According to a story this morning on Reuters, Speaker of the House John Boehner is saying all the right things in opposing tax hikes on the wealthy and on small businesses.
The top Republican in Congress blasted a proposal from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to raise taxes only on those earning more than $1 million, saying it would hurt too many small business owners, who hire the most U.S. workers.
"I believe that raising taxes at this point in our recovery is a big mistake," Boehner told reporters. "At a time when we're trying to help small businesses create jobs, this proposal would kill jobs."
Boehner's comments came after some Senate Republicans recently indicated they might be willing to change some key parts of U.S. tax law to eliminate some exemptions, credits and deductions as a part of broad tax reforms that would allow income tax rates to be lowered while shrinking federal deficits.
The "Grand Bargain" pressure is going to ratchet up enormously over the next several months, and conservatives are just itching to hammer any Republican who even suggests raising taxes as part of a deal. But if we're going to criticize when Republicans seem to be dallying with tax increases, we should just as quickly praise them when they push back.
So good job, Mr. Speaker.