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YouTube video by Senator Jeff Merkley

Twelve years ago, the Wall St. Journal ran a story about the impact of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was a sweeping tax bill signed into law by President Obama which locked in the Bush tax cuts for lower & middle-class households while allowing them to expire on schedule for wealthier Americans: A compromise measure, the Act gives permanence to the lower rate of much of the Bush tax cuts, while retaining the higher tax rate at upper income levels that became effective on January 1 due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. It also establishes caps on tax deductions and credits for those at upper income levels. It does not tackle federal spending levels to a great extent, rather leaving that for further negotiations and legislation. The American Taxpayer Relief Act passed by a wide majority in the Senate, with both Democrats and Republicans supporting it, while most of the House Republicans opposed it. The WSJ story, titled "How Much Will Your Taxes Jump?," led to widespread derision at the time for wringing its hands over wealthy people having to go back to (gasp) paying a few percent more of their sky-high incomes in taxes.