The federal deficit is not about Social Security even though Republicans are trying to make it part of the package. They will do anything to avoid higher tax rates on the richest Americans. Remember this will only be an increase on the net income (after deductions) over $250,000. That means, unless Republicans refuse to agree on tax cuts for the middle, even the rich get the first $250,000 at the lower rates.
Republicans have themselves in a hole and keep saying it will hurt the economy to raise taxes on the wealthy. It's a lie. If someone making $100,000 gets a tax break, they are likely to spend it on things they've been wanting-- hence bumping the economy. The wealthy already have all they want or need; so it'll just end up in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands.
We have to hang tough on this as right wingers are acting as though we must do what Romney ran and lost on. It will take Americans being behind Obama to hold the line to a reasonable rate on spending, to not make the poor pay the whole cost of two wars and tax cuts that weren't budgeted, and to make tax rates fair now.
If Republican members in the House refuse to value ordinary Americans before the wealthy, 2014 isn't that far off.
Watch Robert Reich as he explains the fiscal cliff.
Republicans need to use as an adjective for how they operate not patriotism but partisaniam-- [Thugs in the House]. Are Republican voters in agreement with this? They are if they listen to Limbaugh and his callers as I did the other day when out and about. It's all about partisanship to Limbaugh and tax cuts for his economic group (who are probably none of his callers) matter more than anything else. Don't believe me? Listen to him for as long as you can stand. It likely won't be long but you will have a better idea of what these people are thinking and how far their reality is from everybody else's.
Saturday's blog will be on aging.
7 comments:
I can't stand even a few minutes...I hear it from dad, anyway, before I cut him off.
For a long time, the GOP members in house and senate have been about partisanship and not what's good for the country. they ought to be ashamed, but I don't think that emotion is in their emotional repetoire.
Hattie got me started on watching 'The Untold History of the United States' directed by Oliver Stone. I wasn't going to get into it as he had turned me off some years back with some of his ideas but she had a clip of the first episode on her blog. I thought if I don't agree, that's okay but I should see what he's saying.
Once I watched that hour long clip, it was all over for me. I had to see the rest. I lived those years mostly as a child but what he's talking about here, I remember but the interpretation of the events-- there's the rub.
To see the rest, we got Showtime with the fourth episode being Monday. I very highly recommend it especially for anybody who believes in Limbaugh and his ilk.
Stone uses clips, actual speeches, and whenever possible soundtracks to tell the story. What he does is lay out some facts and draws different conclusions than we are used to hearing. So you get the facts and can decide if that is a valid way to interpret them. It's what history would be about but so seldom is.
This is not about American exceptionalism but instead American imperialism and empire building. Oh yes, we are told no empire while we have troops all around the world holding ground for our corporate interests except we are told it's for our safety-- always for our safety or world security.
Whether someone is a rightie (high bp might be the result for them) or a leftie, I HIGHLY recommend this series which will be in 10 parts and probably will someday be on Netflix. It is a look at history that we all should think about as where we are today is a lot because of where we have been.
There are no tax cuts. There are only tax increases or keeping things the same as they have been for the past several years.
Both sides have been about partisanship. Not just the GOP or the Democrats. When Obama took office his comment to the Republicans that wanted to work together on the healthcare bill was "We won" get used to it.
That's not true, ingineer. What Obama has to do is let the tax cuts expire December 31st. Then what they were will be what they are. When the Republicans come back, they can do what Bush did-- cut the taxes on income below $250,000 and leave then where they are on that above. They can even figure out spending cuts to go along with it-- which they did not do when they passed them. When they had the wars without paying. How any republican can have a straight face and talk about this is beyond me. Did you guys really believe we could fight those wars with no cost? Likely you did thinking oil revenue would cover them or some mystical hand from heaven. Well it didn't and now the piper must be paid but you want those barely scraping by to be the ones and the wealthiest, whose wealth has grown exponentially ever since, they can't pay 2% more? Amazing. simply amazing.
And Obama cannot work with those who use one vote to block anything through a misguided filibuster. Time to change that too and make the old men who want to defend the wealthiest get up and speak it out. Filibuster has been abused and that also needs to be changed to more of a democratic understanding of what was meant to be.-- majority vote
I highly recommend the companion book to the Untold History. Now when I watch the news and listen to politicians and commentators I feel much more clear headed about what they are saying. And what they are NOT saying.
Of course understanding is only part of our responsibility. We must also act, but our actions will not be very effective, because we have so little power. But act we must, nonetheless.
One other thing on the affordable care act. Republicans didn't want anything that would really help people. How do you work with someone like that?
Now they put out a supposed plan to balance the budget but on the backs of the elderly and poor. To up the age of Medicare only means people like me, who don't have health problems when younger but still pay premiums, are not there until later. It leaves the sick and really old which makes the costs go up. It also punishes the working people who have health problems before 65 and now have to wait more years to get onto Medicare-- some forced to retire even before 65. That's a good plan? Well it's the kind of deal Republicans offer and pretend it could help.
On the Affordable Care Act, Obama had meetings with them but there is a huge gap between those who want everybody to be on their own with it (unless they work for the government) and those who think we all need to be able to have basic care and nobody should go bankrupt if they run into a major problem or die if they can't afford the care. That gap cannot be bridged and one just has to win.
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