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Vitter: ‘I Don’t Think We Have To Quote Unquote Pay For’ Tax Cuts For The Rich

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) postures as a deficit hawk, attacking efforts to inject recovery spending into the economy because he fears “borrowing another dime from China.” In reality, Vitter is really a deficit peacock who is currently fighting vigorously to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans, a $678 billion dollar give away and one of the largest structural causes of the deficit.

Explaining his support for tax cuts for the rich on Wednesday, Vitter told a crowd at the Crowley city Chamber of Commerce that “virtually everybody” in the audience would be characterized as wealthy. As TPM notes, although the top tax cut set to expire applies to people earning over $250,000 a year, “the average household income in Louisiana was $43,635 in 2008.”

Earlier this week, Vitter doubled down on his deficit hypocrisy and told WorldNetDaily radio that paying for the Bush tax cuts for the rich would be a “recipe for disaster.” He added, “I don’t think we have to quote unquote pay for” the tax cuts:

VITTER: We aren’t talking about any additional cuts, we’re talking about keeping the present tax cuts in place. If we have to pay for keeping the present tax cuts in place, every year, every other year, that’s a recipe for disaster. That’s a recipe for significant tax increases, so I don’t think we have to quote unquote pay for that because it’s about Americans keeping their own money and our simply keeping the present tax rates in place.

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Allowing the Bush tax cuts for the rich to expire would simply restore Clinton-era rates and help pay down the deficit — a move supported by even former Bush administration officials. For some reason, Vitter sees no problem borrowing more money from China to finance giveaways to the wealthy.