One of the most fierce debates going right now in the political arena is whether to extend the Bush Tax Cuts. While most folks favor extending the cuts for those making under 250k, a fight has been brewing over whether to extend them for the very wealthy, adding $830 billion to our deficit over the next ten years. Now, despite the fact that Republicans are trying to paint themselves as "fiscally conservative" by opposing anything that helps working America because it "adds to the deficit" of course the one thing they are always ready to add to the deficit for is money for the rich. Unfortunately, many Democrats are buying into it as well. However, if they cared about the will of the American people they would scrap them.
All over the country a not-so-funny thing is happening. You see, the right-wing cannot run on their vision for this country because quite frankly that vision crashed this country into a ditch. So, instead of running on their vision or lack thereof they are stuck having to lie through their teeth to America about what Democrats have done, and what they seek to do. Two of their favorite "lying points" are the expiring Bush tax cuts and the stimulus act which although not enough, did save millions of jobs. Of course, the stooges on the right cannot let you know that.
August will mark 75 years since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Social Security legislation into law. Today, this has been the most successful safety net for American retirees, insuring that millions of the elderly and disabled do not live in poverty. However, now with the deficit caused by Republican policies of spend and spend and put two wars and numerous tax cuts on your credit card, Social Security is coming under attack. Of course they cannot blame their own policies of Corporate Welfare and huge tax cuts for the rich so instead of upsetting the Chamber of Commerce they will try to steal your retirement to make up the difference.
Well, I guess this next one should come as no surprise. Despite the fact that oil is spilling into the Gulf because of oil company greed, what do the oil companies do?? Show more greed. Yes, even before we have truly begun cleaning up their mess the oil companies are already fighting a measure that would tax petroleum production to help pay for the cleanup. To add insult to injury, oil companies already soak up government subsidies and relocate offshore to keep from paying taxes.
Rand Paul wants to paint himself as some kind of "different" Republican. He really wants to embody the radical tea-bag movement in this country. However, when it gets right down to it one begins to realize that indeed he is a Republican. He shares the hypocrisy and has one ultimate goal in mind. Turn this whole country over to the Corporations and the very rich to do with as they see fit.
Here in my home state of Kentucky I have long watched in amazement as the voters of this state continually vote against their own interests. With the coronation tommorrow of "tea-party" candidate Rand Paul in the Republican primary, it only cements this point. You see, Paul and his tea-party backers want to "starve the beast" and slash the federal budget down to nothing. They want to do this because the Republicans here have convinced them that the very rich should not have to pay their taxes. The only problem with this approach is that many Kentuckians, including the "tea-baggers" are reaping handsome rewards from federal grants for needed programs.
Across the country a strange phenomena is occurring. Republicans are taking to the airwaves en masse complaining of taxes being raised. This is sort of ironic when millions of Americans are seeing their taxes cut. Ah, but the Republican hangup centers around the Bush tax cuts and the fact that the ones on the very wealthy will be allowed to expire.
Today is Tea Party Day yet again. The day that the greediest and least patriotic among us will hold rallies across the country as well as descending upon Washington D.C. However, on this "Tea-Party" day I think it is very relevant to look at exactly who these folks are and what section of the population they represent. Luckily, a new NY Times/CBS poll goes a long way in doing just that.
Listening to the right-wing foghorns out there one would get certain perceptions. When talking about taxes they must convince their righteous flock that those poor rich folks who crash the economy and pay low wages are hurting. They are being soaked by that most ultimate of villains, the government. You see, if they make folks believe that these are the only people that pay any taxes then they may very well convince the American people that it is quite unfair and get more tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the rest of us.
We always hear in elections the doomsday scenarios from Republicans on taxes. We always hear how Democrats will and are raising our taxes and why the "Bush Tax Cuts" are so very important. However, the honest truth of the matter is that under Democrats more Americans pay LESS taxes. Yes, it appears as if the Republican beef with taxes is not that they want them cut but that they only want them cut on the very few.
Everyone knows about the banking industry imploding upon it's own greed and crashing the economy. Everyone also knows about them recieving a huge bailout on the taxpayer dime and deficit. Despite all of this, it has been business as usual for the big bankers on Wall St. Not one banking regulation has been reinstated and indeed the profits have rolled in proving that in the American Capatalist system, one group of folks constantly get to cheat everyone else in the market as they are allowed to never take risk in their investments. Now these folks seek to bankrupt cities and states across the country.
After months of leaving it to Congress to come up with the details of the Healthcare Bill the President Obama has released his own plan for healthcare. The only problem is that it widely resembles the plan put foward earlier by the Senate in many regards. While the House plan was far from perfect it was far superior to the Senate plan in many ways. Unfortunately, the President still seems to think that compromising with Corporate Democrats instead of using the bulley-pulpit for forcing real reform is the best route to go.
While George W. Bush was touting his tax cuts, mostly for his rich pals,
New York Times By EDMUND L. ANDREWS Published: January 8, 2007 WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — Families earning more than $1 million a year saw their federal tax rates drop more sharply than any group in the country as a result of President Bush’s tax cuts, according to a new Congressional study. The study, by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, also shows that tax rates for middle-income earners edged up in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available, while rates for people at the very top continued to decline.
he had a game plan to simulate the economy with middle class 401K money. Let me make my case:
In keeping with the theme of the last couple of decades it appears as if the very rich and Corporate America will not be asked to sacrifice a damn thing to cure the ills of this country. As always, our government is bought and paid for and the working class are the only folks who will be expected to foot any bill. These newest developments have made what was going to be a horrible bill much worse.
Ah, here we go again. Last night I wrote this diary about how basically the American people are losing faith in President Obama, hate the healthcare bill in the Congress because it scares the hell out of them, do not care much for the leadership of Democrats in Congress and simply cannot stand Republicans. In fact, the only thing they really like about all of this is the only thing they will not get, a Public Option.
You know all the bluster and BS Republicans are always feeding us about how they believe in lowering taxes on Americans?? Well it now appears as if they only believe in lowering taxes on CERTAIN Americans. You know, like the ones that invest other people's money and are international tax cheats?? The rest of us however, do not deserve our tax breaks extended in the twisted, warped minds of modern Republicans.
You know how when we start talking about raising taxes on the rich, who have gotten a free pass the last few decades how some Conservative politician or idiot radio-type is always bantering about how the richest 2% pay more than half in taxes or some garbage like that. Well, as always with the greediest and least patriotic among us that talk is just that, garbage.
One of the main arguments about healthcare reform has been just how we will fund the much needed changes to our broken, expensive and ineffective system. Unfortunately for millions of working Americans, so-called moderates have been balking at raising taxes on the richest 2% of us, the very people who profited so handsomely from the economic boom of the last few decades that turned into a bust last year. Yes, instead of asking the very wealthy among us who can afford it most to sacrifice, once again working Americans are being expected to make all the sacrifice in funding healthcare reform.
Well, the Senate Finance Committee has voted to pass the junk reforms of Max Baucus. In a way this may be good, because now that Baucus has his Corporate Welfare bill through his committee, maybe the reconciliation process can bring about something that more resembles real reform. While I still honestly believe that single-payer is the only thing that will deliver the reform to our system we need, I am hoping the Senate Finance version gets a serious facelift in reconciliation. Anything that mandates coverage for Americans without a strong, viable, robust, or whatever you want to call it public option is political suicide for the Democratic Party. Of course if they are that stupid, they deserve the defeat they will get for acting like watered-down Republicans.
Sorry for the lack of posts, I have taken up a second job and time is limited. Today, there was a lot of news on the Healthcare front. It seems as if everyone is having some kind of problem or another with the way things are going. We have Corporate Democrats and Republicans who seemingly want no reform and are stalling for time, we have others calling for the states to take responsibility for a public option, and we have union middle-class workers crying foul for being expected to sacrifice even more as the drama rolls on.
