democrats have lambasted for over a decade. In other words, the middle class faces a destardly tax increase because the Republicans lowered the rates twelve years ago over the objections of the Democrats. Using the AP logic, it would have been better for us all to have paid the higher taxes all along. So the Democrats get what they have wanted for 12 years, the death of the Bush tax cuts, and according to the AP it is the result of Republican policies.

That's goofy, even for the AP.