Punishing Americans
I’m no class warrior and I like spending cuts just like everyone else. But I don’t like broken promises. This deficit panel that was commissioned by the president to balance the budget was a joke anyway – it was someone he could blame for cutting the stuff that the government promised to people without getting any of the shit splattered on himself. Look at the stuff they’ve recommended cutting, which Associated Press calls a “daring assault” on the deficit;
…reducing annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security, gradually raising the retirement age to 69 and taking aim at popular tax breaks such as the mortgage interest deduction.
…their plan would also curb the growth of Medicare
Increasing the gas tax by 15 cents a gallon to fund transportation programs.
They also mention freezing government employees pay for three years while reducing the federal work force by 10% and doing away with earmarks which probably makes sense.
The price of gas isn’t high enough? Out here, outside the Beltway people can hardly afford to get to work as it is. If they have work. Reducing the cost of living allowances for Social Security recipients won’t hurt folks on a fixed income while prices of food and, then gasoline? Well, I guess fewer will get their SS benefit since more will be dead before the age they can retire.
They’ve cut Medicare to pay for their healthcare plan, the rates keep going up and retirees are getting less in their paychecks.
I don’t see any recommendations to cut congressional staff or congressional pensions, or congressional pay. And oh, yeah, they’re proposing to eliminate the tax credit for your employers’ health plan…I wonder why. Single payer, maybe? You’ll lose your child tax credit and the tax credit for your mortgage – ya know the ones you count on every year when you’re doing your taxes.
Nothing about cutting the deadwood out of SSI payments – like to a guy I know who gets SSI because he was caught smoking pot in his employer’s parking lot and got his monkey-ass fired. Now he’s unemployable because he’s a drug addict…for smoking weed.
Why is there still a Commerce Department when everything they do is already done in every other agency in Federal Government.
Why is there still an Education Department which is nothing more than a clearing house for grants to the States? Can’t the states tax their own citizens to provide the “condom on a banana” education without having to come begging to the behemoth every year?
What does the EPA do these days other than provide an employment opportunity for lawyers?
I thought this panel was going to find a way to reduce government and all they did was recommend that government break it’s promises to the people who fund the beast.
Of course this list of “spending cuts” is just going to be used for the media to write endless articles that begin “See? You don’t really want to cut spending!”
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Jonn,
if I’ve said it once, I’ve said 10 ten times. People who are all in for the Pied Piper do not believe letting the tax cuts expire will affect people making less than 250k per year, even when I give them the tax calculator to do the math by plugging in the numbers.
Over at RedState in the diaries three people have written already about their health plans increasing at 10, 12 and 25%. Or how about those HSA’s that will be of no use, as you will have to have an RX to buy those OTC meds…and that means a copayment. Yes, it went down before it went up, ahem.
Here is the link to the calculator I used to show what will happen if the tax cuts are allowed to expire.
http://calculator.taxpolicycenter.org/
If they cut the mortgage interest deduction the housing market will take another hit.
Eliminating the mortgage deduction will result in a gigantic tax hike on the middle class.
Any bets the 10% Fed workforce reduction will be military?
It was all smoke and mirrors anyway – for the reasons you mentioned. It’s hard not to hate this guy.
I was out shopping for groceries today. It was another day of crossing items off the list because I couldn’t afford them.
I am tired of this. Injuries have caught up to me and I can’t work much anymore. I have been forced to depend upon my VA disability and SS Disability to make ends meet. That small COLA is important, even though it isn’t that much.
I am looking at having to sell off a lot of stuff and move into a smaller place. I am skipping meals to make certain that my daughter has enough, and that the bills are paid.
Then I see that jackwagon of a President spending 200 million a day to take his butt and his massive entourage on tour. He would make the Roman Emperors blush at his excesses.
There are many many out there far worse off them me and the kid. I get that and I ought not to complain. But more than that, what really gets me going, is when I see the excesses of our alleged leadership, the massive amounts of money they are throwing around to fete themselves and their cronies, and then they turn around and talk about “tightening our belts”.
Taking over car companies and grabbing health care isn’t a part of our Constitution. There is, however, a mandate to “Provide for the Common Defense.”
I understand completely how and why our own revolution started, and how it also took off in France shortly afterward. King George didn’t listen, and look where it got him.
“The plan — unveiled to commission members Wednesday — was drawn up by commission co-chairmen Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and Alan Simpson, a Republican, both appointed by President Obama. Sen. Tom Coburn R-Okla., a commission member, helped draft the list of spending cuts.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-11-11-spending11_ST_N.htm
Being that Senator Coburn came up with the list of cuts, I think he should be the one to bear the wrath of their consequences.
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If they cut the mortgage interest deduction the housing market will take another hit.
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So we have millions of people whose houses are in foreclosure or going into foreclosure. Some people are trying to sell their houses in order to avoid foreclosure. Some are just getting by to make their mortgage payments. And now they’re going to take away one of the incentives to buy a house? In addition to screwing up people who budget around that tax return come Spring? Brilliant.
If they cut the mortgage interest deduction the housing market will take another hit.
That’s the one that will kick me squarely in the ass. My wife and I should be in the ballpark of $70,000 this year. Our mortgage interest will be around $10,000. The repeal of this deduction will cost me about $2,500. Fuck ya this is a tax hike on the middle class but then what did we really expect….
Being that President Obama came up with this “commission” to kick the can down the road, on his deficit, how about we lay the blame where it belongs? On his skinny ass? As for Coburn, if he’s responsible for any of this, primary him and get rid of him.
I guess I am in the minority.
This commission was a major backfire for the dems. Rather than raise taxes they suggested budget cuts and tax simplification. That is a big win for all of us.
The home mortgage deduction is going to be short term pain. No sugar coating it. However it is offset to some extent by the lower tax rates.
Parenthetically this deduction, along with most others, is a wrongful intrusion into the lives of Americans by government. What business does the government have taking your money to subsidize your neighbors purchase of a house? Why should renters be punished? At the end of the day the market will correct and we will all be better for it. Simply reduce the tax burden on everyone.
Likewise with these ridiculous first buyer credits. Next time you want to buy a house. Walk down the street, inform you future neighbors of your intent and tell them to fill the hat to the tune of $500 for your down payment. Just because the government can mandate it doesn’t make it right.
Withholding COLA is simply wrong. There should be a simple basket of staple products that are measured to determine annual COLA. That way people dependent will know what they will be getting. As opposed to the ridiculous CPI which showed no inflation while oil rose from 30-100/barrel.
Those currently dependent on entitlements should get what they were promised and nothing less. The rest of us need to have a serious adult conversation about the future. Politicians of all stripes screwed the pooch on what should have been a simple trust fund and its about to come apart like yesterdays greasy spoon buffet.
Cutting the budget by 10% is a good start for 2011. And another 10% every year after until the govt books are balanced. Then we can start in on the double and triple redundancies.
Unfortunately, the home mortgage interest deduction is what allows a lot of people to qualify to itemize deductions on their income tax. Removing that will, in effect, be a huge tax increase on most folks.
I could agree on the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction IF it were in the context of the repeal of the entire current Rube Goldberg 75,000+ page Fed Tax Code, with all the deductions,exemptions, excuses, exceptions, etc, etc, etc and replacing it with a 10% Flat Tax – this to apply to EVERYONE, including legal entities like Corporations, LLC’s, LLP’s, etc.
Speaking of which, here is a website that is claiming that he has expanded medicare.
Unfortunately, a flat tax would have to be a lot (and I mean a LOT) higher than 10 percent to sustain even limited government function at this point. The federal budget is nearly 30 percent of GDP now. If we were in fact to implement a flat tax it would have to be more on the order of an average of 22-25 percent in order to avoid a complete collapse, not unlike going down the highway at 100 mph and just throwing the car into reverse.
There most likely would be a need for a phased transition from the current monstrosity we have to the lean and mean 10% Flat Tax model.
I would propose that the entire change be accomplished over the term of four years, but the key to success is a severe reduction in Fed spending.
1. An immediate 25% reduction of all Fed non-Military (possibly including private contractors in theater) salaries and continued reduction in the following years until government employees are making 33% less than their private sector counterparts. To include pension packages.
2. Immediate rollback of Fed employee numbers to pre-2008 numbers.
3. Begin building a consensus in Congress for the complete elimination of all pensions for any elected office holder – including the President.
4. Tort reform wrt medical malpractice.
5. Enact medical insurance purchase across state lines.
6. Disband the entire Departments of Energy, Education, Interior (return all BLM land to the states it was stolen from), HHS, HUD. Privatize the TSA.
7. Make it illegal for any officer of the military to retire and work for any Defense contractor or any subsidiary for twenty years.
8. Immediate reduction of the Corporate tax rate to match the lowest found elsewhere on Earth (I believe we have the second highest).
I believe this is doable if the TEA parties keep up the pressure. This wouldn’t happen overnight, but I think it is doable if we keep working at it.
Shitcanning NASA will both get rid of a massively expensive boondoggle, and it will render unemployed a relatively small number of people who could easily find jobs elsewhere. There is no limit to the number of places where commonsense cuts could be done to make the government more efficient but until we break the congress of the idea that it is their reserved right to waste money that does not belong to them, we are pissing up a rope here. That includes EVERY member of congress by the way.