Of course, it appears as if his plan is more of a draft, well, really, a rough outline….OK, more of some talking points scribbled on a cocktail napkin from a campaign event: Obama Puts Taxes on Table
President Barack Obama will lay out his plan for reducing the nation’s deficit Wednesday, belatedly entering a fight over the nation’s long-term financial future. But in addition to suggesting cuts—the current focus of debate—the White House looks set to aim its firepower on a more divisive topic: taxes.
He actually had the right idea a few weeks ago, when he suggested completely overhauling the tax code, simplifying it. That’s surely not what he is going to do, because that would be hard work.
In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Obama will propose cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and changes to Social Security, a discussion he has largely left to Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He also will call for tax increases for people making over $250,000 a year, a proposal contained in his 2012 budget, and changing parts of the tax code he thinks benefit the wealthy.
Will Democrats excoriate Obama for bringing up changes to SS? Will they say he is taking food out of grandma’s hands, forcing her to eat cat food? Will they say that the cuts are like “old miserly man snatching a crayon out of a baby’s handâ€, “wildly cruel”, and “extreme”? That he wants to harm women’s health? Anyhow, Obama includes his standard “tax the rich” mantra, because, obviously, taxing them will solve all our fiscal problems. As a sidebar, I wouldn’t be surprised if he offers a speech line for a VAT (value added tax) in addition to the current taxes.
“Every corner of the federal government has to be looked at here,” David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser, said Sunday in one of multiple television appearances. “Revenues are going to have to be part of this,” he said, referring to tax increases.
Plouffe seems to be suggesting that the White House hasn’t looked at every corner, which, they probably haven’t. That would be work.
The White House is trying to portray Democrats as the champions of the middle class. After days of commenting little on the Ryan budget, Mr. Plouffe said there are parts of it the White House agrees with, but he rejected one element of the proposal as a $1 trillion tax break for Americans making over $250,000 a year.
In his speech Wednesday, Mr. Obama will use himself as an example to make the case for raising taxes on the wealthy, while preserving those for the middle class. “People like him, as he’ll say, who’ve been very fortunate in life, have the ability to pay a little bit more,” Mr. Plouffe said.
He’s a one trick pony. But, Democrats have rejected trickle down economics for decades, somehow thinking that money flows up from those who have little to none.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: change the way federal funds are allocated, require agencies to use money wisely, stop paying for cost over-runs, and stop funding every single pet cause on the backs of the American people. Simplify the tax code, eliminate most tax breaks, lower the rates (including the corporate tax rate). Return much of the power stolen by the federal government back to the states to spend money properly. Yeah, I know, never happen. There’s way too much power in Congress to control the purse strings, and you know what they say about absolute power.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
It has always been his plan to create a crisis by raising the deficit to massive levels so that those evil rich people can be taxed.
Class warfare is playing to his progressive base.
Unions vs. the Rich is playing to his progressive base.
AGW and Green energy is playing to his progressive base.
Alinsky and Cloward and Piven is his playbook and he is using every page of it.
The shame of it all is (among others) that the idiots on the Left will still vote for him regardless, as will some idiot Independents.