President Obama: GOP plan is to spend ‘trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy’

[cal04]

Source: The Hill

President Obama pressured Congress to avoid an impending rise in middle-class tax rates, accusing GOP lawmakers of holding those families “hostage” in order to enact massive tax cuts for the wealthy.

In his weekly address, the President called for lawmakers to adopt a Democratic measure which would extend the expiring lower George W. Bush-era tax rates only for those couples making below $250,000, and forcing higher income earners to pay more.

“Republicans in Congress and their nominee for President believe that the best way to create prosperity in America is to let it trickle down from the top,” said Obama. “They believe that if our country spends trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy, we’ll somehow create jobs – even if we have to pay for it by gutting things like education and training and by raising middle-class taxes. They’re wrong.”

(snip)
“Everyone says they agree that we should extend the tax cuts for the middle class,” said Obama. “Instead of doing what’s right for middle class families and small business owners, Republicans in Congress are holding these tax cuts hostage until we extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Read more: http://thehill.com/video/administration/240849-obama-gop-plan-is-to-spend-trillions-more-on-tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy

---

Weekly Address: The House of Representatives Must Act on Middle Class Tax Cut Extension
In this week’s address, President Obama urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to act on his proposal to protect middle class families and small businesses from being hit with a big tax hike next year. Everyone says they agree that we should extend the tax cuts for the middle class and the Senate already passed the President’s plan to prevent a typical family from seeing a tax increase of $2,200, but Republicans in Congress are holding these tax cuts hostage until we extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The President called on Congress to pass the middle class tax extension so that we can continue to grow the economy and create jobs the American people.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/28/weekly-address-house-representatives-must-act-middle-class-tax-cut-extenPr

[randome]

1. Excellent way to frame it!

[MooseTrax]

2. Republicans Borrowing From Foreign Banks............

..............to fund tax cuts for the wealthy is nothing new:


Total U S Debt

09/30/2009 $11,909,829,003,511.75(80% Of All Debt Across 232 Years Borrowed By Reagan And Bushes)

09/30/2008 $10,024,724,896,912.49(Times Square Debt Clock Modified To Accomodate Tens of Trillions)

09/30/2007 $9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2006 $8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32

09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62(Second Bush Tax Cuts Enacted Using Reconciliation)

09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16

09/30/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06(First Bush Tax Cuts Enacted Using Reconciliation)

09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86(Administration And Congress Arguing About How To Use Surplus)

09/30/1999 $5,656,270,901,615.43(First Surplus Generated...On Track To Pay Off Debt By 2012)

09/30/1998 $5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997 $5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995 $4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994 $4,692,749,910,013.32

09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38(Debt Quadrupled By Reagan/Bush41)

09/30/1992 $4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991 $3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990 $3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32
09/30/1988 $2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987 $2,350,276,890,953.00
09/30/1986 $2,125,302,616,658.42
09/30/1985 $1,823,103,000,000.00
09/30/1984 $1,572,266,000,000.00
09/30/1983 $1,377,210,000,000.00

09/30/1982 $1,142,034,000,000.00(Total Debt Passes $1 Trillion)

09/30/1981 $997,855,000,000.00

[MooseTrax]

5. Thanks.........

..........I was a Republican back when the party stood for small government, balanced budgets and individual rights. Today they are in the pockets of corporations and the wealthy. I just want everybody to get the message.

[MooseTrax]

4. That's Not The Whole Story

Last edited Sat Jul 28, 2012, 08:51 AM - Edit history (1)

Each year the interest on the debt must be paid or the U S goes into default. As you can see below when Bush's last budget ended the interest due was nearly half a trillion dollars. Add the three years of Obama's tenure and just in the interest of fairness alone place that amount in the Reagan-Bushes column and subtract it from Obama's accrued debt:



2011 $454,393,280,417.03



2010 $413,954,825,362.17



2009 $383,071,060,815.42



2008 $451,154,049,950.63

[Igel]

6. Those "trillions" are just a portion of it.

Granted, the # is usually something like $850 billion or so over 10 years (like those #s 8, 9, or 10 years out mean much), plus interest on what would have to be borrowed if we don't keep that money.

But what we'd be spending on the rest of those getting the tax breaks is even higher--$2.5 trillion or more. Plus interest on what would have to be borrowed if we don't keep that money and give it back to the taxpayers.

That's a really big budget expense just for the top earners. It's a huge budget expense for the not-so-top earners.

Pitch in the money the government spends by not letting the AMT take effect and "payments to citizens" is easily the second biggest discretionary budget item, possibly the largest spending item.

(Of course, I think this entire narrative is codswallop and flips the Constitution on its head.)

[MooseTrax]

7. I'm Not That Smart......................

............I just know that this country used to pay it's debts. After the second world war everybody had just made personal sacrifice beyond the limits of ordinary imagination. Then we were faced with massive national debt. Under both terms of Eisenower's in the 1950's anyone who earned more than $300,000 per year paid 91% of the excess to the government. Also...Eisenower's last speech to the nation he warned of the military industrial complex and basically predicted what could happen if we didn't break the habit.

The defense budget is a trillion dollars a year. That's more than the highest 13 countries immediately below us COMBINED! We have guns for individual combat troops which will go behind an enemy position and curve back and take them out. We have drones which are controlled from here in the U S and strike targets 10,000 miles away etc. What do we do.................attack countries half way around the world which not only have not done harm to us but which couldn't do it if they wanted to.

Beginning with Ronald Reagan our national conscience completely disappeared. Like I said...I used to be a dyed in the wool Republican and now I wouldn't vote for one in a national election under any circumstances.

[sofa king]

10. You may recall that...

... It took the Republicans about two months to figure out that they had been snookered in the tax cut compromise of December, 2010, the expiration date being specifically timed to lead to this crucifying moment.

When they did figure it out, the GOP immediately began refusing to extend the federal debt limit, threatening to shut down the government that summer unless the tax cut compromise was renegotiated. President Obama and the Democrats not only refused, but the President then slapped them in the face with the designed-to-fail debt committee fiasco--complete with a series of "automatic triggers" which would enact the President's own budget plan if the committee failed, which it did.

As a result of that, half a trillion dollars in defense spending is now going to be automatically slashed, starting in this election year, without a single Democratic vote.

See how that works? Snooker the other guys into an agreement they were too stupid to actually read, anticipate their next move, and make them responsible for cutting more money from the Department of Defense than has ever been cut before. Then make them vote against a middle class tax cut--now being called the Obama tax cut--in an election year.

Because cutting defense or having a reasonable tax structure can't happen if the Republicans can block it.

So the President has maneuvered the Republicans into a position where he can totally destroy them, instead of having to deal with their bullshit. If it continues working as flawlessly as it is, next year we may see what President Obama really wants to do, with the help of a Democratic Congress.

[Canuckistanian]

8. Tax cuts for the wealthy is their ONLY plan

Looking for job creation policies? Deficit reduction policies? Policies to increase well-paying jobs?

Well, forget it. Tax cuts for the wealthy is their ONLY solution.

Every member of the GOP know who they work for. And they know what to kiss to stay in power.

[MooseTrax]

9. Yep! We Do!

It's the same folks who made this mess