Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
On all of the various Sunday shows, White House senior adviser David Plouffe bashed Paul Ryan's budget plan, indicating that Obama will say the GOP targets the vulnerable and protects the rich.
From the Wall Street Journal today:
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.
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.
I can think of nothing that explains how well Ryan's budget plan was received than this -- President Obama has finally decided to talk about some major changes in how we budget entitlement programs. While basic economics might suggest that raising taxes on the wealth creators is not the path to nationwide prosperity, it probably is much easier to sell a "tax those other guys to oblivion" scheme than a "let's face reality about entitlement programs."
Are we doomed?
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Dec '10
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
The fact that the President is going to propose any cuts to entitlements at all is cause for hope. I am not really worried about the tax issue. Republicans aren't good at much but they do know how to win arguments about taxes.
Oct '10
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
The President is backed into a corner. If he offers concrete proposals that effectively deal with entitlements, that will be a net gain for the country which will also dilute his progressive war on producers. Thus, I doubt he'll do it.
President Obama is timid. He's not going to stick his neck out if the political calculus is uncertain. What we will get is platitudes about entitlement reform and concrete proposals to raise taxes. It seems that the public may finally be catching on to caculated cynicism. If so, then we may not be doomed. Ironically, if he offers a serious plan, the economy may flourish, he'll be re-elected and we will be doomed.
Nov '10
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
I think this is good news. Unless the American people have made a fundamental change when I wasn’t looking the “soak the rich” trick has never worked all that well. Too many Americans want to be rich and think they can be someday. (That’s the part that might have changed, gees I hope not).
Pat Caddell is a shrewd political strategist who thinks the Republicans haven’t done a good enough job preparing voters to talk about entitlement reform, and will get stuck with a hot poker if they start talking about it now. But if they can get Obama to make the grand entrance on entitlement reform they have a chance. it’s going to be hard for the Democrats to demagogue the issue when their own president brought it up. That won’t stop them from trying and the media will pull out all the stops to help them. It’s still the Republicans game to lose I think. Of course, losing is their specialty. But hey, maybe not this time.
They’ll need the Tea Party to push them along, with a hot poker.
Jan '11
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
Obama still doesn't understand the problem. His budget tries to mimic Ryan's by talking about cutting, but by trying to raise taxes at the same time, Obama shows that he's only thinking one-dimensionally.
Ryan's plan is based on growth. If receipts stay flat, taxing the rich won't cover the deficit. We need to increase receipts, and that means we need to widen the tax base. The reason we don't raise taxes on the rich is that we want them to invest that money to spur growth.
We all know the basic logic here. If we have four businesses in a town, and they each pay a million a year in taxes, that's 4 million a year. But if you lower the taxes to $900k, and that attracts one extra business, you then generate $4.5 million. The trick is to attract business and widen the tax base. Merely cutting taxes by itself isn't enough; you also have to create an environment that encourages business.
Threatening to confiscate profit, as Obama constantly threatens, does exactly the opposite. Cutting without promoting new business shows that Obama doesn't understand the situation.
Jan '11
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
If that. I'm betting on nothing concrete, a lot of hot air about green energy, and some demonizing of Republicans.
Agreed - but I think, as KC pointed out, that he doesn't understand the situation well enough to do anything that'll help the economy.
Oct '10
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
Haven't you heard? The rich stuff all that money in their mattresses. That's why the government needs to tax it back into the economy.
Apr '11
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
Agreed. But I have a glimmer of hope based on the budget deal hammered out last Friday (yes, that means that I'm with the crowd that did not want the GOP to force a shutdown with so little to gain). Maybe Boehner can play this game.
Aug '10
Re: Obama's Plan: Raise Taxes On Wealthy
Unfortunately the Dems keep going back to the "soak the rich - save the poor" playbook because more often than not it works. Not with Ricochet readers, of course, but with far too many people in the squishy middle who figure they'll never make $250k a year so what the heck - stick it to 'em.
I have 15 employees at my business and they all make between $40-$60k a year - none of them follow politics. If you look around your place of employment most of you will find similar people. They don't watch Fox News, they don't read National Review and they sure as heck don't read Ricochet. What news they do get is from the MSM, which is why that outlet continues to pay dividends for the Dems and their dishonest schemes.
Are people wising up? Maybe, but not fast enough to save our country I'm afraid...