Washington, D.C. – With the unemployment rate at a staggering 9.8 percent, millions of jobless Americans breathed a sigh of relief last night when the House passed President Obama’s tax deal. Unfortunately, the deal comes at a steep price for working families and the deficit: the extension of Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

And far-right lawmakers are just getting started. In the coming months, workers will only see more attacks on the middle class from their newly-elected officials. When that time comes, we’d all do well to remember the blatant hypocrisy of these so-called deficit hawks when asked to choose between deficit reduction and an added perk for their friends on Wall Street.