What's your reaction to the president's plan to reduce the deficit?
Posted at 5:00 AM on September 20, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(83 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Politics/Government
President Obama's deficit reduction plan envisions a combination of tax increases, changes to entitlement programs and reductions in military spending. Today's Question: What's your reaction to the president's plan to reduce the deficit?
Comments (83)
It's funny how naysayers of tax increases are claiming class warfare on wealthy individuals when this story on increasing poverty is on the front webpage for MPR.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/22/brooklyn-park-census/
True lack of compassion.
Flattery will get you nowhere, Bolivia. ;-)
"If you think selling dope benefits people, what does that say about you? ;-)"
We expect that kind of arrogant and smug retort from you.
I was joking, but yah, marijuana when consumed responsibly provides mental and physical-medicinal benefits.
If you think selling dope benefits people, what does that say about you? ;-)
"Oh, and in answer to your final question, Bolivia, suffice it to say I earn an adequate living doing honest work that others actually benefit from"
Sell dope?
Oh, and in answer to your final question, Bolivia, suffice it to say I earn an adequate living doing honest work that others actually benefit from (in contrast to, say, overpaid CEOs and Wall Street money-shufflers).
No, Bolivia, I never thought Roul and Lucy were the same; that was someone else's guess. It was obvious to me that their opinions were vastly different. I did speculate that posts under a couple of other names were so similar to Roul's, and made the same factual mistakes (such as referring to the national Democratic Party as the DFL), that they could be the same person. And the variant spellings-- Raul and Raoul-- suggested that the author was using a variety of names. As for my supposition that Roul was really a liberal posiing as a wacko conservative to discredit conservatives, it appears you failed to notice my tongue in my cheek. :-)
Now, regarding the accusation that I'm being paid to do this, the fact that someone might suspect it suggests to me that that sort of thing is in fact happening. People tend to suspect others of the sorts of shenanigans they themselves have been involved in.
Tax the rich and Legalize Hemp/Cannabis for goodness sake!
///Bolivia: No one pays me to do this. Aside from that, the question of who pays me for what is none of your damn business.
just curious. Afterall, it appears to be you who is the one who is claiming that this responder is posing as a republican but really a dem or vice versa, and wasn't it you who was saying that Roul was Lucy was so and so? The reason we ask this questin is because you appear to be doing the very acts you accuse others to be doing.
That's all. So, wht employer allows you to sit on MPR blog all day long?
In viewing the 73 posts- ....
DID we elect a King???
Our form of government by proxy is in place- and the PEOPLE need to bear that in mind. HM...
Don't the People know what we have in elected officials is what we voted for?? HMMMM...
Is there any point to discussing the PEOPLES wishes at this time??? HMMM...
These elected officials were put in place by the voting public- like it or not.
Deal with it!!
Glenn
congress will never pass that, cause most of em are Millionaires. Make it simple; pass a Walmart tax; everybody goes there at least once a week and drops $100 or 200 anyway, what would an extra $5.00 diverted from Chinese pockets hurt? I t would make walmart look good too, and would purify their evil soul! Get creative, Obama.! Give employers a Tax Holiday(year ) for new hires! Send them a $500. Check for every new hire.!!. I can't think of any Republicans that actually have a plan, you gotta tax people painlessly, but SOMEBODY has to pay for the STUFF that government does for us, but not our grandkids. Beer and liquor tax is good idea too, then everybody, almost, pays too. But the liquor lobby is strong. TAKE EM ON OBAMA! P.S. I am proud of Obama getting Osama! Especially proud of those Seals!
I would support the president's proposal over the Republican proposals which have proven ineffective under George Bush. While it might not be a perfect scenario, we are in a situation where we need to make some sacrifices to get our country moving in a positive direction.
Bolivia: No one pays me to do this. Aside from that, the question of who pays me for what is none of your damn business. Though I must say I'm flattered you think what I write here might be worth paying for. I must be doing something effective, if hot-headed zealots think they need to attack me like that.
FH: By what definition of "government control" has the pendulum swung too far in that direction? In the late 70s I would have agreed with you. Back then, I proudly called myself a conservative and was solidly right of center. I rejoiced greatly when Reagan was elected. My opinions haven't changed that much, but now I find myself being called a "liberal extremist." You are quite wrong. The pendulum has been swinging to the right for over three decades. The fact that Michele Bachmann could assert with a straight face that "Obamacare" is socialized medicine and not be laughed off the stage is evidence enough of how far right American politics has moved.
Kim: You are correct that Marxism doesn't work. Fortunately, no one is seriously advocating Marxism. And if you think Obama is a Marxist, I have to wonder if you have any idea what Marxism really is. Have you ever actually read anything by Karl Marx? If you're saying Obama is has a Marxist agenda, you're either lying, or gullibly repeating other people's lies.
THIS CLIP SHOULD HELP EXPLAIN TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT CLEAR on how Obama's tax ideas are so wrong headed for helping the economy.Obama isn't stupid so what is his motivation to support such crap??
see this link from Bill
http://conservativebyte.com/2011/09/capital-gains-taxes-explained-in-simple-terms/
THIS CLIP SHOULD HELP EXPLAIN TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT CLEAR on how Obama's tax ideas are so wrong headed for helping the economy..he isn't stupid so what is his motivation to support such crap??
see this link from Bill:
http://conservativebyte.com/2011/09/capital-gains-taxes-explained-in-simple-terms/
FH post is correct and right on the mark.
Data compiled by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center show that households making more than $1 million pay about 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes. By contrast, households making between $50,000 and $75,000 pay about 15 percent.
Class warfare is the name of Obama's game and that is what is making Independents run far away from him. Marxism doesn't work..Solyndra is a good example as is Chrysler/ Fiat deal and GM stock sale. Cu the deficit by cutting out special favors to the unions and Obama supporting hedge fund managers..Soros included.
@ Steve the cynic,
I speculate that most people who post often are unemployed or self employed or are an heir.
I think Kim's question about who's payroll you are on is valid; however, I would agree with you about the name calling bit.
Kim, only a right wing extremist would identify me as a left wing extremist. And if you you really believe anyone would pay me to do this, you're too gullible to take seriously.
The definition of lunacy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This is what Obama is doing.
I notice that people are quick to criticize the WSJ as a source but they do not provide alternative sources. If you have better facts, than bring them up David and Steve the Cynic. Get off this rhetoric and class warfare that is being created so Obama can get back into the White House. Regardless of source, approximately 50% of the people do not pay taxes and the top 10% pay 70% of the taxes - how can someone who pays no tax argue about someone else paying their fair share??
This discussion is a diversion from addressing the issue of spending and asking the hard question of whether or not our money is being well spent by the government.
Progressives believe that the govt is the answer to our problems, that the average person needs the govt to take care of them - a welfare state so to speak. They also believe that business is bad, especially big business. To create our "no child left behind" environment, we continue to spend more money than we take in, and regulate like crazy. Left unchecked we will be broke like Greece with a myriad of rules and regulations that make it hard to do business in the US. History has shown that the most successful economies were not state controlled, that personal initiative and risk taking were important. The auto industry was not created by the govt, it was created by individuals taking a risk to build a business - many of whom failed. There are many people like myself that feel the pendulum has swung to far to govt control, and needs to be adjusted back to private enterprise with the market determining who wins and loses and the govt getting out of the way by loosening regulations and bureaucracy.
Republicans have been engaged in class warfare for the last thirty years, shipping wealth to the uppermost percentiles of our society, cutting infrastructure and social services that help us all manage the ups and downs that life hands us. Until Republicans demonstrate any readiness to cooperate for the good of all I welcome efforts by Democrats and others to stand up and say, Enough!, to the Thirty Years of Class War that began with Reagan.
So many people just revert back to their political ideologies. I wish Obama had the political courage to stand up and present a plan both sides could agree on. The problem today is that both sides hand out tax deductions and credits to buy votes or at least keep potential voters happy; this is why we have such a complex tax code today where 47% of federal filers pay no federal income tax and some billionares pay a lower tax rate than the average person. One thing could be done to reduce tax rates, increase revenue and create more efficiency with the tax code (less money/time wasted on accountants to get more deductions); just simplify the tax code. No more special deductions or credits for this or that, just have a simple deduction to protect the poor ($20,000/year) and then tax all income after that point at 20% (including capital gains). It would still be a progessive system to protect the poor, more revenue would be raised and in general there would be fewer people avoiding the federal income tax through credits and deductions. I think this is a plan that both sides could agree on and the first politician that can present this idea on a national stage will definately get my vote.
What we don't seem to remember is that 10% unemployment is 90% employment.
When people talk about the government living within our means they are talking about our present means while we have some of the lowest taxes ever.
And how can people in government talk about creating jobs while government is cutting jobs from the federal level to local level. That is offsetting gains in the private sector.
Nobody wants to pay taxes but we all want to benefit from them.
If Social Security is not there in the future it will be because no one wants to pay for it not because we can't.
We the people have made the choice of boats, overly large houses, snowmobiles, vacations and the rest over the future of our country
I'd legalize pot. There's a tangled web that would dissolve into global prosperity.
Eliminate personal taxes under $250,000 and reduce military spending to 5% that is sufficient for military/police defense for a nation and world where people have a sense of dignity and self-respect. Increase revenue by encouraging neighborhood, city, county, state and nation ... world-round growing of hemp/cannabis as well as the other top ten (100 ...) most useful and versatile plants in the world (and each bio-region).
Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere! - George Washington, First U.S. President
"Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an underground dictatorship... To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic and have no place in a republic..." - Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence
We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption. - John Adams, 2nd U.S. President
"The best hemp and the best tobacco grown on the same kind of soil. The former article is of first necessity to the commerce and marine, in other words to the wealth and protection of the country. The latter, never useful and sometimes pernicious, derives its estimation from caprice."
-Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. President, Jefferson's journal entry / March 16, 1791
Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded. - Abraham Lincoln
"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" --Henry Ford
The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world. - Carl Sagan
If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.
- Terence McKenna
“Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”—William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008)
Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana. - Jimmy Carter, U.S. President: Message to Congress, August 2, 1977.
“Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” - Bob Marley.
The criminalization of the world's most useful and versatile plant, Cannabis/Hemp/Marijuana/Ganja, was Unconstitutional ... a crime against humanity and nature. ~ DNA
"Aspirin is “safe,” although it claims between 1,000-2,000 people per year.
With cannabis, it’s been around for thousands of years. There has never been a death – never been a death.
Is there any other substance in the pharmacoepia about which you can make that claim? I’m not sure there is.” ~ Dr. Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
"The war may not be quite over but any stigma still left lingering around cannabis consumption today is largely restricted to out of date and increasingly unenforced pieces of legislation. So indelibly stamped on our culture has cannabis become that it must now rank as the most popular and controversial plant on the planet." - Nick Jones
"THC induces the Cancerous cell to make a fatty substance called ceramide, which prompts the cell to start devouring itself, noncancerous cells don't make ceramide when they come into contact with THC. The healthy cells don't die."
-Biochemists Guillermo Velasco & Manuel Guzmán, Complutense University
The way it will be resolved will be to tell the truth and end the Drug War.
"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again. This time, more intelligently."
- Henry Ford
I believe Obama's plan would be a balanced approach. The reductions in entitlements probably hit the lower income folks hardest. So why not close some loopholes for the wealthy and/or let the Bush tax cuts expire. If we don't do a combination of revenue increases and expense reductions, we are simply passing the problem to the next generation. I would like to see an end to the partisan politics and see some real statesman in Washington. If there is no improvement, perhaps voters need to do a housecleaning in the representatives we are sending to Washington.
Smoke and mirrors
I hope its earnest. Budget balancing ideas have been around so long I feel numb to the rhetoric.
Gary F,
Only a handful of moderate Dems from typically red states are less than enthusiastic about the plan.
Sorry I meant to say moron bush doubled the deficit more then all the previous presidents combined
The GOP agenda is further lost on me (besides the bold face lies) when you take into consideration that g.w. bush doubled the deficit more than any other president in the last 32 years when adjusted for inflation. Raw data is at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm
The deficit has actually gone down under Obama compared to bush (by +244,000,000,000). Why on earth anyone who isn't a million/billionaire would want to continue any of the GOP/bush ideas (tax cuts for the rich, continuing either war, etc.) is beyond me. They obviously haven't worked for the majority of the US.
Exon, halliburton, any jagoff running any place on wall street have done real well, but that sure hasn't translated to any increase in my pocket. What has translated to my well being is the 4 schools I recently built in Minnesota, or either of the water treatment facilities, thanks to stimulus money. I'm not sorry if someone will have to pay more income tax because they can't deduct as much as their Mc Mansion's interest anymore, or can only deduct 28% instead if 34% of their charitable contributions. Neither benefit me, nor ever will.
It's about time. I don't understand why an idle investor making $50k should pay less for national defense and services than a teacher or policeman making the same amount. Also, I have significant investments and would not change my strategy due to proposed tax changes.
The below post by Steve the Cynic proves again how the liberal extremists will defer and avoid rather than address the facts, but if Steve's job is a paid $0.10 per word Blog from Media Matters or any other far left group then we shouldn't expect more openness from him.
Facts: Per the IRS data:
2009: 1,470 households filed tax returns with incomes above $1 million yet paid no federal income tax. But this is less than 1 percent of the nearly 237,000 returns with incomes above $1 million.
So, Obama's plan is to fool us into thinking it can shore up the deficit, all to look good before the election by hitting 1,470 tax payers to gain the equivalent of less than one day of Federal spending? Oh, please.
Under Bush, Federal spending was about 1.4 billion a day. That was terrible!
Under Obama, Federal spending is nearly 4.6 plus billion a day. That is a crime.
Do the math__
Why would anyone risk their own money to invest in stock, in companies when the rate of return is not guaranteed? For the chance to gain some increase. But when the capital gains and dividend tax rate cuts further into any possible profit, we don't invest. Right now the certainty of where tax rates will be next year, only hurts investment. Investment losses have to be off set from any profits made or else no one would invest in companies. We'd only buy low interest rate bonds. No stock investment = no new jobs and no economic growth, just as we see today. Tax the wealthy even more = they cut back on investing their money into our companies, which makes no sense.
The answer is like any home_ cut your spending and cut the waste like we saw in the Solyndra loan; a $ 537 billion bankruptcy scam we added to our loss.
Oh Steve I forgot that!
It doesn't have a chance with House Republicans.
The president's plan is far too logical for them. God forbid it should succeed and start turning things around. Then what would they do for 2012?
Posted by Carrie
Dems in the Senate don't like it either.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63887.html
But David, Rupert Murdoch owns the WSJ, too, which makes it exactly as reliable as Faux News.
Per the non partisan tax policy center research group, households with incomes between $40,000 - $50,000 have an average tax rate of 12.4% while households with income over $1 million have an average rate of 29.1% This includes federal, state income, FICA and Medicare.
Again, BO is a lying liar who will do anything to subject this country to 4 more years of economic disaster.
Is it not odd that in August of 2009, Obama spoke at an Indiana plant stating," To raise taxes on anyone during a recession is bad, it only takes money from the economy ." Today he states exactly the opposite., How do we trust a leader who contradicts himself over and over?
The GOP led House has passed over 12 bills and all just sit in the DFL controlled Senate. When did the DFL become the party of NO?
Maybe they are waiting for this Union group to stir the pot to avoid dealing with he truth?
from the Blaze.com :
"WE ARE HEROES, WHO NEED TO CREATE A CRISIS: SEIU’S STEPHEN LERNER AT PROGRESSIVE SUMMIT TELLS UNIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS AND STUDENTS THEY NEED TO ESCALATE PROTESTS, BREAK LAWS, OCCUPY ABANDONED HOUSES AND SPREAD THE CRISIS ALL OVER U.S. "
This is what the Progressive union leaders want_ chaos to collapse the system and further the Open Society marxist plan of George Soros. Fact_ this is clearly stated by Soros and other Progressives.
Ohhhhh sure FH, but now I know which end you pulled it out of at least. Thanks for the Citations, 2 opinion pieces with figures without any citation of their own. At least is didn't come from fox news this time.
The two sources are the following:
Wall Street Journal
Opinion section. September 8, 2011
Michael J. Boskin: The Obama Presidency by the numbers
Wall Street Journal
Review and Outlook: The Buffet Alternative
September 20, 2011
Please look up these sources, and read them for yourselves.
We do need a balanced approach, all cuts or all taxes won't work. We need both.
In addition I would like to create a special catagory:WAR TAX.
The cost of both current wars would be calculated and amortized over 10 years at pre Bush tax rates. Only exemptions would be those who served in the military in the combat zones. They have already paid their share. These wars belong to this generation and we should pay for them.
It doesn't have a chance with House Republicans.
The president's plan is far too logical for them. God forbid it should succeed and start turning things around. Then what would they do for 2012?
FH which end of your anatomy did you pull that tax table out of? Without some sort of citation its appears to be total BS. In 2011 the top tax bracket was $379,150.
I agree. it will take a combination of both tax cuts and increases. I think medicare could stand a cut of at least 10% without affecting senior care. It is about time he stood his ground and doesn't try to apease the republican "no new tax stance". I think we as people of the US need to think about the other person rather than just ourselves. most of us can afford a bit more in tax if it helps pull us out of the deficit.
Yah, FH
Imagine your behavior being mirrored right back at you. :'- )
We can.
"Let's also keep in mind that the latest figures show that 51% of people are not paying taxes."
Can we please put this canard to rest? That only refers to federal income taxes. When you include Social Security and Medicare taxes, along with state and local taxes on sales and property, virtually everyone pays taxes. (And the figure I keep hearing is 47% not paying income tax.)
FH,
People are tired of your phony arguments. Quit holding people back from being successful by gouging them every chance these people and groups get.
Billionaires, Big Oil and Multi national corporations that ship our jobs overseas need to start paying their fair share and stop holding back hard working folks in our communities from being successful.
It is interesting how strong opinions are on this issue. To help make this a discussion, please consider the following facts:
Income & Tax rate (TR)
$1,000,000+ @ 23.3%
$500,000 to 1,000,000 @ 24.1%
$200,000 to 500,000 @ 19.6%
$100,000 to 200,000 @ 12.7%
$50,000 to 100,000 @ 8.9%
$30,000 to 50,000 @ 7.2%
Warren Buffet is wrong. On the whole, the more you make, the higher % you pay for tax. Let's also keep in mind that the latest figures show that 51% of people are not paying taxes. The top 5% in the US pay more of the taxes as a % than the top 5% in any other developed country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aufAtuTwKlE
Whether or not I agree with Mr. Obama's (Democrats plan), it will not be given a chance as long as the Republicans won't budge. Remember these two parties and their elected puppets, are the ones who spent all this money and put us into the mess. Now each is blaming the other instead of taking responsibility for their mess. It's time the Republicans and Democrats "get it done".
They can START by cutting their own salaries, raise the taxes on their own salaries and the money of their rich friends and cut out their extravagant retirement and medical insurance perks. LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
They can tax the goods that are manufactured outside the US, but sold here. They can figure out a way to tax the mega corporations that make millions here but have their headquarters in foreign countries so they don't pay their fair share in taxes here. They can demand that their rich freinds who employ illegal immigrants are hit with major fines and/or jail time. No loop holes for their rich friends. They can fund and build training centers so when the jobs do come back, our citizens are ready to work. And all of us can write, email, twitter or whatever the Republicans and Democrats and demand that they do the jobs they were elected to do - SERVE ALL THE PEOPLE - not just themselves and their rich friends.
Fear not millionaires, your taxes won't go up. Medicare/Medicaid recipients, you are OK as well. As long as we have a two-party bi-polar divided government nothing will change. It will be perpetual gridlock. Expecting Obama and Boehner to agree on anything is like asking water to mix freely with oil.
The only agenda in Washington is this:
Obama - Get re-elected
GOP - Obama not get re-elected
Nothing else matters.
Let's just add this proposal to Obama's wishlist. Or more aptly, Obama went back to his wishlist to re-hash the same old same old all over again. We've all heard it before. Roads, bridges, scrools, taxes. Yah-da, yah-da, yah-da. Tell us something NEW for a change!
Think of it as the end of the baseball season. The Twins are 2nd to last in the league. As in Washington, the players have no reason or incentive to even bother to play let alone try to win. Just show up, do nothing, collect your pay and go home.
As we in Minnesota like the say at the end of the Vikings regular season.... well there's always next year.
It doesn't go far enough. This trickle down, reaganomics, supply side, what ever you want to call it BS doesn't work, and any economist not working for rupert murdoch or david koch would tell you that. Deregulation is what caused the housing market bubble and crash. Terrorism isn't the big bad boogie man under the bed they would have you believe, and it certainly didn't exist in iraq before we got there. The only threat there was to the oil cronies and the wall street cronies when sadam started selling oil in Euros. This war is just to make sure the rich stay rich and get richer. They want it, they can pay for it.
If you define WEALTHY as having combined assets in excess of what you owe and POOR as owing more than combined value of all of your assets, then over 170 million Americans are Poor. They may have jobs - but, as a result of college, mortgage, cars, ( big three) - medical (just one big negative life-event) and the failure of job creators - that job is essentially a wealth extraction treadmill to deliver "service on debt" that the wealthy harvest. So ...
Poor people give money to MPR/NPR.
Poor people give money to Dorthy Day and Sharing and Caring Hands
Rich people give money to breast cancer research
Poor people give money to all the other medical research organizations
Poor people give money to hospitals
Poor people give money to universities.
Poor people give money to schools.
then they die and their children carry on the debt load. Earning less every year, Owning less every generation, since 1969 - thanks to corporate Americas control of congress and the tax codes and work laws.
The president's plan doesn't go nearly far enough. Where are the jobs that all those previous tax cuts were supposed to create? I say, bring back the New Deal!
Gary - "Warren Buffet's secretary pays more taxes than he does! What a bunch of bunk." ======================== if this is an indication of how well you understand ... then that explains a lot of what you write. Buffet said he pays a lower percentage than his secretary on his "income". He uses the simple definition of income - to include wages, salaries, investment and interest incomes. etc. Sheesh.
And, GaryF, if folks like you would quit distorting the facts, we could have more intelligent conversations about such things. Warren Buffet was talking about taxes as a percentage of total income, not the absolute amount of taxes. You knew that, of course, but it doesn't bolster your ideology to say so.
Warren Buffet's secretary pays more taxes than he does! What a bunch of bunk.
If Obama didn't have to say crap like that to fire up the class warfare, people might actually take him seriously.
"It's hard to take him seriously when he doesn't have his facts right."
You mean, like so many of your comments, GaryF? That article you linked to ignores state and local taxes, which are much more regressive than federal taxes, and in Minnesota getting more so as localities keep having to raise property taxes to compensate for LGA cuts.
A love affair:
http://youtu.be/I4cJv-D7JPo
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP3lhS4ZQ-UhyUvFfUgdPCiu-jJA?docId=47a565563a294b2bad96544a7f0ddc1b
It's hard to take him seriously when he doesn't have his facts right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI
I think he's on the right path. Cut spending - yes; increase revenues - yes. The top 2% of income earners do pay substantailly less income taxes than the middle class and have more opprotunities to shelter income. Time of start reducing the gift subsidies that many industries receive.
It is sheer folly, from a business point of view, to not increase revenues while cutting expenses.
Of course, contributions to some of the politicians may suffer - oh well.
I wish Obama would have done something more along the lines of Bowles-Simpson. We need to lower or hold constant marginal tax rates while eliminating or curbing deductions, exemptions and credits that now cost roughly $1 trillion per year. Such an overhaul could make the tax system both more efficient by removing distortions and disincentives to work, and more progressive, since the affluent make more use of such loopholes than the poor.
I think this quote from Ben Erickson says it best, "To call it "Class Warfare" while at the same time trying to cut social programs is intellectually dishonest at best..."
This isn't a one way street. Class warfare works in both directions. It's just that the rich have been winning for so long, no one seems to notice that they are walking all over the poor and middle classes.
I also find it amusing that the rich believe this is a war. Gives great insight into their mindset.
OK you right ring LIARS, do you all get your news from michelle bachmann? Several people on here have said Obama wants to eliminate charitable deductions, when he's just putting a cap on how much of a deduction someone over making $250,000/year can take. If you people wouldn't start off every argument with bold face LIES it would go a long way toward reaching compromise and subduing the partisan fighting in this country.
I think it is a great idea to tax people who are at the top 1%.
They should be paying a fair tax. Its math.
I think it is hilarious that people call these the successful people. Most of these people have old money. They didn't do anything to deserve it, other than being born into the right family.
My life would be so much easier if I were born with a trust fund.
and for those who did earn their money. Why should they be exempt from paying a fair tax? Even if they do create jobs.
Makes no sense to me.
I also believe that the top 1% will continue to give to charitable organizations.
Its always the difference between what you want to do and the right thing to do.
Tom, Scott, Gary and Clark.
You and your like-minded friends make me sick.
We're in a mess mainly because of Bush's stupid wars, Bush's stupid tax cuts and (republican) bankers' greed.
Believe it or not, we are going to have to pay our overdue bills.
I'm so sick of the Obama hate speak.
The theory behind a trickle-down economy has been proven incorrect. 10 years of wars has been expensive. Though we may have the highest corporate taxes in the world we also offer the most deductions, which basically puts us at the other end of the scale. People who make more money pay less in tax. In the middle of an economic slowdown is the worst time to cut spending (that's when people need those services most).
We need to make the tax system fair, and a first step to that is to at least flatten the playing field and get our income in line with the amount of money we're spending. I think his plan is honest and fair. I just hope he holds the line and vetoes anything that does not raise taxes while cutting medicare.
@Scott,
Have you actually been paying attention to the news, or do you just parrot talking points from the Gang Of Plutocrats? It's the Republicans who are refusing to compromise. Everything Obama has proposed so far has been pre-compromised, and right-wingers still call it "far left." But then, you probably know that and are just twisting the facts to score points.
Rich folks crying, "Class warfare!" is like the playground bully who complains the other kids are being mean when they stand up to him.
Set men free and watch them soar! What part of this doesn't Obama and the "We can tax our way into prosperity" crowd understand? Taxation is to support government functions, not to redistribute wealth.
It seems like a balanced approach. I think they could modify the deduction for charitable giving instead of getting rid of it. for most the standard deduction is more valuable than the itemized charitable deduction, Maybe something could be done on a sliding scale.
To republicans, class warfare is cutting benefits to those who need them the most, not raising taxes on those who can easily afford to pay more, period.
Less we forget- wars are expensive. 10 years of 2 wars are very expensive. Wasn't Afghanistan about $1Billion per month?
Where do we expect the resources to come from to pay for our wars?
Real compromise would be compromise at both sides of the table... it would look something like democrats agreeing to meaningful and lasting spending cuts including to entitlement programs, and republicans agreeing to tax increases and defense budget cuts.
Oftentimes, the federal budget is compared to a household budget ... if your household was broke, you aren't going to just cut expenses and hope for the best, you probably are going to try to cut expenses and increase income as much as possible on both ends.
Same old, same old. It would be nice if he could figure out the word compromise means moving to the middle. Pushing the same tax hikes congress has said no to three or four times before and then using that no as a tool to demagogue congress...again is boring and ineffective. I don't understand why he can't hear that we want D.C. to quit spending borrowed money so his plan should tilt towards cutting spending not paying for it with higher taxes. But since he seems tone deaf maybe we could raise the rate on those 47% who pay no federal income taxes, seems only fair they kick in a few bucks too. I also find it humorous he's using Warren Buffet name considering Warren is disputing his tax bill with the IRS and the money in question is several million dollars.
Obama wants to eliminate charitable deductions for "rich" people.
Rich people give money to MPR/NPR.
Rich people give money to Dorthy Day and Sharing and Caring Hands
Rich people give money to breast cancer research
Rich people give money to all the other medical research organizations
Rich people give money to hospitals
Rich people give money to universities.
Rich people give money to schools.
So, all the bellyaching last year about MPR/NPR not getting their government handout when they should be bellyaching about eliminating the charitable deduction.
Same old same old. It's just a tax increase. The "cut" to military spending is just disscontinuing surge spending and there are no entitlement cuts of any significance. What was that line he used in the campaign about putting lipstick on a pig?
"Taxing success will not create jobs or balance the budget as the wealthy will move their capital investments off shore."
Taxing failure won't raise any money.
In terms of class warfare, when is the last time you saw a poor person host "Meet the Press" or anchor the evening news? The class war is over, and the rich have won it.
Obama has continued to prove he is a clueless community activist with no new ideas.
Taxing success will not create jobs or balance the budget as the wealthy will move their capital investments off shore.
BO wants to appeal to the freeloaders on the far left so this is all political.
Fact: if you took all the income of everyone making over
$250 000, would not cover one year of Obama spending.
The freeloaders will remain unemployed until BO becomes a one termer in 2012.
The president simply doesn't have the backbone to make it happen. He couldn't get the deal done when his bargaining position was vastly stronger, why would anyone think he could make the deal now?
We won't know if it will work until we try it, and even then people will argue about it, no matter what the outcome.(See the continued wrangling over the effects of the stimulus or QU2.) But at least the president is putting something on the table, as opposed to the GOP. Those yahoos have done NOTHING to boost the economy, to sustain the middle class, or to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor.
I harbor no hope for the bi-partisan deficit reduction super-committee, since Boehner has already ties its hands by announcing he will reject any plan with tax increases. Without additional revenue, the math of deficit reduction just won't work, no matter how far down the road the Repubs want to kick the can.
To call it "Class Warfare" while at the same time trying to cut social programs is intellectually dishonest at best, and cruel during such hard times. The plan is common sense and in line with what a majority of the nation thinks should be done to boost revenue.
He knows that it won't even pass with his own party in the Senate. They don't even want him showing up at campaign events.
It's not a realistic economic plan and he know's it.
It's a class warfare drum he can beat over the next year while running for re-election.
Keynesian policies didn't work the first time, why would work a second time?
More government is the problem, not the solution.
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