Perpetuating Obama’s Tax-Cut Lies

[Geee]

National Review:

Nothing produces a greater sense of the futility of facts than seeing someone in the mass media repeating some notion that has been refuted innumerable times over the years.

On July 9, on CNN’s program The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, commentator Gloria Borger discussed President Obama’s plan to continue the temporary extension of the tax rates established under the Bush administration — except for the top brackets, where Obama wanted the tax rates raised.

Ms. Borger said, “If you’re going to lower the tax rates, where are you going to get the money from?”

 

First of all, nobody is talking about lowering the tax rates. They are talking about whether or not to continue the existing tax rates, which are set to expire after a temporary extension. And Obama is talking about raising the tax rate on higher-income earners.

But when Ms. Borger asked “where are you going to get the money from” if you don’t raise tax rates, she was assuming an automatic correlation between tax rates and tax revenues, which is demonstrably false.

As far back as the 1920s, a huge cut in the highest income-tax rate — from 73 percent to 24 percent — led to a huge increase in the amount of tax revenue collected by the federal government. Why? Because investors took their money out of tax shelters, where they were earning very modest rates of return, and put it into the productive economy, where they could earn higher rates of return, now that those returns were not so heavily taxed.

This was the very reason why tax rates were cut in the first place — to get more revenue for the federal government. The same was true, decades later, during the John F. Kennedy administration. Similar reasons led to tax-rate cuts during the Ronald Reagan administration and the George W. Bush administration.

[Draggingtree]

Networks Ignore Harry Reid's Refusal to Call Vote on Tax Cut Extension; NBC's Viquiera Raised Question in WH Briefing

 

By Ken Shepherd | July 12, 2012 | 12:40

 

As I noted yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) yesterday refused to call a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts, even though President Barack Obama days earlier urged passage of such tax cuts as soon as possible. Predictably, however, the July 11 editions of the network evening newscasts -- ABC's World News, the CBS Evening News, and NBC's Nightly News -- all ignored the development. Ditto with the network morning shows today.

Each evening newscast did, however, note the House vote to repeal ObamaCare, the first such vote after the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate as a tax.

 

 

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2012/07/12/networks-ignore-harry-reids-refusal-call-vote-tax-cut-extension-nbcs-v#ixzz20UsSmPBg

[Draggingtree]

America wants adults in Congress – instead, we have Harry Reid

 

posted at 5:30 pm on July 12, 2012 by Dustin Siggins

[ Congress ]

 

 

In January 2011, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

that Social Security is in fine shape. A few days past 18 months later, and with disturbing new information about the truly bleak future of Social Security, Reid has not publicly adjusted his statement, nor do I expect he plans to. This is not the only area where Reid has been complicit in an abdication of duty, however – on Tuesday National Journal reported that the nation’s top Senator is going to kick the can down the road again when it comes to his duty to pass a budget.

 

Reid’s stated reason for not passing a budget is that the House Republicans want to spend $19 billion less than the Budget Control Act dictated could happen in Fiscal Year 2013. However, since Reid has not passed a budget through the Senate in nearly 1,200 days – including one year when Democrats had a nearly filibuster-proof margin of votes in the Senate and a complicit Pelosi-led House – this reason is suspect at best.

 

There at least three other reasons Reid’s statement should be taken with a grain of salt. First, disagreements between the chambers are normal. Typically, the Read More

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2012/07/12/america-wants-adults-in-congress-instead-we-have-harry-reid/

[Draggingtree]

Why Democrats are hesitant to vote on Obama's tax plan

 

President Obama urged Congress immediately to pass his plan to extend some of the Bush tax cuts. But Senate Democrats are taking their time, hoping to score political points.

By David Grant, Staff writer / July 12, 2012

 

Washington

 

Lots of weird things happen in Congress in an election season. Case in point: For the next few weeks, Democrats swear they’re going to relish a fight on taxes.

Taxes, of course, are typically GOP-controlled terrain, and that conversation typically goes something like this: We don't want any. But this year, Democrats think they have the winning hand, and so Senate Democratic leaders are twisting themselves into procedural pretzels to make sure the issue doesn't leave the public eye anytime soon.

Never mind that President Obama asked Congress last week immediately to pass a one-year extension of the Bush tax cuts up to $250,000 in household income. There's two weeks to go until Congress's summer break, and delaying a vote on the president's plan gives Democrats two weeks to pummel Republicans as middle-class-hating protectors of the fabulously wealthy and undertaxed.

“We’re delighted to wait a few weeks and have the president go around the country and explain his tax proposal, our tax proposal, versus theirs,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) of New York. “Every day, the more people hear about the difference between the two, the more they side with ours.”

This, however, has required some small amount of legislative gymnastics.

The Republicans, of course, Read More http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/0712/Why-Democrats-are-hesitant-to-vote-on-Obama-s-tax-plan

[Draggingtree]

How Will Taxmageddon Impact You?

 

By The Heritage Foundation

June 14, 2012

 

 

Print the one-page Fact Sheet

On January 1, 2013, a $494 billion wave of tax hikes will take effect, hitting every American household, regardless of income. Here’s how much taxes will rise for five different demographic groups:

FAMILIES

$4,138 TAX INCREASE

5.9% of average income

Total filers: 15 million

Average income: $70,662

BABY BOOMERS

$4,223 TAX INCREASE

4% of average income

Total filers: 33.1 million

Average income: $95,099

Get the full details on Taxmageddon at http://www.heritage.org/ObamaTaxHikes Read More http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2012/06/how-will-taxmageddon-impact-you

[Draggingtree]

Taxmageddon: Massive Tax Increase Coming in 2013

 

By Curtis Dubay

April 4, 2012

 

 

If President Obama and Congress fail to act this year, an enormous, unprecedented tax increase will fall on American taxpayers starting on January 1, 2013. The Washington Post called the looming tax increase “Taxmageddon,”[1] and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called it a “massive fiscal cliff.”[2]

This impending tax increase is mostly the result of the expiration of many long-standing policies that all expire at the end of 2012. President Obama and Congress should start working together now to prevent this massive tax increase rather than waiting until the end of the year. That would assure families, businesses, and investors that their taxes will not rise sharply as the economy is still staggering to its feet and show the voters that Washington really can get important things done—even in an election year.

Taxmageddon Is Huge

Taxmageddon is a $494 billion tax increase that strikes at the beginning of 2013. Under current law, tax policies in seven different categories will expire, and five of the 18 new tax hikes from Obamacare will begin.

Read More

 

http://www.heritage.org/issues/taxes/taxmageddon#