Am I the only one who watched this “showdown” between Reid and Boehner thinking “You retards don’t get it! Arguing how long to “cut” a tax that is a dedicated fund into a program that is going broke for a nebulous short term political gain is like standing in a burning house arguing about how much gasoline to throw on the walls!”
Unserious idiots. This is unforgivable.
Taxes, Stupidity, and Death 
Let me make sure I understand this. Your objection is that the tax break “takes money out of Social Security”. Is that correct? If I am not mistaken the tax break really has zero impact on Social Security because of funding tricks that keep Social Security funded out of a general fund.
That being the case, here is an interesting example of lowering taxes for the middle class which suddenly must be paid for when lowering taxes for the rich “pays for itself”.
I thought you were FOR lower taxes?
P.S. If the House GOP are to be believed and that’s a big IF, the two month extension is indeed a waste of time. It should have been done for twelve months. Shame on the Senate for putzing around with it. That being the case, once the putz was committed, the House had no choice but to apply the band-aid and deal with the full year deal in January. The problem is that at the core of all the GOP in-fighting was a disingenuousness. They really didn’t want to extend the damn thing at all. Why? Because Obama wanted it. And what Obama wants cannot be supported by the GOP under any circumstances.
A sick legislative branch. And that indeed is unforgivable.
Rutherford, I’ve been quite clear in the past. The Federal Government had no authority at all to enact Social Security in the first place.
That said, the reality is that no one is willing to do much to it other than means test benefits, which means we’re riding this train to the bitter end…which no matter which estimates you believe, won’t be too long. So instead, “Obama the tax cutter” fudges around with the Bush tax cuts, creating uncertaintly over the tax increase that would come if he let them lapse (while denying it would be a tax increase), but comes out at a presser today caterwauling about how the House was making real the possiblilty of a tax increase in the new year if the the House didn’t pass the piddling two-month extention and let his “tax cut” lapse.
If he was serious, and be honest, he’s no more serious than the rest of them, then he would be suggesting real tax reform, rather than a $40 a week “tax cut” from a dedicated funds tax to a program that is already on track to go bust. I guarantee you that the economic impact of this cut is miniscule when compared to a cut in cap gains, or marginal income tax rates. This doesn’t even have the virtue of “cleanly” bribing us with our own money, since taking between one and two billion away from Social Security means that the money will HAVE to come from someone else, and that someone will be people who pay income tax, rather than all wage earners.
All it does is further exacerbate a problem that they refuse to address now. We’re running out of road to kick this can down.
But if you think that $1000 a year makes a huge impact on the economy, please make your case, Professor Lawson.
Oh, they’re quite serious, BiW. Idiots? On the Republican side, perhaps. I’d say the Democrats know exactly what they’re doing; their consistency over the years makes it hard to believe otherwise.
The point is power. It always is.
From now till November 6, we will see one stratagem after another from the Democrats, all of which will be aimed at reducing the electoral prospects of the GOP. This was merely the first such. God bless ’em, the Republicans were smart enough to try to wedge the Keystone XL deal into the bill. Unfortunately, they left The Won an escape hatch. He’ll probably use it.
At this point, owing to the weakness of the Republican field and the infighting that infests it, the prospects for removing Obama from the White House aren’t rosy. I’d say it’s less than an even-money proposition. So the GOP must take back the Senate to prevent the Obamunists from doing further damage. We can expect one tactic after another aimed at preserving the Democrats’ majority in the upper chamber. Each one will pander to a key Democrat constituency, or attempt to put the Republicans in a double-bind. None of them will have anything substantive to do with the good of the country.
Actually, it’s worse than that. The GOP caucus in the Senate includes four DIABLOs (Democrats In All But Label Only): Collins, Snowe, Graham, and McCain. Unless the Republicans take the Senate with a 5-seat or greater margin, those four will continue to possess the power to undo anything the rest of the caucus tries to do, whether constructive or preventative.
It’s not looking good for what remains of freedom.
BiW, we actually calculated the impact of the FICA tax relief expiring and for the Lawson household it would literally have made it harder to pay the rent. Yes, that’s just how little wiggle room we have and that goes for many families across the country.
Now we can have a very valid argument about whether the FICA holiday was smart in the first place. I could easily concede it was not. If we’re gonna cut a tax we should cut the Fed tax and do it “permanently” to decrease consumer and business uncertainty. But sadly, the FICA cut was already out of the bag and until some other measure can provide relief, in this economy, we can’t let the thing lapse. You are right, just as in the case of the Bush tax cuts, ceasing a cut is equivalent to raising taxes. It’s true for GOPhers as well as Dems.
As for Francis’ argument I can say only one thing. Your Senate minority leader declared almost on day 1 that his top priority was making sure Obama has only one term. That was his TOP priority. Not job growth. Not debt relief. His top priority was saying no to anything Obama said yes to. So PLEASE do not lecture BiW’s kind readers with cries of Democratic politics.
Oh Francis, one more thing. I think you are the first I’ve ever read put Snowe, Collins, McCain and Graham in the same club. I agree on Snowe and Collins. But McCain and Graham are hawks at the very least and oppose Obama like good loyal GOPhers on just about everything.
Opposing Obama doesn’t make McCain and Graham conservatives. It just makes them not Communists. On domestic matters they’re as liberal as Jeffords or Chafee ever were — i.e., just short of being forced out of the Republican caucus.
If we believe the largest problem for the United States rests with the man at the top, what is wrong with making that the number one priority removing him from his position, when everything else is moot with this corrupt lout sitting as President?
Shameless and shallow men like Rutherford, the very same idiocy that worship at the altar of this sham for President after three miserable years of epic failure and numerous lies, who sold their souls to put a clearly unqualified imbecile in position to begin with, act as if it is a personal insult to make it the most basic object to remove Obama. The quickest and fastest way to win a war is to start at the top.
I’m not going to be lectured by some apologist for leftist failure, without decency, cut from the same cloth as Obama, explaining to me why it so awful to make a concerted effort to remove Obama, when the one doing the lecturing has absolutely nothing of edifying to offer in return. Frankly, I’m shocked that charges of racism didn’t accompany his drivel.
A desperate man.
Rutherford what the hell are you gonna do when the “thousands” add up on the other end,the end you need SS,and the money isn’t there. This is an ALL OBAMA thing. This is the 95% tax cut bullshit thing all over again. A pittance now and nothing left later.
In the Alfie household the real impact on the paycheck was never gonna be the SS being taken out its all about the increase in my health insurance that as I previously blogged about can be directly tied to ObamaCare.
Good intentions or not the guy @1600 is f@#$ing me