Posted on 12/08/2019 3:49:04 PM PST by karpov
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg claimed last month that “everything that we have proposed has been paid for, and we have proposed no tax increase on the middle class.” The South Bend, Ind., mayor is incorrect on both counts: He hasn’t said how he’d pay for all his proposed spending. He has endorsed one explicit tax increase on the middle class, and his recent retirement plan provides an outline for another. Add it up, and middle-class workers could face a trillion dollars in new taxes.
To support family caregivers, Mr. Buttigieg’s retirement plan restated his prior commitment to enact “an enhanced version of the Family Act,” which would provide 12 weeks of subsidized family leave. The candidate has yet to specify how exactly he would “enhance” the Family Act. But that legislation, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), pays for its new benefit by raising payroll taxes by 0.2% of income.
Mr. Buttigieg’s retirement plan also contains several new spending proposals, including a long-term care entitlement. He says the program would make benefits available to people over 65 and would “kick in after an income-related waiting period.” His plan cites two white papers as examples of “similar programs” proposed by scholars.
Mr. Buttigieg fails to note how both white papers propose to pay for the new benefits. In the first paper, the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative envisions a program “fully financed by a dedicated revenue source,” including a payroll tax, “an explicit income tax surcharge, or other dedicated tax.”
The second paper, written by researchers affiliated with the Urban Institute, contains several policy details Mr. Buttigieg adopted, including waiting periods for wealthier people to qualify. That paper also proposes a specific funding source: “an additional tax of about 1% of earned Medicare-covered income.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
This fruit will not be getting anywhere near the presidency therefore nothing he says or thinks is relevant.
Why would any of these clowns in public office be expected to know anything about how best to fund pensions, etc.? This is not much different from having them come up with their own plan for treating prostate cancer, or an immune deficiency.
By "lacked fiscal candor" is meant, he and his campaign lied -- same goes for Psychojawea and her downward spiraling campaign. Thanks karpov.
The DNC is plowing the road for Biden. Eventually they're probably going to accuse the Trump reelection campaign of "leaking" information that is publicly available but merely ignored by the Partisan Media Shills.
I remember hearing from everyone (celebrities, politicians, newscasters, etc) that Donald Trump would never come close to being President. Stay vigilant!
Pete ButtGiggityGittityGoo is an International Socialist like his Professorial Dad.
May the Farce slay him as a Candidate.
“Why would any of these clowns in public office be expected to know anything about how best to fund pensions, etc.? This is not much different from having them come up with their own plan for treating prostate cancer, or an immune deficiency.”
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Exactly.
The only person we’ve had in the Presidency in the last quarter century that knows anything about finance is President Trump and it shows in the booming economy. Having lawyers for presidents and in charge of fiscal policy is like getting your dentist to design a bridge.
The answer is always really high taxes and fees for the middle class and the job providers who dare to be "wealthy" based on their achievements and risk of capital.
Margaret Thatcher — 'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'
But he has been perfectly open about his fistal can-do.
The ground is being laid to abolish private retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s. This is what this proposal is all about. Of course, Pete and the rest of the Democrats don’t have the guts to come out with it and will sugar-coat it with poll-tested phrases, thanks to Beto effing up their dreams at gun confiscation.
Nothing is paid for or can be paid for.
The country is 20 trillion in debt.
Absolutely. It’s ludicrous, and we need to have a sweeping change in who we put in office - and for how long.
I said that about Obama.
On the whole, a good article. But why use communist terminology that is predicated on class warfare? Middle income people are not a “class” whose interests diverge from the poor and the wealthy.
Mrs Glezmer takes it like a man.
I haven’t read the article, only the title because .... FICA already pays SS
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