Barack Obama has promised that he will not extend the Bush Tax Cuts again, saying that any deal to raise the country’s debt ceiling would include revenue increases. Republicans insist that any deal will be restricted to spending cuts and entitlement reforms. A showdown appears inevitable.
Let’s make sure Obama keeps his promise. In order to do this, however, we need to do more than remind Obama of his promise, we also need to make sure Republicans feel lots of pressure. Destroying Medicare and cutting funding for education alone is not going to balance our budget. We currently have the lowest real rate of taxation as a percentage of GDP in 60 years. Republicans continue to assert that lower taxes will create more jobs, but it obviously hasn’t worked out that way. We need to balance our budget, and raising taxes a modest amount — especially on those people whose incomes have soared and who can most afford it — is a necessary and reasonable step.
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More and more I am reading in comment sections of the local newspaper and other places that we must let the tax cuts expire at the end of 2012. And that “I’m willing to pay more taxes to right this country” The cuts expire at the end of 2012. The Republicans are going to try to hold Obama hostage to the cuts as they did last year. So they can campaign on “We will not raise taxes,” which is not a lie as the cuts just expire. We can get back to wealth distribution so people have money to buy goods which creates need which creates jobs.
Please, everyone, contact your representatives in Congress.
Unless I’m missing something, what he actually promised was that he would not extend the Bush tax cuts *on the top 2% of earners*. If I remember right that’s at least a $200B/year difference from promising not to extend the Bush tax cuts. I agree that’s better than nothing, but just like cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, it’s not nearly enough to actually fix our problem.
Drew, he promised to not extend *all* the Bush tax cuts. That doesn’t mean he won’t extend some of them, or propose his own tax cuts, or other tax increases.
Like you say, it is better than nothing. I’m just concerned that he will cave in to Republican bullying and not increase revenue (increase taxes) at all.
Does this title
Obama Pledges to Not Extend Bush Tax Cuts Again
refer to the Humor or the Hypocrisy in the title of this Forum?
Sid F. – it would be hypocrisy on the Democratic side if Obama caves in again. It is already hypocrisy on the Republican side in that they represent that the deficit and debt are the greatest problems facing the country and then refuse to do anything about them unless it advances their right-wing social engineering agenda.
If the Republicans were serious about the deficit and debt they would agree to end the subsidies to companies that have stated they don’t need them (the oil companies) and allow military projects that the military doesn’t want (second engine of the JSF) to be eliminated. The bottom line is they aren’t serious. They have created a fiscal crisis through unproductive tax cuts and unproductive spending (Forbes – 94% of the debt and deficit problem was created during the Bush Administration). They are now trying to use that crisis to try and dismantle the social programs they don’t like, and they are fighting ANY rational attempt to solve the deficit problem that would preserve those programs.
Jason is exactly correct. Republicans have created a huge deficit in order to use that to eliminate social programs, Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. They are not serious about the deficit, it is just a tool for them.
The site that was cited earlier on this blog has it right on about the Republicans and their de facto budget cutter, Grover Norquist.
Here
http://dismalpoliticaleconomist.blogspot.com/2011/05/grover-norquist-and-balancing-federal.html
and here. Norquiest is emblematic of what the Republicans want to do.
http://dismalpoliticaleconomist.blogspot.com/2011/05/dont-think-grover-norquist-is-dishonest.html
Obama ran on not extending the Bush tax cuts for high income taxpayers. Then he caved and now he expects us to believe he will not cave? What is the saying, “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me”. Pretty applicable for those who believe he will not cave again.
Obama needs to say that he will veto any tax bill that extends Bush tax cuts for the wealthy even if it means vetoing a bill that extends the middle class tax cuts.
Does anyone believe he will say and do that? Hence the question, is it humor or hypocrisy from the world of politics?
Interesting Target Investor’s meeting where the investors “targeted” Target’s political contributions to the Republican party.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TARGET_SHAREHOLDER_MEETING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-08-19-41-52
Shareholders can make a difference.
1) Heard it before. 2) What influence, exactly, can we claim to exert on our government? Because I don’t see anything other than window dressing on our votes.