Friday - December 17, 2010

Now What?

The measure would extend existing tax cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage.

The bill was passed just before midnight Thursday in a remarkable show of bipartisanship in the House, despite objections from some Democrats, who wanted to impose a higher estate tax than the one Obama agreed to. The vote was 277-148, with each party contributing an almost identical number of votes in favor—the Democrats 139 and the Republicans 138.

In a rare reach across party lines, Obama negotiated the $858 billion package with Senate Republicans. The White House then spent the past 10 days persuading congressional Democrats to go along, providing a possible blueprint for the next two years, when Republicans will control the House and hold more seats in the Senate.

The extended tax cuts include lower rates for the rich, the middle class and the working poor, a $1,000-per-child tax credit, tax breaks for college students and lower taxes on capital gains and dividends. The bill also extends through 2011, a series of business tax breaks designed to encourage investment that expired at the end of 2009.

Workers’ Social Security taxes would be cut by nearly a third, going from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent, for 2011. A worker making $50,000 in wages would save $1,000; one making $100,000 would save $2,000.

“This legislation is good for growth, good for jobs, good for working and middle class families, and good for businesses looking to invest and expand their work force,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Some Democrats complained that the package is too generous to the wealthy; Republicans complained that it doesn’t make all the tax cuts permanent.

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., called it “a bipartisan moment of clarity.”

The bill’s cost, $858 billion, would be added to the deficit, a sore spot among budget hawks in both parties.

“I know that we are going to borrow every nickel in this bill,” Hoyer lamented.

At the insistence of Republicans, the plan includes an estate tax that would allow the first $10 million of a couple’s estate to pass to heirs without taxation. The balance would be subject to a 35 percent tax rate.

Ok, I’m a little bit confused here. Malkin is crowing that “omniporkulus is dead”. Really? Than what is this bill that got passed? Is it not the 2000 page fattened kine that was loaded down with thousands and thousands of earmarks that had everyone up in arms over the past week and a half? Same message at Hot Air and at NRO. So the earmark crap was an extension to this little spending bill?

Great, the Pomeroy Amendment failed. That’s the one that would have raised estate taxes sky high. Good. Estate taxes are evil, and purely wrong. Outside of Chicago, “no taxation without representation” should apply, and the dead aren’t represented. Besides, whatever money they have accrued has been taxed at least once already. Probably thrice already if they’ve got anything in capital gains. But what about the rest of the bill? Where is the austerity? Somebody - was it DeMint? - was threatening to read the whole thing out loud. Would that be the first time it’s been read? Does anyone know what’s in this measure? I sure don’t.

On the other hand, the the happy one, the far left must be going apoplectic right about now. Obama pushed really really hard, and got his lame duck Democrats who still control the House and Senate, to not only extend the Bush tax cuts for another year, but to hold the line on estate taxes even after their endless class warfare harangue on those who have made it. So in a nutshell nutroots, here is the Change You Can Believe In:  NOTHING AT ALL. When it comes down to the wire, The great Lord Obama, his holy ONEness, is actually BUSH III. Suck it, hippies. Even your radical progressive narcissist in chief statist, that Kenyan illegal alien, The Voice of Something New, is just business as usual in DC. Next thing you know, he’ll start bombing Bosnia.

And I hear there is something in this bill about We The Little People being allowed to direct the investment of 2% of the money we’ve ponzied into Social Security? Or is there just a “tax holiday” on SS for a year? Not up to speed on that aspect either.

But it looks to me like those wins still came with another huge loss: this entire spending package, whatever it is - is it a budget, a stimulus, an emergency carry-over spending plan??? - is going to be paid for with money we don’t have. Which will push the nation further into debt. Doesn’t anyone in Washington, DC listen? STOP SPENDING MONEY WE DO NOT HAVE!

... and around we go again!

Posted by Drew458     on 12/17/2010 at 10:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Government •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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