Boston Globe Op-Ed:
You can have your own politics, my liberal friends, you aren't entitled to your own facts.
and it just gets better..
Yesterday morning I endured watching a fertilizer-filled conversation on Fox 25 with Rep. Stephen Lynch, who hit every Pelosi talking point: The bill is full of “tax cuts,” in particular “tax breaks for the top 2 percent” of income earners. “We’re borrowing $855 billion from the Chinese . . . to finance these tax cuts [for the rich]” Lynch claimed, and he rejected the idea that the original Bush tax cuts had any stimulative effect....
...Democrats keep claiming will “cut taxes for the rich” doesn't cut taxes at all. It keeps rates the same. ...
...not letting them rise isn't a “cut” anywhere outside Washington. I’ve never seen an advertisement that said “C’mon down for big savings at the ‘We were going to raise prices but decided not to!’ sale!”...
...And as for those evil Bush tax cuts “costing us” billions, federal revenues increased 14.5 percent in 2005 and 11.8 percent in 2006, the fastest rise since 1981.... More here
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Obama's 3 Million Dollar Tax Hike
Christina Romer, chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers had this to say about deficit reduction:
But the chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers admitted that health reform and a growing economy isn’t enough to bring down the deficit. She did mention one other place that revenue could come from: letting the Bush tax cuts expire.
James Pethokoukis at the Reuters Blog says that Since Obama already wants to get rid of the income and capital gains tax cuts for wealthier Americans that expire at the end of 2010, clearly what Romer is referring to is the rest of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Letting all the 2001 cuts — rate reductions, child tax credit marriage penalty relief — expire would raise tax revenues by $2.5 trillion through 2019. (more)
And the whole "tax the rich" scheme is nothing but a bunch of fertilizer. If you think you won't be affected by a tax on the "wealthiest of Americans" you've got a rude awakening coming. Its really quite simple: 80% of Americans work for those considered "rich". Many of these are the "mom and pop" shops that employ 100's of people and larger companies that employ 1,000s.
A tax on the rich will impact small and big alike and and business will respond by raising prices and/or cutting jobs or not expanding/hiring. The greatest impact will be on "small" business.
70% of jobs in this country are created by small business.
It ain't rocket surgery or brain science folks...
But the chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers admitted that health reform and a growing economy isn’t enough to bring down the deficit. She did mention one other place that revenue could come from: letting the Bush tax cuts expire.
James Pethokoukis at the Reuters Blog says that Since Obama already wants to get rid of the income and capital gains tax cuts for wealthier Americans that expire at the end of 2010, clearly what Romer is referring to is the rest of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Letting all the 2001 cuts — rate reductions, child tax credit marriage penalty relief — expire would raise tax revenues by $2.5 trillion through 2019. (more)
And the whole "tax the rich" scheme is nothing but a bunch of fertilizer. If you think you won't be affected by a tax on the "wealthiest of Americans" you've got a rude awakening coming. Its really quite simple: 80% of Americans work for those considered "rich". Many of these are the "mom and pop" shops that employ 100's of people and larger companies that employ 1,000s.
A tax on the rich will impact small and big alike and and business will respond by raising prices and/or cutting jobs or not expanding/hiring. The greatest impact will be on "small" business.
70% of jobs in this country are created by small business.
It ain't rocket surgery or brain science folks...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
13 New Tax Hikes In the Dems Healthcare Bill
Let's see 1,990 pages divided by 13 is one tax hike every 153 pages.....From Americans For Tax Reform:
H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" has been introduced--all 1990 pages of it. This gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes. Here they all are, with description and page number (PDF version):
***
Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).
Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.
Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.
read the rest here...
H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" has been introduced--all 1990 pages of it. This gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes. Here they all are, with description and page number (PDF version):
***
Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).
Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.
Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.
read the rest here...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
$2.6 Million to Train Chinese Prostitutes to Drink Responsibly on the Job and more
CNSNews has done a couple of articles describing the wasting of our federal tax dollars. Reading things like this makes me feel like I'm in a really bad movie...
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.
Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as "female sex workers"--or FSW--and their handlers as "gatekeepers."
"Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSWs [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSWs (i.e., the 'gatekeepers', defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSWs," says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.(more)
Ya think?
But wait there's more:
Feds Will Spend $400,000 to Study Drinking and Sex Habits of Homosexuals in Argentina
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a study that seeks to discover a link between drinking and having sex among homosexuals in Argentina.The study will send researchers to six bars in Buenos Aires to interview both patrons and proprietors in an effort to discover what it is about those bars that may encourage the risky behavior. ...(more)
Hmmm, what is it about those bars that might encourage...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!?? This cannot be a real question that someone is being paid to answer.
Last but not least, if you have ever doubted the strength of the homosexual lobby:
U.S. Spent More Than Twice as Much on HIV/AIDS as on Flu in ‘06, Despite Almost Five Times More Flu Deaths
The federal government spent $6.1 billion on influenza-related programs in 2006, less than half as much as the $13.7 billion dollars it spent on HIV/AIDS programs that year, according to figures provided to CNSNews.com by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During the same time, seasonal flu claimed 56,326 lives in the U.S., while AIDS-related deaths stood at 12,113. (more)
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.
Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as "female sex workers"--or FSW--and their handlers as "gatekeepers."
"Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSWs [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSWs (i.e., the 'gatekeepers', defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSWs," says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.(more)
Ya think?
But wait there's more:
Feds Will Spend $400,000 to Study Drinking and Sex Habits of Homosexuals in Argentina
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a study that seeks to discover a link between drinking and having sex among homosexuals in Argentina.The study will send researchers to six bars in Buenos Aires to interview both patrons and proprietors in an effort to discover what it is about those bars that may encourage the risky behavior. ...(more)
Hmmm, what is it about those bars that might encourage...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!?? This cannot be a real question that someone is being paid to answer.
Last but not least, if you have ever doubted the strength of the homosexual lobby:
U.S. Spent More Than Twice as Much on HIV/AIDS as on Flu in ‘06, Despite Almost Five Times More Flu Deaths
The federal government spent $6.1 billion on influenza-related programs in 2006, less than half as much as the $13.7 billion dollars it spent on HIV/AIDS programs that year, according to figures provided to CNSNews.com by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During the same time, seasonal flu claimed 56,326 lives in the U.S., while AIDS-related deaths stood at 12,113. (more)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Here comes California's May 19 Rebellion
Let's hope it spreads....
From the Washington Examiner:
California voters head to the polls next week with predictions of doom echoing in their ears if they decline to endorse the massive tax hikes prescribed for them by big Democratic majorities in the statehouse, Arnold and a handful of now ruined-politically Republican legislators.
"Shrill" doesn't begin to describe the campaign designed to stampede the Golden State electorate. The latest ad has a weary, soot-covered fire-fighter urging a yes vote on the tax hike. The message is clear: Vote no and your homes will burn down.
Not even this sort of fear-mongering is moving the needle towards "yes" on the massive tax surge on next week's ballot as poll after poll shows all the key measures put forward by the tax-and-spend-and tax-again crowd failing badly....
...If the tax hikes are rejected by large margins next week, the country's political elite ought to study that result closely. Despite huge spending margins and despite a thin veneer of bipartisanship, the tax hike gang is getting thumped because the electorate is saying --no, shouting-- "Enough!"
Everyone has a story of a state or county employee friend who is retiring at 55 with a guaranteed life pension of $75,000 or more plus gold-plated medical benefits. Almost everyone knows that massive amounts of money have flowed into Los Angeles public schools and still half of the kids drop out. Majorities realize that businesses don't have to operate here, and that places like Texas may lack the Rose Parade but let you grow a business and keep most of the profits.
On social issues, the California is evenly split, as the narrow victory for traditional marriage this past fall demonstrated.
But there is a sizeable majority in favor of a radical change in the way government operates. (more)
From the Washington Examiner:
California voters head to the polls next week with predictions of doom echoing in their ears if they decline to endorse the massive tax hikes prescribed for them by big Democratic majorities in the statehouse, Arnold and a handful of now ruined-politically Republican legislators.
"Shrill" doesn't begin to describe the campaign designed to stampede the Golden State electorate. The latest ad has a weary, soot-covered fire-fighter urging a yes vote on the tax hike. The message is clear: Vote no and your homes will burn down.
Not even this sort of fear-mongering is moving the needle towards "yes" on the massive tax surge on next week's ballot as poll after poll shows all the key measures put forward by the tax-and-spend-and tax-again crowd failing badly....
...If the tax hikes are rejected by large margins next week, the country's political elite ought to study that result closely. Despite huge spending margins and despite a thin veneer of bipartisanship, the tax hike gang is getting thumped because the electorate is saying --no, shouting-- "Enough!"
Everyone has a story of a state or county employee friend who is retiring at 55 with a guaranteed life pension of $75,000 or more plus gold-plated medical benefits. Almost everyone knows that massive amounts of money have flowed into Los Angeles public schools and still half of the kids drop out. Majorities realize that businesses don't have to operate here, and that places like Texas may lack the Rose Parade but let you grow a business and keep most of the profits.
On social issues, the California is evenly split, as the narrow victory for traditional marriage this past fall demonstrated.
But there is a sizeable majority in favor of a radical change in the way government operates. (more)
Friday, May 1, 2009
"A Bit of A Surprise"- That tax refund may not be yours after all
Pretty sly. Obama gives and then has the IRS take it back...
From the AP
Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring.
The government is going to want some of that money back.
The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month.
But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time.
At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.
The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers.
"They need to get the Goodyear blimp out there on this," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year.
But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.
"They are going to get a surprise," she said. (more)
From the AP
Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring.
The government is going to want some of that money back.
The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month.
But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time.
At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.
The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers.
"They need to get the Goodyear blimp out there on this," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year.
But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.
"They are going to get a surprise," she said. (more)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tax Day tea parties expected to number more than 1,000
Updates on nation wide TEA parties from WND:
While WND has been tracking 170 individual tea parties across the nation, one group has announced it is planning rallies in 1,000 cities and towns on April 15.
The
The organization launched a Tea Party Day website just days ago so volunteer organizers may register their protests with AFA. The website also provides a list of other protests across the nation that are not organized by AFA.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Tea Party Anyone?
From the Washinton Times and Michelle Malkin
...Enough. Last Friday, thousands of Americans turned out to protest reckless government spending in the pork-laden stimulus package, the earmark-clogged budget bill, the massive mortgage-entitlement program and taxpayer-funded corporate rescues.
Contrary to false left-wing blog smears that the hastily planned impromptu events were "Astro-turfed," the crowds were packed with first-time grass-roots activists. They were people with families and day jobs whose usual definition of "community organizing" involves neighborhood yard sales or their kids' soccer matches. They were members of the silent majority who decided to be silent no more.
Enough. These "Tea Party" protests spanned the sunny Santa Monica pier to the icy streets of Chicago and Cleveland to rain-drenched Atlanta, overflowing the grounds of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, with massive turnouts in Greenville, S.C., and crowds of several hundred each in New York City and Washington, D.C., and all points in between. Like those who demonstrated before them in Seattle, Denver, Mesa, Ariz., and Overland Park, Kan., two weeks ago, the Tea Party participants held homemade signs that said it all: "Your mortgage is not my problem"; "Liberty: All the stimulus we need"; "No taxation without deliberation." ...
(more)
American Tea Party coverage over at Pajamas TV
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Internet TV media company Pajamas TV has been monitoring the recent Tea Party protests across the U.S. under its "American Tea Party" initiative and has extensive video coverage of the events on its website at www.PJTV.com.
Furthermore, photos of protests that took place on Friday, February 27 in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville, New York, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Monica, Seattle, Springfield, Mo., St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington, D.C. can be viewed at: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=page&page-id=121.
Pajamas TV is keeping a schedule of upcoming protests, interviewing organizations and individuals involved, and gathering photos and videos from various events. The current schedule shows seven upcoming Tea Party protests for this weekend.
On Friday, March 6 a protest is scheduled in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Saturday, March 7 protests are scheduled for Monterey, Calif., Green Bay, Wis., Lafayette, La., Harrisburg, Pa., Pembroke Pines, Fla., (South Florida) and Olathe, Kan.
To view the complete schedule of Tea Party protests at Pajamas TV, visit: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=view-events&type=1. To view the home page for Pajamas TV's "American Tea Party" initiative, visit: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=page&page-id=78.
...Enough. Last Friday, thousands of Americans turned out to protest reckless government spending in the pork-laden stimulus package, the earmark-clogged budget bill, the massive mortgage-entitlement program and taxpayer-funded corporate rescues.
Contrary to false left-wing blog smears that the hastily planned impromptu events were "Astro-turfed," the crowds were packed with first-time grass-roots activists. They were people with families and day jobs whose usual definition of "community organizing" involves neighborhood yard sales or their kids' soccer matches. They were members of the silent majority who decided to be silent no more.
Enough. These "Tea Party" protests spanned the sunny Santa Monica pier to the icy streets of Chicago and Cleveland to rain-drenched Atlanta, overflowing the grounds of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, with massive turnouts in Greenville, S.C., and crowds of several hundred each in New York City and Washington, D.C., and all points in between. Like those who demonstrated before them in Seattle, Denver, Mesa, Ariz., and Overland Park, Kan., two weeks ago, the Tea Party participants held homemade signs that said it all: "Your mortgage is not my problem"; "Liberty: All the stimulus we need"; "No taxation without deliberation." ...
(more)
American Tea Party coverage over at Pajamas TV
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Internet TV media company Pajamas TV has been monitoring the recent Tea Party protests across the U.S. under its "American Tea Party" initiative and has extensive video coverage of the events on its website at www.PJTV.com.
Furthermore, photos of protests that took place on Friday, February 27 in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville, New York, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Monica, Seattle, Springfield, Mo., St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington, D.C. can be viewed at: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=page&page-id=121.
Pajamas TV is keeping a schedule of upcoming protests, interviewing organizations and individuals involved, and gathering photos and videos from various events. The current schedule shows seven upcoming Tea Party protests for this weekend.
On Friday, March 6 a protest is scheduled in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Saturday, March 7 protests are scheduled for Monterey, Calif., Green Bay, Wis., Lafayette, La., Harrisburg, Pa., Pembroke Pines, Fla., (South Florida) and Olathe, Kan.
To view the complete schedule of Tea Party protests at Pajamas TV, visit: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=view-events&type=1. To view the home page for Pajamas TV's "American Tea Party" initiative, visit: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=page&page-id=78.
Tea Parties? What Tea Parties? Predictably, Established Media Coverage of Tea Party Protests Is Sparse
From NewsBusters:
Coverage of "tea party" protests in various cities around the country (this March 4 Pajamas Media press release, HT to FreeRepublic, cited 22 locations on February 27 and seven this weekend) has been sparse to non-existent, especially at major establishment media outlets...
...Looking at this weekend's coverage thus far, a 10:15 a.m. Google News search on "tea party" for March 7-8 (in quotes, sorted by date with duplicates included), returned only 47 items (the over 1,500 results claim at the top of the first page of the results is wrong; scroll to the bottom to see that there are only 5 pages of results). Roughly a quarter of them are unrelated to the protests; most of the rest are from local publications and TV stations results. One exception is Michelle Malkin's column ("The Wealth Battlefield") in the Washington Times.
As if you didn't know already: With the exception of a one-paragraph blog post at the New York Times, searches at the Washington Post and the Times on "tea party" (not in quotes) indicate that there was no coverage of the protest events.
Maybe the tea partiers should have told the press that they were holding Iraq War protests
Coverage of "tea party" protests in various cities around the country (this March 4 Pajamas Media press release, HT to FreeRepublic, cited 22 locations on February 27 and seven this weekend) has been sparse to non-existent, especially at major establishment media outlets...
...Looking at this weekend's coverage thus far, a 10:15 a.m. Google News search on "tea party" for March 7-8 (in quotes, sorted by date with duplicates included), returned only 47 items (the over 1,500 results claim at the top of the first page of the results is wrong; scroll to the bottom to see that there are only 5 pages of results). Roughly a quarter of them are unrelated to the protests; most of the rest are from local publications and TV stations results. One exception is Michelle Malkin's column ("The Wealth Battlefield") in the Washington Times.
As if you didn't know already: With the exception of a one-paragraph blog post at the New York Times, searches at the Washington Post and the Times on "tea party" (not in quotes) indicate that there was no coverage of the protest events.
Maybe the tea partiers should have told the press that they were holding Iraq War protests
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