Posted on 12/02/2011 8:14:22 AM PST by Retro Llama
A year ago, the Bush tax cuts were set to expire. Barack Obama insisted that only those for people making less than $250,000 per year should be extended. Even though Democrats still controlled both the House and Senate, Republicans had enough clout to delay action until the last minute. At that point, they held all the high cards because they knew that Obama couldn't risk a large de facto tax increase on every taxpayer at a time when the economy was weak. He caved and agreed to extension of all the Bush tax cuts, including those for the rich.
Today the situation is largely reversed. The temporary cut in the Social Security payroll tax is due to expire at year's end, but this time Obama holds the better hand. Republicans are lukewarm to extending the payroll tax cut, but are caving to public pressure to extend it. Also, Republicans have never articulated a coherent reason for opposing extension of the payroll tax cut. But they insist that the tax cut be paid for—something they have never demanded for any Republican-sponsored tax cut that I am aware of....
Republicans respond that it would be folly to raise taxes on the "job creators." But the idea that all rich people are job creators merely by virtue of being rich is complete nonsense. According to the Tax Policy Center, only about 3 percent of people reporting business income are in the top two tax brackets, and according to the Treasury Department, only one fifth of small businesses have any employees at all.
....Moreover, there is no evidence that the tax cuts of the George W. Bush administration created any jobs, so even if they were fully repealed there is no reason to think any jobs would be lost....
(Excerpt) Read more at thefiscaltimes.com ...
LLS
Actually, there is an element of truth in this statement, just not the way the left wing thinks. Consider all the trust fund brats and other sources of wealth and manpower for the left. Consider George Soros, Goldman Sachs and all the other big money people manipulating the puppet strings of their government servants and engaging in insider trading against all of us.
While the Koch Brothers, the favorite whipping boys of the left, actually grew rich honestly by creating goods, services and jobs which people needed, the rich of the left are mostly parasitic-- destroying jobs to amass power and seize wealth for themselves.
Um, it's called an income tax for a reason. If one makes an income, one should pay income taxes.
This is why some people call them "The Stupid Party".
Tying spending cuts to the extension is not a winning strategy; they should just say "we believe in people keeping what they earn" and put an un"tied" extension up for a vote.
obama is going to win anyway.There are now more parasites than there are producers and to ensure his win, the Republican Party will see that the weakest canidate they can field will get the nomination. Either Newt or Rommney.
Most white voters will only vote once. Cannot say the same for the black voters & ACORN followers.
Question:
If the payroll tax is cut and replaced by a millionaire’s tax, doesn’t that officially make the whole thing a welfare program and not insurance type program?
Yes, I know in truth it is a Ponzie scheme but people have screamed about their SS benefits for years because they “paid for it”.
In this case, it would truely be welfare and could fall under means testing. It won’t be too many years before you have to spend down all of your other assets before becoming elegible for SS benefits.
Obozo’s best assets are Boehner and McConnell - fathers of the Supercommittee.
If Obozo’s record was the only factor, he would loose hands down. But most of his opponents are poor chess players.
Only Gingrich can checkmate him.
The the Conservative thing, and also the only wise thing to do.
Private sector jobs sustain themselves, at no expense to the taxpayer. In fact those folks pay taxes. Government jobs can’t sustain themselves. They will require taxes for them to even exist. They will never be net pluses to the economy.
You know that, but you can’t say it often enough.
Generally speaking, the wealthy have their wealth invested in stocks and tangible items. They may have it tied up in real-estate holdings, businesses, vehicles, or other items, but they aren’t just sitting on piles of cash.
A billionaire may not run a business, but his money is spread out enabling many people to work through investment, loans, leases... the list is long.
If someone tells you that a billionaire is not employing people, they’re a person with the level of logic that these protesters on the street possess. They haven’t the slightest clue how privately held wealth supports and fertilizes an economy.
The Democrats are convinced that higher taxes spurs the economy along. Wow. While that’s just nutty, the idea the government will do better with funds it takes from the Rich, is even more so.
The wealthy pay taxes. All the people who are employed via the capital the wealthy spread around, pay taxes. The businesses that employ them pay taxes. Not only do these people pay taxes, but all the support companies that feed products into these businesses, and all the companies that are in turn fed by these businesses, also pay taxes. More importantly, they employ people.
It the government takes these funds, the ripple effect in the private sector is immense.
Funds held in the private sector, create more funds.
Funds held by the federal government are burnt off.
The federal government can never create wealth in the overall scheme of things. It can only destroy it. And once you’ve destroyed it, the wealthy will find it harder to recreate that wealth. And if the government goes after them hard enough, it will destroy our nation as surely as if we were attacked from outside our borders.
The federal government can never create wealth in the overall scheme of things.
Is it like the word conservative, it means anything I want it to mean?
The federal government can never create wealth in the overall scheme of things.
Is it like the word conservative, it means anything I want it to mean?
But there is a big difference in the types of people employed by billionaire activities.
Koch Brothers employees are driving trucks, handling heavy equipment, buying and replacing parts for machinery, etc. etc. IOW, middle class jobs.
George Soros employees are filing lawsuits, pushing paper, shorting stocks and manipulating currencies. IOW, elite coastal jobs making nuisances.
Big difference.
Well, not trying to be too complex here. If pressed I’d say building capital to benefit myself and others. I address wealth, because once you have enough to live on and can invest, it becomes somewhat more like surplus funds, although I’m not trying to say they are any less important to the owner.
I consider someone who has some level of ability to invest, to be to one degree or another wealthy. A working stiff who is just getting by may have a fairly decent level of living, but it would be debatable if that person was actually wealthy or not. It’s rather subjective.
As for the type of guy Soros is, I agree with your comments about those he employs, or grants funds for to employ. Despite his intent, I would imagine at least some of his funds do support this economy, despite his intent to hurt it. He’s got too much money spread around for it not to at least in part.
I agree, but my post 55 does touch on some ways Soros’ funds probably do help our economy, despite his intent. There’s no doubt that he uses his funds to do as much damage as he can though. Still, he wants his money to grow as much as anyone else, and he probably isn’t manipulating money at all times. He has to wait for opportune times.
Agreed on Newt and Romney but as much as I dislike them, either would still beat O.
I am moving my affections to Santorum.
You’re right. But it sort of like saying Hitler probably got rid of a few hard core deserving criminals along with six million plus innocents in the death camps he ran.
I would agree there is a certain aspect that support that logic in there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not defending the guy. I just think it’s funny that some of his money is probably doing things that would abhor him.
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