Obama says he'll tax the rich, roll back Bush cuts and aid middle class

The New York Daily News ^ | November 9, 2008 | KENNETH R. BAZINET

[CedarDave]

For the rich, the party is over - as promised.

Despite speculation to the contrary, President-elect Barack Obama will act on his campaign promise and roll back the Bush administration's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, an Obama senior adviser told The Daily News.

The Obama camp rejected the overnight analysis by some pundits who speculated the language at his first news conference Friday suggested the President-elect was backing away from his tax plans.

"No change to the tax plan - at all," the aide said.

Obama plans to raise taxes on the wealthy by asking the Democratic-controlled Congress to allow President Bush's tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010. When they expire, it could pump in about $72 billion a year toward balancing the budget, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

The President-elect also will move quickly with his promised middle-class tax cut, even before the taxes on the rich expire, top Obama and congressional aides confirmed Saturday.

[CedarDave]

No change here from Obama's campaign notwithstanding those who said he'd be more realistic and moderate when he gets to Washington. A socialist/Marxist never changes his spots. He and his radical allies have a green light to change this country into center-left European socialist chaos.

[The Iceman Cometh]

it could pump in about $72 billion a year toward balancing the budget, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

That $72 billion will be offset by $300 billion in new spending.

[AU72]

Obama cannot finesse the Bush tax cut expiration.

When millions of tax payers get their first W2 after expiration, it will hit the fan.

[ilgipper]

Good, this is what I want him to do, so the economy dries up further and fiscal conservatism can retake the mantle as the preferred economic system.

At no time in history in any nation has ‘soaking the rich’ helped the economy grow.

[KeyLargo]

Wanted: More Food Stamps

Weekend Edition Sunday, November 9, 2008 · More than 29 million Americans are enrolled in the federal food stamp program. This is the highest enrollment in history, save for the period immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Host Liane Hansen discusses the rising need for food assistance with Stacy Dean, director of food assistance policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96793525&ft=1&f=1018

[RC2]

Obama will ruin small business in this country. His tax cuts for 95% will result in higher prices for the goods they purchase. This in itself is a tax increase since companies will simply raise their prices to cover the tax increases.

[nhwingut]

I’m wondering if the 62 million morons realize that when Obama taxes the evil big businesses, they will end up paying them via higher prices/rates.

[uncbob]

Stock marget will love this news

Hope the TV anchors will like their new pay stubs

[bolobaby]

Good luck with that Bambi:

You Can't Soak The Rich

[scory]

What I hope is that Hussein will find himself so constrained by conditions that he will be unable to enact much of what he would like to do. What I expect is that he will forge ahead regardless with consequences ranging from bad to disastrous.

[petro45acp]

WE ARE SO BONED!

[freekitty]

Did he ever decide who was the middle class?

[Signalman]

So it is still not clear who are the “rich” in this country. My family household income is slightly over 150K/year. I live in California. Let me tell you, I am far from being rich. Not in this state. So is Obama going to make me pay more taxes? Probably.

[kcvl]

This is the advice I received last week:

If your top tax rate is 35% at present it is "expected" to be at 45% by the end of 2009 according to a meeting of CPAs on Friday. They are encouraging investors to get their portfolios in line (sell anything they need to sell before the end of the year) and hang on for four years of economic failure worse than Carter.

[AndyJackson]

I have long believed that wall street and corporate executives are way way way overpaid. Had Greenspan kept his mitts off of the economy and just let recessions happen when they should, this nonsense would have corrected a long time ago. Now were face the mother of all corrections, and I don't think that that is going to be a problem much longer.

With all the capital losses that folks are going to be racking up for the next few years, you can but 100% income taxes on the super rich. You won't get any money.

[FreeReign]

When they expire, it could pump in about $72 billion a year toward balancing the budget, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

The tax increase will stay on their side of the water bucket, right?

Generally speaking, the cost of doing business will go up by 72 billion and the cost will be passed on to all. It's called free market capitalism and you can't target any component of it without effecting all components.

[Las Vegas Ron]

He should just give averybody a million dollars, then we’d all be rich. I mean this is really simple, sheesh

[az_gila]

Obama cannot finesse the Bush tax cut expiration.
When millions of tax payers get their first W2 after expiration, it will hit the fan.

---

OK... at what level did those nasty Bush tax cuts go down too?

Won't this increase the tax on the so-called O “middle class” too?

Or are we back to Clinton-speak where a removal of a tax cut is not a tax increase?

[littlehouse36]

Current non-taxpaying voters: 30%.

Point of no-return for Republicans: 40%.

Obama has four years to reach his goal.

Every voice counts.

Georgians had better get off their rears and vote Saxby on Dec. 2nd.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Since the Bush tax cuts helped me I guess I must be "rich".

The only comfort I get out of this is it is going to hit my O-bummer loving co-workers too. I am going to humming that jingle, "You asked for it, you got it"