‘This Isn’t Class Warfare’ Yes, It Is

From NRO:

When President Obama outlined his $450 billion jobs plan in a speech before Congress last week, he promised it would all be “paid for,” and assured us he would present another plan outlining how he planned to do so. Well, here you have it:

The White House said Monday that President Obama wants to pay for his $447 billion jobs bill by raising taxes on the wealthy and businesses.

Jack Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said the tax hikes would pay for Obama’s entire bill, which the administration is sending to Congress Monday evening.

So much for the “balanced approach” Obama was so fond of during the debt ceiling debate. The administration will cover the cost of the spending in its new jobs proposal solely by increasing taxes. Here’s a look at where they plan to get the money, via The Hill:

$400 billion by limiting itemized deductions, including the one for charitable giving, for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year ($250,000 for couples).
$40 billion by eliminating tax breaks for oil-and-gas companies.
$18 billion by taxing “carried interest” income (common among hedge fund managers) as regular income as opposed to capital gains, which are taxed at a much lower rate.
$3 billion by adjusting the depreciation rate on corporate jets.
Sound familiar? Recall this line from Obama’s speech last week: “This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math.” Republicans chuckled when he said that. And now the administration has shown why their laughter was warranted.

So, Obama wants to limit charitable giving deductions for the wealthiest Americans? Good grief! Does he want people to HAVE to depend on the government? Yes. Of course he does. Government knows best. Eliminating the tax breaks for oil companies won’t really hurt the large ones, but the many smaller companies will be hurt by this. Just what we need right now, to hurt more small businesses. But in May, when Congress tried to pass this, even Democrat Mary Landrieu asked, “Why are we harming an industry – five large oil and gas companies that work internationally, that employ 9.2 million people in the United States directly? Why are we doing it?” The truth is Democrats bash the oil companies, but it’s just talk. These elimination of tax cuts for oil companies did not materialize after two years with a Democratic-controlled Congress with a Democrat President. Democrats on the ground might asked themselves why that didn’t happen?

Are we really going to gain that much revenue from corporate jet depreciation? Of course not. It’s just a good class warfare talking point.

Who here really believes this bill is paid for? Please.

What part of Republicans never going along with raising taxes in a collapsing economy does Pres. Obama not understand?

There is a part of me that just wants to say, “Just give Obama what he wants.” We all know it won’t work, and when it all goes to heck, we can point to this mess. But I don’t want the American people to hurt even more.

Megan McCardle at the Atlantic doesn’t think Obama WANTS this to pass. She seems to think his jobs plan “was only designed to produce one job–a second term for Barack Obama:”

But more importantly, paying for the bill with tax hikes–any tax hikes–is going to substantially reduce the stimulus this bill provides. Just as government spending boosts aggregate demand, tax hikes (yes, even on rich people), reduce aggregate demand. Providing stimulus through payroll tax cuts that are financed with tax hikes on other people is like trying to boost your household income by making your wife pay you to mow the lawn.

I don’t know what is more disgraceful. The fact that this does nothing to create jobs or the fact that Obama used a joint address to Congress for his own grandstanding.

Charles Krauthammer hit the nail on the head Friday night when he said this:

What struck me was his abuse of the majesty of that setting. A joint address to Congress is something that FDR did on the day after Pearl Harbor to ask for a declaration of war on Imperial Japan. It’s a place where LBJ asked for a civil rights act. And here it’s a place where Obama used it as a kickoff of his own reelection campaign.

Disgraceful.

How many times must it be said??? We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a SPENDING problem.

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!