Pelosi Wavers on Tax Cuts for Wealthy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains adamant that she will help engineer an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the middle class -- but this week she conceded that any final legislative package might also extend the tax cuts for wealthy Americans, according to a Politico report. Her new posture makes room for maintaining those cuts for people making more than $250,000.

“What I believe the American people deserve is a tax cut for the middle class,” Pelosi said. “And without getting into procedure and timing and process, what we’re going to do is to say at the end of the day the extension of the Obama middle-income tax cuts will take place, and that’s what I have to say on the subject.”

But the California Democrat still thinks the cuts for the wealthy is a bad idea: “The tax cuts at the high end have not produced any jobs; it only increased the deficit,” she said.

“We’re still paying the price that they have contributed to the deficit all along. I respect that they have a different view, many of these members are members who are budget hawks, so I think we’ll be able to find some common ground on the subject.”