The political knifes are drawn

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

UG reports that global warming is cooling down because there are fewer jobs generating all that human activity.

[TheMercenary]

Good news!

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/06/ob...r-all-incomes/

[Spexxvet]

Good news that the deficit will continue to grow?

[glatt]

So they are extending everyone's tax cuts, the biggest cuts going to the richest.

And at the same time, they have this bipartisan commission talking about where they can tighten the old belt in other places, and one of the biggest places they are looking at is to tax employer provided benefits. So the poor working slob like me is going to continue to get my tax cut (Yay!) but they are talking about offsetting that by taxing my benefits. (Boo!) Now the rich dude is also going to have his benefits taxed, but his benefits are the same size as mine, so his increase in taxes are going to be tiny compared to the enormous tax cut he's getting.

Once again, it's playing out that rich dudes are getting all the breaks. I'm not surprised. The Republicans are back in town.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by glatt

So they are extending everyone's tax cuts, the biggest cuts going to the richest.

And at the same time, they have this bipartisan commission talking about where they can tighten the old belt in other places, and one of the biggest places they are looking at is to tax employer provided benefits. So the poor working slob like me is going to continue to get my tax cut (Yay!) but they are talking about offsetting that by taxing my benefits. (Boo!) Now the rich dude is also going to have his benefits taxed, but his benefits are the same size as mine, so his increase in taxes are going to be tiny compared to the enormous tax cut he's getting.

Once again, it's playing out that rich dudes are getting all the breaks. I'm not surprised. The Republicans are back in town.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by glatt

The Republicans are back in town.

You ain't seen anything yet if they take back the Senate in 2 years.

[glatt]

We'll see. The electorate is very unhappy with both parties. They gave the Dems 2 years of power to fix things before throwing them out. I can't see them giving the Republicans more time than that.

This bipartisan commission tasked with balancing the budget has me hopeful. But starting off with such a big spending item as this tax cut is pointing us in the wrong direction if balancing the budget is the goal.

Still, raising taxes in a recession isn't a very good idea either.

[TheMercenary]

I agree, but the dems actually had controll for 4 years of both houses not 2. And they still control the Senate. What this does show for the first time is some form of limited compromise. I think it is foolish to think that any tax reform is really for buget balancing or deficit reduction because none of the money to be saved is directed at that and historically used for more spending. That is the problem with raising taxes at this point. It will not be used for what worries people the most, deficit reduction. I also agree with the bipartisan commission as well. It is a good start but until people in both groups recognize that hard and difficult choices will have to be made we will only dig ourselves in deeper.

[TheMercenary]

<oops, sorry for the spelling errors>

[Lamplighter]

What a sad sight at the Press Conference on TV today...
A humiliated President trying to convince reporters that he had not been humiliated.

One question set the tone:
"Mr Present, just where do you draw a line in the sand ..."
President's answer: "The tax cuts for the wealthy are not permanent"
Thank you, Mr President.

It's a lot like the sale of Manhatten Island years ago, land traded for beads

[TheMercenary]

Funnier yet is how the Left is describing the tax cut extensions as taking 250 billion out of the economy.... What a load of crap. Sort of like telling everyone that if you make between 250k and 999k you are a millionaire.

They are just keeping it out of the hands of the Robber Barron's who want to redistribute it to more failed programs.

[TheMercenary]

Well if it fails, I guess the ball is now in their court to compromise or go down as sinking the deal. The time for deal making is now.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...s-tax-cut-deal

[Lamplighter]

The Young Turks is a very liberal website going under the guise of a news report.

Here is their take on the 3-year tax break for the wealthy
(~2 min)

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

What a sad sight at the Press Conference on TV today...
A humiliated President trying to convince reporters that he had not been humiliated.

One question set the tone:
"Mr Present, just where do you draw a line in the sand ..."
President's answer: "The tax cuts for the wealthy are not permanent"
Thank you, Mr President.

It's a lot like the sale of Manhatten Island years ago, land traded for beads

I am a lot more charitably inclined toward Obama at this point. He made the mistake of letting Pelosi and friends get too much say and too much face-time making it very easy for the GOP to subvert his Presidency. If he can insert himself between these two factions he can actually do the peoples business.

[TheMercenary]

I agree Griff. It seems to me that after all my disappointment in Obama that he is the only one stepping up the plate to get something concrete on the table that will be a perceived as a win for the majority of people. It is a short term solution anyway. But given the division in the Congress I am sure they will screw it up in the end.