Obama and the Middle Class: So Far, So Good

In a previous post, we questioned whether Obama would really make good on his promise of a middle-class tax cut. After all, during his campaign, Bill Clinton had promised the same thing but quickly reneged once he took office.

A few days ago, Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first appointee for his new administration, stated that “at this juncture” the new administration planned “on giving 95 percent of working Americans a tax cut.” Emanuel went on to focus on middle-class woes:

Over the years, the middle class has been squeezed consistently by rising costs on education, health care and energy, as well as a diminishing income. You must have an economic program that focuses on them. … It was built on the fact that the middle had been hurt. And to have a strong recovery, and a sustained recovery over a period of time means that the middle class must the focus of the economic strategy.

To this, we can only say, amen! Let’s hope that the new administration indeed carries through with these plans.