When the Hell are you going to learn?So now, the deal that wasn’t too good anyway turns out maybe not to be a deal after all. Big surprise! The Congressional leftists want their say, and what they are saying is that this is no deal without giving up tax cuts for the rich. But the rich are not getting a tax cut. They, along with everyone else, will be getting a tax increase if this deal doesn’t go through.
Lies, lies, lies. Semantics, semantics, semantics. And since the mass media remains foursquare behind the Democrats, they can spin it however they want, because the Republicans are still either unwilling or incapable of articulating the facts.
Here’s another bit of fraudulent spin. How many Democrats have you heard bemoaning the $700 billion in tax cuts that will go to millionaires and billionaires? Remember, they aren’t getting a tax cut. They will only be avoiding a tax increase. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the tax increase resulting from expiring Bush-era tax law would add about $400 billion in revenues to the federal treasury over five years, a paltry $80 billion per year, and most of that burden will fall on the middle class.
There are two provisions that actually add to the deficit, both were proposed by Obama:
• Extending unemployment benefits by 13 months; $56 billion;
• Temporary payroll tax cuts of 2 percent; $112 billion over two years. This will save the average family about $20 per week. Oooh, can’t wait.
While most Bush-era tax cuts remain in place, the death tax will come back at a punishing 35 percent rate for estates over $5 million. That is better than if cuts expire altogether, (55 percent for estates over $1 million), but why do we even have a death tax at all? It raises little revenue and is one of the most grossly unfair examples of double taxation on the books.
There is another problem with Obama’s discussion on “tax cuts.” His rationale was that “tax cuts” will stimulate the economy and help ward off recession in 2011. Some witless pundits are saying that Obama is finally doing a Bill Clinton and moving to the center. Hey, maybe that’s why he decided to let Clinton take over for a while. Of course to the extent he even moved to the center, Clinton was forcefully shoved there by Congressional Republicans.
Obama actually admits that tax cuts will help the middle class. And he’d be right, if he were talking about significant cuts. But his $20 per week temporary payroll cut is just not going to do it, sorry. Instead, it is a deliberately false argument that sets us up for nationwide disappointment when neither tax cuts nor economic recovery appear.
Remember, extending the current tax structure is not a tax cut. Allowing the Bush cuts to expire would be a tax increase and would make much things worse, but they are bad enough already.
So in 2011, when Obama’s lousy economic policies continue to wreak havoc on the economy, he will then be able to blame the “Republican tax cuts for the rich” that he supported because America was being “held hostage” on unemployment benefits. It is merely a new twist on the same old tired Democrat class warfare rhetoric. Nothing changes so much as it stays the same. That is true for Republicans too, who apparently still don’t get it!
The latest news suggests that Democrats will support this deal, now that a few sweeteners have been added. I will not hold my breath. House Democrats voiced their displeasure on Thursday, and while it was a non-binding vote, there were mumblings of a counter-proposal, no doubt restoring the death tax and higher taxes on higher income people.
So who really knows what will happen? But what bugs me the most is simply the negotiating incompetence of Congressional Republicans. The American people have been speaking loud and clear for the past two years, and put words into action this past November 2nd. We don’t have to compromise with this corrupt, dishonest, self-serving swill. Note to Republicans: We won! Get used to it! And start earning the victory we gave you! Don’t let them get away with this crap.
(from
emergingcorruption.com)
Sen. Bernie Sanders puts a face on galloping U.S. Marxism
When the Hell are you going to learn?
Welcome to the New Progressive Era
On this day: December 12
