Debt panel poised to admit failure
November 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm in Grand Forks Herald
A special deficit-reduction supercommittee appears likely to admit failure today, unable or unwilling to compromise on a mix of spending cuts and tax increases required to meet its assignment of saving taxpayers at least $1.2 trillion over the coming decade. Continue Reading
Is it any wonder this panel is admitting failure? After all, they have not addressed the root cause of any of the real problems in any realistic way.
With six Republicans and six hand picked DINO’s to stack the deck, this was to be expected. That was the plan.
We had a surplus in 2000 and were setup to pay off the debt in 10 years. Our economy was booming. Jobs were plentiful. All that needed to be done was… Nothing. Just let it ride.
9/11 should have been a cost shared, international police action. Not invade and destroy a country that had nothing to do with either 9/11 or with terrorism. And then ship them Billion of dollars on shrink wrapped pallets to bribe those left with the power in Iraq, to silence their opposition to their countries destruction and to grease the theft of their oil.
What did bush and the republicans do here? They Cut taxes. They Outsourced good Living Wage Jobs. They Started two unnecessary wars on our children’s credit card. They deregulated the big banks, financial institutions and Wall Street, allowing them to not only gamble with our money, but to keep the winnings from their gambling and to socialize their losses at our expense.
The financial institutions got bailed out, but Main Street did not. Main Street is too close to the people for the Republicans to help. In other words the Republicans bailed on and not out of Main Street.
The Republicns blamed the ballooning deficit on government spending for well run programs. Programs that actually helped American citizens. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment insurance, and a host of smaller programs that benefited the 99%. Programs that the Well-To-Do don’t need.
This panel ignored the Republican tax cuts, except for lying to us, US by trying to tell us less government revenue generated more money for the government to spend. They ignored the Pentagon Defense budget. A defense budget as large as the rest of the world combined, as if it did not exist. They all but ignored the deregulation of our financial institutions that are at the root of the recession/depression we are currently enjoying. This panel ignored the cost of the ongoing wars.
And don’t forget Grover Norquest’s treasonous “No New Tax pledge”. A pledge that most Republicans in Congress signed.
However, everyone in Congress also took a oath to uphold the Constitution. An oath that overrides any other oaths or pledges they may have taken.
Oath of Office:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
Does this Oath sound like what the Republicans are living up to? They would be hard pressed to prove it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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So, this is all the Republicans fault.
Copy.
Total loss of credibility.
btw, in the past 10 years none of the Democrats took that oath?
interesting…..
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“…in the past 10 years none of the Democrats took that oath?”
None, this is strictly a Republican theme.
The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List
http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/070711-federalpledgesigners.pdf
The current mess is the fault of both Republicans and DINO’s, like Kent Conrad.
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So your saying the Dems dont agree with defending and or supporting the Constitution of the United States?
Where are the Republicans NOT supporting the Constitution? or let me rephrase this…. Where are the Republicans doing anything different from the Democrats in this regard?
I could care less about a “Oath”, i’m more interested in what the facts are.
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You do realize that Barrack Obumble has quadrupled the national debt since he took office right?
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People who pick one party and pretend that their poo dont stink sicken me.
There is not one single party that has the answers and no one single party is is more to blame for our current mess than thre other. The wars, the bailouts, the economy in general, all required votes and both parties voted for them. Both parties refuse to work together and both parties are to blame. Its been that way for 10 years now. If Pelosi and Obama hadnt fought tooth and nail for the doomed Health care bill maybe they could have fixed the economy while they had the super majority. Had the Republicans not provided a bailout framework for Fannie and Freddie maybe the Dems wouldnt have kept on giving to banks and insurance companies and private auto industries. Together they have done nothing but drive our nation into the ground. Hard times are upon us and we need to either make huge sacrifices in the Social spending and other areas (to include, but not only national defense) or end up looking like Greece. Sorry to say but looks more like we are going the way of Greece and the “Demopublicans” are the ones to blame. LONG LIVE GRIDLOCK!!!!
Now everyone go grab a sign and complain that we arent getting enough freebies.
I hear there will be kool-aid.
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“People who pick one party and pretend that their poo dont stink sicken me.”
You say that and then you defend one party yourself…
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Which party was that?
How do you turn “Together they have done nothing but drive our nation into the ground.” and “Demopublicans” are the ones to blame.” into defending one party.
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Thank you.
Some people cant understand the concept that a person can look at the situation as a whole without picking sides.
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“Both parties refuse to work together and both parties are to blame. Its been that way for 10 years now.”
Close. It’s actually been 235 years.
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The country is $15,000,000,000,000 in debt or nearly $50,000 per person. What party or leaders are going to make the real cuts in gov’t? We will be Greece in a few years times 100 if true leaders do not step forward in the next couple years.
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The only person who would truly stand up and try to fix this problem is Ron Paul and there is no way he could get enough votes to win because too many people vote straight red/blue.
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Ron P is the only GOP I would vote for. I seriously doubt that choice will be available come 2012
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Ron Paul is an isolationist loon.
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Cain is slime..Newt is typical backstabbing politician…Not sure what Perry is on…Romney will let anyone pull his strings..need I say anymore? Ron P is the only GOP getting my vote. Otherwise Mr. Pres is getting my vote again.
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So Obama is your guy if no Ron Paul? What do you like about Obama?
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Chins,
Sadly it comes down to the lesser of the two evils. More than likely Romney will be up against Obama in 2012. Romney is pretty much politics as usual, putting lobbyist and Corporate America before the general public. The Republican Party believes lowering taxes on corporations and the elite will produce jobs. That’s a fairy tale. Demand produces jobs.
Doing more with less is a common tactic of many corporations. So lightening their tax burden will only supply more $$ for the CEO’s pocket. Meanwhile most employees will face higher insurance premiums, stagnant wages and fewer contributions to the employee’s retirement fund (matching dollar for dollar to 401ks is not very common these days). I hope that answers your question.
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I might add, I believe Obama’s spending spree is only digger a bigger hole for this country. We need to make cuts across the board, everybody chipping in. Maybe that means higher tax rate for the elite and the lower classes also making some sacrifices. Changing the direction of the country is going to take help from every citizen. A combination of cuts and generating more revenue is the only way out.
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How I Cit, Thanks for the response. If demand creates jobs how can the gov’t taking more help create jobs and orders long term? With more taxes and regs we will continue to get small or no raises, higher insurance, etc. and still soft demand and more job loss. Now if the CEO takes home more, either hires or gives some raises or hoards it but puts in the pool or remodels or builds the lake home; demand starts. Then the contractor buys a truck or a saw and hires ans so on…Gov’t taking more stops risk taking.
I agree the cuts are going to be deep and tough but with 50k debt per person it needs to start now.
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The entire congress should resign or be impeached for dereliction of duty against the American public. Their financial assets supplied by their corporate lobbyists should be legally transferred to the general fund and the lobbyists jailed for defrauding the public and bribery of public officials.
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“We had a surplus in 2000 and were setup to pay off the debt in 10 years. Our economy was booming. Jobs were plentiful. All that needed to be done was… Nothing. ”
That one percent that the republicans cater to just didn’t have a large enough slice of the pie yet so Georgie Bush did what he was elected for and shined their shoes.
We may never crawl out of this hole with the gop dropping anchors on our heads.
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The bottom line on this issue is that Republicans refused to allow taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Had they allowed the Bush tax cuts to expire like they should we wouldn’t be talking about this. The Dems have compromised time and again, but the Republicans actually wanted to increase tax cuts for the rich. I’m glad the Dems held firm on that. The rich need to start paying their fair share as a percentage of their income just like the rest of us.
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You’re right. It’s not that difficult to see where all this came from. If an individual cut their income while going on a huge shopping spree everyone would say that person was an irresponsable fool. That’s exactly what the previous administration did by waging two wars while cutting taxes for the wealthy. Then to cut back on spending the very same party says we need to go after those who have the least. Once again comparing it to an individual family it would be akin to saying that to pay for that big screen TV, new car, and other things we really wanted we’ll just have to give up feeding the kids more than once a day, and they can get one new set of clothing per year…..
The Repos have been so wrong for so long that if it wasn’t for the fine propaganda efforts they have they would have been totally rejected a long time ago…..But they know there’s those who will gladly accept anything they’re told without checking actual news to see how much if any of it is true…So they manage to just keep this farce going. Not letting the wealthy pay thier fair share and actually cutting some of the real pork from the military (Even the Pentagone has admitted the budget is over inflated)
I don’t like the idea of what will happen to some of the programs for those who need them the most, but I’m all for president Obama saying he’ll veto any attempts for the Repos to stop what they started. If he did anything less then we’d see an never ending game of holding the country hostage every time the budget comes up….This is purely the result of the Tea-Pees plans to make sure government really doesn’t work…….Tehy’re losing their power over the rest of the repos…..Maybe this will finally drive the well deserved stake through that Vampires cold dark heart…..
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Could you define “their fair share as a percentage of their income just like the rest of us”. According to the CBO, for ALL federal taxes, (not just income taxes but all taxes), they are paying not only a higher tax $$s but a higher percentage of their income to the feds.
Income % of income paid
Lowest quintile 4.3 percent
Second quintile 9.9 percent
Middle quintile 14.2 percent
Fourth quintile 17.4 percent
Percentiles 81-90 20.3 percent
Percentiles 91-95 22.4 percent
Percentiles 96-99 25.7 percent
Percentiles 99.0-99.5 29.7 percent
Percentiles 99.5-99.9 31.2 percent
Percentiles 99.9-99.99 32.1 percent
Top 0.01 Percentile 31.5 percent
Just curious how much more would it take to make it a “fair share”.
BTW: I agree the Bush Tax cuts shouldn’t have been extended.
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The problem comes in where the wealthy basically write off all their income and end up owing little tax. That’s why Warren Buffett the billionaire pays less tax than his secretary when you measure it as a percentage of income. That’s where the tax structure is messed up in favor of the very wealthy.
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Warren Buffet doesn’t pay a low tax rate becuase he “writes off his income”. His income comes from investments and is taxed at capital gains rates which is less than income tax rates.
It is just easier to believe there is some “magic and unexplained” way that only the rich can use to lower their taxes. I have investments and pay part of my taxes as capital gains. A very small part of my income. So am I “writing off” this income too?
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Come on you “dislikers”. Explain yourself. Am I using bad sources? Poor data? Bad analysis? Do you not want to Google to find the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) data?
Or does it just go against how you want to view the world?
I’m willing to learn if there is anyone out there willing to teach me.
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This reminds me of a Seinfeld skit. So what does “write off all their income” mean? How do they do that? Why can’t you and I do the same thing?
In which income bucket do you think Warren Buffet lands? Are you saying he is one of the 99%? Or is he part of the 1%.
Your whole argument is bogus. We are told that the 1% make 17% of all income. But then they don’t, because they “write it off”. But then they do which is unfair. Which is it?
As I pointed out with facts from the Congressional Budget Office, the tax structure isn’t messed up in favor of the very wealthy.
I know that doesn’t match with the line of BS that is constantly spewed by the left. Just like the Bush (Obama) taxs are mainly not for the wealthy. The vast majority (80%)of these cuts went to people with an income of less than $250k.
I’m not an anti-tax crazy. I’m in favor of raising more revenue through high tax rates, by letting the Bush/Obama tax cuts (all of them) expire. There also needs to be significant reform (reduction) in the entitlement programs and large cuts in military and other programs.
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Writing off income is when you have a complicated number of trusts and pass-through arrangements that hide income. Corporations do this when they funnel their profits through the Cayman Islands so that they can avoid taxes. The wealthy do this routinely, and, yes, techincally, much of this is legal. That’s the whole point. The rich can afford to hide their income while the poor just pay their allocated percentage. We need to have tax reform along with other reforms for reining in the budget so that the wealthy end up paying their fair share.
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So raising the tax rates on the millionaires (as proposed by Obama) won’t really accomplish anything. In fact, it will further punish those who are playing fair today. As noted, the rich are paying a higher percentage of their income in federal taxes. Your argument is that they are finding ways to look like they aren’t rich, finding ways to get themselves into a lower income bracket.
BTW: I think this concept of writing off income is mainly a fairy tale. Yes, some businesses are based in the Caymen Islands and yes, some investment bankers are able to restate their pay as investment income and there are a few other legal ways to dodge the taxman, but the VAST MAJORITY of the wealthy really do pay a large amount (in dollars and in % of income) in taxes.
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Here’s a much simplier solution….Since Corporations are now considered human….Then away with all those sweet breaks they get to avoid taxes and let those new human entities pay the same percent as the working class. That should help out quite a bit. If the supreme court says they are human, then they should be taxed in kind….
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I said this when Minnesota couldn’t pass a budget, and I think it bears repeating here.
If they are unable to do this or any other critical aspect of their job, they are obviously not qualified to be there and should be barred from running for re-election or perhaps even subject to immediate recall.
Our inability to balance a budget will drive us to ruin if something is not done very soon, so I don’t think such drastic measures would be out of line.
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I agree, Pete.
At least the recalls have begun, but I’d much rather see the unqualified group fired, fined, and scrutinized over taking bribes from lobbyists. And imprisoned, if found guilty of taking a nickle!
Dead Inside would most likely be calling for mass hangings, but I’d be satisfied with this much, anyway. Of course…….?
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In Wisconsin they are trying to recall Walker who balanced the budget. That makes no sense.
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Saying he balanced the budget is a bit like saying someone lost weight by cutting off a leg…..He made drastic cuts in areas like education while making sweetheart deals to put more money into the Koch Brothers at the expense of the WI tax payers….Oh and then there’s the sweet heart saparies for him and his unqulified staff members….Scott Walker runs his administration pretty much like a crime family…..Because it is…
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Boss Tweed comes to mind…..
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I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one….We’ve let the last administration with all its corruption get by without as much as a single indictment so I doubt there’s a snowball chance in hell for justice here.
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You’re most likely right, tundra, but I’ll still hope, just the same.
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The GOP congress has done once again, what it does best. Nothing!
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