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Just so we’re clear, we all understand these tax hikes would accomplish zilch, right?
Hotair ^ | 11/13/2012 | Erika Johnsen

Posted on 11/13/2012 12:22:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind

And I quote:

But as I’ve said before, we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. If we’re serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue. And that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes. ... That’s how we can reduce the deficit while still making the investments we need to build a strong middle class and a strong economy. ...

Now, already, I’ve put forward a detailed plan that allows us to make these investments while reducing our deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. I want to be clear: I’m not wedded to every detail of my plan. I’m open to compromise. I’m open to new ideas. I’m committed to solving our fiscal challenges.

But I refuse to accept any approach that isn’t balanced. I am not going to ask students and seniors and middle-class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren’t asked to pay a dime more in taxes.

Yes, by all means, let's be serious --- and acknowledge that tax hikes on the wealthiest among us is not going to accomplish anything even remotely meaningful in terms of long-term deficit reduction. Talking about how expensive the two wars have been and ginning up populist resentments (Obama likes to add the “rich people like me” bit to fend off claims of class-warmongering, but the “fairness” implication is of course still there) while consistently failing to produce any concrete plans except on how the government can spend more money, is not a solution. The hit on economic growth that will come at the cost of steepening our already graduated income tax is a much less effective way of increasing revenue than the lowered taxes that would allow the economy to grow at a more robust rate and bring more people into the middle and upper tax brackets (and with the president’s proposed arrangements, we can count on more of the same economic stagnation that only adds people to the food stamp/unemployment benefits/etcetera welfare rolls and deepens our fiscal woe).

As Conn Carroll aptly reminds us, sure, the Congressional Budget Office has projected that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for the wealthy could bring in as much as $824 billion over ten years (which, given that it’s from the CBO, I’d wager is a somewhat rosy estimate). But when you put that in the context of, oh yeah, Obama’s been running up trillion-dollar deficits every year of his presidency, you can see what a hugely insurmountable problem this is.

I merely highlight this all again because this is what the lame-duck Congress that reconvened today has already started fighting about. President Obama can certainly talk a good game about being open to entitlement reform and compromise, rabble rabble rabble, but his declaration that “we cannot cut our way to prosperity” is just plain wrong. We can, and we should cut our way to prosperity — not because we want to take benefits away from people who currently need them, but because we want to create opportunities for people so that they don’t need those benefits anymore. This pattern of insanely frivolous government spending, as if the Obama administration somehow knows how to spend and allocate our money better than we do in bringing about economic growth, is not the answer.

But no matter, it’s all going to be pinned on those dastardly Republicans, no matter what happens. Oof.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bloggers; debt; deficit; taxes; taxhikes
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1 posted on 11/13/2012 12:22:12 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
Even if a tax hike may be good for the GOVERNMENT'S economy, how is it any good for the COUNTRY'S economy?

2 posted on 11/13/2012 12:26:07 PM PST by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
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To: SeekAndFind

On the contrary, I see 20 million more people on food stamps and 5 million more on TANF.


3 posted on 11/13/2012 12:28:00 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: SeekAndFind

A Dime of Taxes on the Rich

For every Dollar of Deficit.

That’s 0bama’s “Plan”.


4 posted on 11/13/2012 12:28:40 PM PST by Uncle Miltie (0BAMA CHOSE to watch a MUSLIM SNUFF FILM rather than a HEROIC AMERICAN RESCUE FILM)
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To: SeekAndFind

bookmark


5 posted on 11/13/2012 12:28:48 PM PST by corlorde (forWARD of the state)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They will accelerate the demise of America.
That’s not “zilch”!


6 posted on 11/13/2012 12:29:00 PM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: SeekAndFind

Zilch? Naaa...it does accomplish something—the demise of the country. That’s the plan.


7 posted on 11/13/2012 12:29:34 PM PST by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: SeekAndFind

Here is what it accomplishes...

lower income peoples tax rates will jump the highest percentage, with a slew of people that were previously paying nothing now paying something...

and most of these were hard core fubo voters...

let them eat cake


8 posted on 11/13/2012 12:29:46 PM PST by joe fonebone (The clueless... they walk among us, and they vote...)
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To: BitWielder1

Screw the government. It’s plenty big enough to fail. In fact, it has already failed. Thank God we can easily build a new government by simply abiding by the founding principles and the constitution!!


9 posted on 11/13/2012 12:31:35 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!!)
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To: SeekAndFind

It boils down to this

The more Obama gets, the more he will spend.

Not one penny will go toward the debt.


10 posted on 11/13/2012 12:31:35 PM PST by Venturer
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To: BitWielder1
Even if a tax hike may be good for the GOVERNMENT'S economy, how is it any good for the COUNTRY'S economy?

Tax hikes are now necessary to demonstrate to the voting majority that elections have consequences. Republicans' should allow all of the Bush tax cuts to expire. They were only tax cuts for the wealthy according to Democrats for the past 12 years. Republicans don't have to lift a finger, just let them expire. Respond to each attack with, "we were told by Democrats that they were tax cuts for the rich" then say no more.

11 posted on 11/13/2012 12:33:40 PM PST by CMAC51
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To: SeekAndFind
Oh but it does accomplish something. That ever so important political plank of the left...

REVENGE

12 posted on 11/13/2012 12:35:01 PM PST by Drill Thrawl (We have crossed the line from independence & liberty to dependency & servitude. We are doomed)
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To: All

ANYONE CARE TO GUESS HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FIRED/LAID OFF SINCE LAST WEEK ?


13 posted on 11/13/2012 12:35:32 PM PST by stephenjohnbanker ((God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.))
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To: SeekAndFind

False premise.

The author is assuming that taxes are about revenue and funding government programs.

While this may be partially true for a Republican, for a democrat funding the government come in a very distant third to controlling people’s behavior and punishing political enemies.


14 posted on 11/13/2012 12:36:43 PM PST by null and void (America - Abducted by Aliens...)
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To: SeekAndFind

The tax increases will accomplish one thing.

They will make things worse than they are now.............


15 posted on 11/13/2012 12:37:10 PM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: Red Badger

“The tax increases will accomplish one thing.

They will make things worse than they are now............”

Many companies are already letting people go.


16 posted on 11/13/2012 12:40:14 PM PST by stephenjohnbanker ((God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.))
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To: stephenjohnbanker
ANYONE CARE TO GUESS HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FIRED/LAID OFF SINCE LAST WEEK ?

I don't need to guess, here's a low ball HARD number:

Since the election:

(Updated 11/13/12 at 11:30 AM PST)

Layoff numbers

Organization # Laid off Running total Sector Notes
AMD 400 400 Electronics
American Coal 54 454 Energy
Ameridose 790 1244 Health
Art Gallery of Windsor 12 1256 Art Gallery Canada
Associated Milk Producers Inc 130 1386 Agriculture
ATI 172 1558 Education
Atlantic Lotto Corp 16 1574 Gaming
Bartikowsky Jewelers 25 1599 Retail Business closure
Bayou Cane 7 1606 Government Firefighters
Brake Parts LLC 75 1681 Automotive
Bristol-Myers Squibb 479 2160 Health
Career Education Corp 900 3060 Education
Caterpillar 100 3160 Construction Eq
Center for Hospice and Palliative Care 40 3200 Health
Cigna 1300 4500 Health
Commerzbank AG 6000 10500 Finacial Services Cuts in Germany
Community Newspaper Holdings Inc 21 10521 Media
Corning 100 10621 Manufacturing
Covidien 595 11216 Health
Crouse Hospital Syracuse 70 11286 Health
CVPH 17 11303 Health
Dana Holding Corp 7 11310 Automotive
dapd 100 11410 Media Cuts in Gemany
DuPont 64 11474 Defense Kevlar/Nomex plant. Planning 1500 layoffs 2013.
Energizer 1500 12974 Energy
Ericsson 1550 14524 Consumer Electronics Cuts in Sweden
Exide 150 14674 Energy
Gameforge Berlin 20 14694 Online Games Cuts in Germany
Glenn Falls Hospital 29 14723 Health
Groupon 600 15323 Consumer
Hamilton FD 17 15340 Government Firefighters
Hawker Beechcraft 410 15750 Aerospace
Hill-Rom 200 15950 Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Hostess Brands 627 16577 Food
Husqvarna 600 17177 Tools Cuts in Sweden
Iberia 7000 24177 Airline Cuts in Spain
ING 2350 26527 Finacial Services
Iron Range 4 26531 Non-profit Battered women
Kinetic Concepts 427 26958 Health
Lightyear Network Solutions 14 26972 Software/internet
Lower Bucks Hospital 30 27002 Health
Lulu 9 27011 Publishing More to come
Majestic Star Cassino 80 27091 Entertainment
Medtronic 500 27591 Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Mills Manufacturing 68 27659 Defense
Mississippi County AR 12 27671 Government
Momentive Performance Materials 150 27821 Chemicals
Murray Energy Corporation 48 27869 Energy
NBCUniversal 500 28369 Media
New Energy 40 28409 Energy
OCE 135 28544 Office equip
Penn Refrigeration 40 28584 Commercial Service
PerkinElmer 66 28650
Pratt & Whitney Rockedyne 100 28750 Aerospace
Providence Journal 23 28773 Media
Research in Motion 200 28973 Consumer Electronics
SAS 6000 34973 Airline Cuts in Scandinavian countries
Smith & Nephew 104 35077 Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Southeastern Container 15 35092 Consumer
SRA International 222 35314 IT Federal contractor
St Jude Medical 300 35614 Health
Stryker 96 35710 Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Sun Media - newspaper div 500 36210 Media
TE Connectivity 620 36830 Electronics
Teco Coal Corporation 90 36920 Energy
The Commercial Appeal 11 36931 Media
TMX Group, Ltd. 100 37031 Finacial Services Cuts in Canada
TurboCare 88 37119 Energy
U.S. Cellular 980 38099 Electronics
Umatilla Chemical Depot 34 38133 Defense
UtahAmerican Energy 102 38235 Energy
Vestas 3000 41235 Energy
Welch Allyn 275 41510 Med Eq Mfg
West Ridge Mine 102 41612 Energy
Westinghouse 17 41629 Hi Tech Services
Westinghouse Anniston 50 41679 Defense
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors 459 42138 Finacial Services
Wright-Patterson 115 42253 Defense
Yakima Regional Medical Center 10 42263 Health
42263

Layoffs without exact number specified

Organization % Laid off # Affected Sector Notes
Boeing Defense, Space & Security 30 Defense Executive Staff
Dana Automotive "A large number"
EMD Millipore 2 Biotech
Plexus Corp Manufacturing
Saugerties, NY Government
SCA Paper products
Slidell, LA Government "Will try to spread equally"
Standard Bank Group 10 Banking London
United Blood Services 10 Health All staff
Wilkes-Barre, PA Government Firefighters

Worker Reduction In Scheduled Time (to below ObamaCare threshold)

Organization % WRIST # Affected Sector Notes
Darden Restaurants Food service
JANCOA Janitorial Services Janitorial Service
Kroger Grocery
Applebee's Food service
Papa John's Food service

17 posted on 11/13/2012 12:43:05 PM PST by null and void (America - Abducted by Aliens...)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

Those evil bastards trying to avoid their patriotic duty to pay as much taxes as the Government demands! Greedy corporations trying to maximize their profits for the shareholders! They didn’t build that! There is a road or a bridge somewhere near their locations that allowed them to make a profit on the backs of the poor and disadvantaged!................[oops! sorry, must have had a liberal flashback from my youth]..........


18 posted on 11/13/2012 12:46:43 PM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: SeekAndFind
From the Left's perspective, it accomplishes two important goals:

1) Revenge/punishment against the wealthy. One of the fundamental (false) beliefs of the Left is that the wealthy become that way by cheating and/or stealing it. Therefore wealth deserves punishment. (Rich Leftists are exempted, of course.)

2) The Chosen One is seen "doing something" about the economy. Once that "something" fails, all that's left is to claim that greedy capitalists are even worse than originally thought, so more severe actions are called for.

19 posted on 11/13/2012 12:47:06 PM PST by TChris ("Hello", the politician lied.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m all for going over the cliff and sequestration. Let all those single Obama voters making 75K to 199K learn how much money mean old George Bush actually saved them. This will also include Trumka’s union members and their working wives who will also be reintroduced to the marriage penalty. The sequestration will cut some goodies to the lower classes but it will cause massive layoffs in the evil military industrial complex that the lefties so despise. They’ll just have to explain to the int’l brotherhood of machinists and the int’l brotherhood of aerospace workers why they no longer have jobs. With cap gains back to Clinton levels, investment will dry up. Home sales will be curtailed. new home starts will fall sharply. The Dems won’t be able to complain about fairness because we’ll be returning to the tax structure of the beloved Saint Bill. How could the dems protest a return to the golden days of Clintonomics? All the GOP has to do is do nothing in the House and publicly announce that they are willing to return to the Clinton tax structure of the 90s. Keep putting Clinton’s name in every speech, interview, and press release. Run vids of Charlie rangel and other Dems whooping it up on the floor when Clinton’s taxes passed 20 years ago.Call Reid’s bluff. Call Barky’s bluff. Let’s go over the cliff.


20 posted on 11/13/2012 12:47:06 PM PST by xkaydet65
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