Well, that must have polled badly. The White House on Tuesday dropped its proposal to tax 529 education savings accounts, a week after President Obama floated the idea in the State of Union. This is a cut-their-losses move, but we wish the idea had rotted in the sun for a few more months. It would have been instructive to the same middle-class taxpayers Mr. Obama claims to serve. 
 
 Mr. Obama wanted to tax 529 plans to finance a more targeted college subsidy program that politicians could better control. The 529 plans put... 

 America 
 
 Obama Administration Won't Seek To End 529 College Tax Break 
 
 Reversing what had been an unpopular approach, the White House says it is dropping the idea of ending a tax break for 529 college savings plans. Critics had called the proposal a tax hike. All 50 states and the District of Columbia sponsor 529 plans. 
 
 Money in 529 accounts is meant to grow along with future college students, and then be distributed to pay for education expenses without being taxed. 
 
 As NPR's Tamara Keith reported this morning, "It's a pretty good deal, and one that's been around since 2001. But the White House says fewer than 3 percent of families use these accounts — and 70 percent of the money in them comes from families earning more than $200,000 a year." 
 
 Obama's plan had been to end the tax benefit for future contributions, replacing it with other education and tax proposals. But the idea drew bipartisan criticism, and the White House said today that it will now ask Congress to focus on "a larger package of education tax relief that has bipartisan support" — referring to proposals the president mentioned in his State of the Union speech. 
 
 NPR's Keith confirmed the reversal Tuesday. The New York Times reported the news today, saying that the president was "facing angry reprisals from parents and from lawmakers of both parties." 
 
 The move comes a day after Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., introduced a bill that would expand college savings plans instead of limiting them. 
 
 Today, Jenkins said her bill would "further promote college access and eliminate barriers for middle class families to save and plan ahead. It would also modernize the program by allowing students to purchase a computer using their 529 funds." 
 
 House Speaker John Boehner, who had urged Obama to keep the 529 plans intact, says he's glad the president "listened to the American people and withdrew his proposed tax hike on college savings." He added, "This tax would have hurt middle-class families already struggling to get ahead." 
 
 Aides familiar with the conversations tell NPR's Keith that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged preserving the 529 provisions today, as she traveled with the president on Air Force One from India to Saudi Arabia. 
 
 You can read about 529 plans at the SEC website, as well as at the IRS site.
– President Obama has backed away from a plan to end a tax break for "529" college saving plans after meeting a backlash from lawmakers from both parties. The White House, which had presented the plan as a way to end a tax break mainly enjoyed by the wealthy and replace it with a fairer—and much larger—tuition tax credit, now says the issue has become a "distraction" and it will focus on "education tax relief that has bipartisan support," reports the New York Times. House Speaker John Boehner had urged the president to drop what he called a tax hike, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was among the Democrats calling for Obama to reconsider the move. The 529 plan, which is sponsored by all 50 states, is "a pretty good deal, and one that's been around since 2001," says NPR's Tamara Keith. "But the White House says fewer than 3% of families use these accounts—and 70% of the money in them comes from families earning more than $200,000 a year." The Wall Street Journal, however, accuses Obama of trying to squeeze middle-class taxpayers, noting that as of last June, there were 11.8 million 529 accounts and the average balance was $20,671.