Two-Year Extension for Bush Tax Cuts

The ball has been punted: White House and the GOP have agreed to a two-year temporary extension of all Bush tax cuts—which means they’ll be up for debate again in 2012, an election year. In exchange, the GOP is giving the White House an extension of unemployment benefits for at least a year, a payroll-tax cut, and a patch for the alternative-minimum tax. President Obama met with Democratic congressional leadership on Monday to discuss the deal and shore up liberal support for it in the House.