Posted on 07/15/2011 10:23:00 AM PDT by quesney
President Obama on Friday kept up the pressure on Republicans to agree to revenue increases in a deal to raise the debt ceiling, claiming 80 percent of the public supports Democrats' demand for tax increases.
"The American people are sold," Obama said. "The problem is members of Congress are dug in ideologically."
Throughout the press conference, Obama blasted Republicans for ignoring what he said is the will of the American people by rejecting tax increases that would balance out spending cuts in a debt package.
"This is not an issue of salesmanship to the American people," Obama said. "I hope [Republicans are] not just listening to lobbyists and special interests ... I hope they're listening to the American people as well," Obama said, citing "poll after poll" showing Republican voters, as well as Democrats, believe in taking "a balanced approach" — including both increased revenues and spending cuts in a plan to cut the deficit.
Obama repeated his warning that the country is "running out of time" to avert a financial “Armageddon.”
"We should not even be this close on a deadline," Obama said. "This is something we should have accomplished earlier."
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
In August 2009, on a visit to Elkhart, Indiana to tout his stimulus plan, Obama sat down for an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, and was conveyed a simple request from Elkhart resident Scott Ferguson: “Explain how raising taxes on anyone during a deep recession is going to help with the economy.”
Obama agreed with Ferguson’s premise – raising taxes in a recession is a bad idea. “First of all, he’s right. Normally, you don’t raise taxes in a recession, which is why we haven’t and why we’ve instead cut taxes. So I guess what I’d say to Scott is – his economics are right. You don’t raise taxes in a recession. We haven’t raised taxes in a recession.”
I don’t have all the answers, of course.
It’s obvious that leftists would love to make voters throw the GOP out, a repeat of 1995-1996. I don’t think Obama knows how to do this by himself — Bill Clinton has been giving him lessons.
The GOP needs to be one step ahead. Use the reality that the debt is killing us, but use it intelligently, don’t throw it away.
You were inattentive. The web site you reference claims that tax increases raise revenue. I claimed that this statement was counterfactual when made across the board: in other words, it holds in full generality no more than the claim that no tax increase raises revenue. As you correctly point out, some do and some don't.
The mathematics of this is trivial: at 0% tax, there is no revenue. At 100% tax, there is also none after the initial taking. Revenue over time as a function of tax rate is not identically zero, yet it is zero at the end points. Therefore by Rolle's Theorem there exists a point (rate) between zero and 100% where revenue is maximized. When you are to the right of this point in a right-handed coordinate system, decreasing the rate raises revenue, when to the left, increasing rates raise revenue. The purveyour of your cited website actually believes that raising rates always increase revenue. This is mathematically impossible.
Like you, I am not sanguine about the effect of Ryan's plan on electoral outcomes. That is a shame because it means that either Republicans must get better at making people understand that we must cut entitlements or the Republic is finished. What I pointed out to you, quite correctly, is that the poll results do not favor the Democrats proposals to anything like the degree that you claim that "19 polls show Americans favor raising taxes." They simply don't. Most of the polls cited as notes added in proof of the statement by this misleading website do not even ask that question.
In response to your challenge, I have cited the two most recent polls on this issue. They show that the majority of Americans -- and overwhelming majorities of Republicans and Independents -- understand that spending is the largest part of the problem. Contrary to what you said in your original post, these polls are not altogether bad news for us.
This poll says 55% are opposed to his tax hike. He’s only off by 25%!
When messages are floating around like the limit doesnt have to be raised at all, or that the average voter wants a shutdown, that makes it harder to stay focused on getting Obama the blame so he caves. Then you got individual congress members boasting on TV that they will not vote for any extension, playing right into Dems plan to convince they public who wants the shutdown.
Democrat are much more focused than Republicans from day 1 and every day on the goal:”Make Republicans own the shutdown so they get crushed”. Republicans are all over the place.
Alternatively if Republicans use their cave plan they must make Obama own the debt, But Obama already has his story on that, that he 'tried' with the phony offer.
Don’t tax you. Don’t tax me. Tax that man behind the tree.
He would be off by 35%.
I agree with that that poll result you cite is correct, that voters believe spending is the bigger problem. Dems are reading that one too.
That is why Obama set the big trap by making a phony public offer of >1 trillion in budget cuts(wasn't really an offer either just a leak) ‘on the table’, a offer he couldnt deliver on and Pelosi wont go for. He knew by adding those poll tested tax loopholes as a demand that Republicans would feel they have to reject it outright. So now he goes out to voters and says ‘I tried and Republicans turned me down’ . Now Pelosi is playing along saying she will support the cuts if Republicans come back, yet she could never deliver those cuts.
Worse yet it looks like the House is so fractured they cant even pass a shorter extension with cuts to call Obama’s bluff. One theory is the surrender plan was to convince House Republicans to vote for something.
They took advantage of Republicans disunity and lack of a plan. So far anyway, I guess it's not over yet.
Is this like his enabling act? Because I think he’s going to try to get some kind of enabling act through one day that will let him do what he wanna.
True, but the MSM supports this crap. How can they possibly spin this 80% number? The other thing it tells me is how desperate he's getting plus his facial expressions are projecting his narcissistic rage. Soon to be unhinged? Oh man, Novemvber 6, 2012 can't get here soon enough. Seems like an awfully long time to wait. Something every day. . .
Prepare and work like hell when Sarah announces.
Since he really believes that, maybe he could set up a VOLUNTARY program so that all thoe eager taxpayers could fork it over to their messiah.
That should take care of the deficit all by itself.
Say what you will about all his goofy rhetoric-—since Obama has been fighting with the GOP daily about the debt problem, he has gotten a nice little bump on Rasmussen.
There is a large percentage of voters who eat up BS with a spoon, apparently.
Un-freaking-believable! Yeah... we need more taxes like we all need another hole in the head. The dude is absolutely nuts!
Not only do I think they ought to poll only those who actually pay taxes, I think we ought to go back to requiring citizenship, property ownership, English-language literacy, and not being on the dole to be eligible to vote.
WEll, we’re going to have *Armageddon* sooner or later, why not now?
"Man - I coulda used THAT in my Pathological Liar bit on SNL ..."
Orchestrated Crisis on Deck! Community Organizing at its Finest! Class warfare, race card, you name it!
More education! Keep the data humming. . .
BTTT
Amen to that!
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