Do you want to Play Anymore John?

[sheshe2]

John Boehner has Convinced Me Close Loopholes…
6 Dec 2012 Author: J. Christian Watts

John Boehner has won. He’s convinced me. And, frankly folks, I was a tough sell. We need to close loopholes as a means of raising revenue. Oh, AND we need to raise the tax rates or people making 250,000 a year. I bet that wasn’t the point Boehner was trying to make. In fact, I’m sure of it. But, like most things John says, I don’t really care what he’s trying to do. I know, with a high degree of certainty, that if John Boehner is for it, it is beneficial for rich people, bad for America, and especially bad for any people making less than 100,000 a year. It is almost as if John Boehner is at war with the middle class. But this time, I’m going to accept his very generous offer. Close loopholes on rich people folks. I’m now all for it. But, and this is key, we’re still going to raise those rate.

SNIP>

Do you want to play anymore John? Because, if you do, the President seems to have limitless energy to take you to the woodshed. Frankly, I can do this all day. Let’s expand the debate again to include capital gains. Cap Gains is about to increase. When the Bush tax cuts end in 2013 the cap gains rate goes from 14 to 28. Good. I want it to double for five years and then double again for the next five. That pushes another trillion over 10-12 years.

Let’s find those alternative revenue sources because right now we’re looking at close to three trillion over 10 years. Tax rate, close loopholes, and now cap gains. See, the GOP is so used to reasonable being defined as giving them what they demand, that they aren’t prepared as a party actually to have this fight. We are Dems and we believe in government, we believe in education, we believe in spending money to get out of recession. We aren’t Trickle-down charlatans.

If John and the GOP want to have this discussion, if they want to play these Reindeer Games, let’s play, but please understand this isn’t the first term. No more Obama elections to come, no more governing with a divided congress. This is politics writ large; this is blood sport. We’re ready. Are the Republicans?

To recap, here is what I propose. We raise a trillion in revenue by capping deductions for rich people, people making 250,000 and above. We also raise their tax rate, which provides another 500 billion to 1 trillion depending on a lot of factors. Third, we allow for the cap gains and the death tax recalibration that come with the end of the bush tax cuts. In fact, I want all the revenue from the bush tax cuts on wealthy people back, in addition to the rate increase.

By my calculations, that is around 3.2 to 3.6 trillion dollars over 10-12 years. The GOP has such a weak hand that I am loath to bail them out. The GOP, by pretending the election didn’t happen, and by attempting to re-litigate these insane proposals of theirs, opens the door to more aggressive policy positions from the left. Every time they threaten on the debt ceiling, I will propose further increases in revenue. We aren’t locked at 39.6%. We can go all the way back to pre-Reagan rates of 55%.

We aren’t negotiating against reasonable people, these are hostage takers, bomb throwers, and these are the lunatic fringe pols that have seized control of their party. If they want to go to the mattresses I say let’s go. We’ll never have a better time. This could be a defining moment in America. A break with the entire superstructure of Republican bullcrap economic policy. This could be a war worth fighting and as they say a hostage worth taking.

Read the letter here.
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2012/12/john-boehner-has-convinced-me-close-loopholes%e2%80%a6/

[Lionessa]

1. The author torques me off right to start there with misinformation.

It is subtle, but GOSH DAMN IT! when are the folks "on our side" going to start correctly typing/saying "income over $250K" instead of "people making over $250K"

Otherwise, I hope his impression of Obama's maneuverings turn out to be accurate in the long run. I've seen him appear to be doing things strongly before and then cave midway to the halfway mark. I don't think we'll really be into these issues fully till months after the New Year, so he I'm not fully convinced he's going to remain as we see him today.