Will The GOP Cave Yet Again?
Jan 6, 2013 Commentary, Political
Let’s clear up a few things. Obama did not lower taxes, he raised them. He did extend the tax cuts that George Bush enacted but he did not lower taxes for anyone. In fact, the taxes he extended were the ones he opposed before he was president. The only thing he did was to raise taxes.
Also, the holiday from 2% of Social Security taxes was allowed to expire so about 77% of income earners will see a decrease in take home pay. To be fair, the cut was temporary and had to end eventually. The funny thing is that many Obama supporters do not understand this and are all upset that their taxes went up. They did not truly go up since they only went back to what they were before the TEMPORARY decrease.
Having written this, Obama is fresh off his claimed victory in the fiscal cliff negotiations. The table was set for this and the outcome was predetermined. The whole thing was theater for the uninformed and allowed each party to sling accusations at each other while getting to the desired outcome.
Republicans were worried about being blamed if everyone’s taxes went up and Democrats were only interested in raising taxes on the alleged wealthy in order to play class warfare. The reality is though, that the only people who lost in the deal are the taxpayers.
Obama left DC and returned to Hawaii to continue his vacation, one that cost taxpayers about 7 MILLION dollars. While he was busy playing golf he threw down the gauntlet and indicated that he would be pushing an extreme liberal agenda including more tax increases, more spending and unconstitutional gun control.
Obama told the GOP that he would not negotiate the debt ceiling and that he wanted it raised. He also said that any cuts would have to be offset with tax increases.
John Boehner gave in and took a lot of heat. He survived a coup attempt and retained the role of Speaker but he must be aware that he has a fractured caucus and that conservatives are not happy.
Mitch McConnell has indicated that there will be no further tax increases and Boehner has stated that he will address the real problem, spending. All of this sounds good but we have seen this movie before. They talk tough but as soon as they run into opposition from the left they cave.
The debt ceiling is rapidly approaching. By Mid February or early March they will, once again, have a credit problem. They will all meet to discuss raising the credit limit once again while ignoring the real problem, spending. There will be tough talk but in the end they will scream that the US can’t default and they will raise the limit. Spending will not be addressed and we will run against the ceiling in the future.
This is a never ending game they play and America is tired of it. We need to get spending under control and the Republicans have only one weapon with which to do that, the debt ceiling. Republicans need to specifically lay out what is to be cut and by how much and that needs to be agreed to before any increase in the debt limit can be allowed.
As far as I am concerned, the debt ceiling should not be raised. They should cut spending to get to where we need to be and they should continue to cut until they balance the budget and begin paying down the debt, period.
That is unlikely to happen with the spineless crowd in DC so spending cuts, immediate ones not the ten year ones, need to be enacted BEFORE the debt limit is increased.
The GOP has this one chance to get it right. If they capitulate and allow the Democrats to abuse them once again then it will be time to replace them with others or to start a new party.
It is time for the GOP to show it has testicular fortitude and stand fast on spending cuts with NO tax increases.
Maybe they can get a new backbone under Obamacare…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
[jpsub]
Tags: boehner, debt ceiling, mcconnell, Obama, spending, taxes
Politics By Turbo-Tax Timmy
Dec 27, 2012 Political
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is now playing politics with the debt ceiling in a move that is designed to scare politicians into acting on the so called fiscal cliff. Geithner, a confirmed TAX CHEAT, previously told us that the government would not hit the debt ceiling until sometime late in the first quarter of 2013. Now he is saying that we will hit that ceiling on 31 December of this year.
How convenient that the new ceiling date is the exact same date that will ring in the cuts in government and the tax increases to the people that were all agreed upon by those in Congress. Yes, it is important to remember that Congress came up with the cuts and the tax increases as part of the last fiscal deal. These people all agreed that if they could not come to terms then these cuts and tax increases were acceptable. Now they are running around as if the end of the world is at hand and this is all a bad thing.
THEY GAVE IT TO US AND THEY AGREED TO IT.
The facts are the facts and it is very clear that these people were all OK with the consequences if they could not come to terms. Now they have to live with what they agreed to when they were all rushing to make it home for Christmas two years ago. Their last minute haggling and game playing is now coming back to bite them in their ample rear ends. As Obama’s favorite Pastor might say, their chickens are coming home to roost.
Good, let the Bush tax cuts expire so that everyone can feel the pain. Let the cuts to government take place so people will see the mess created by those who are supposed to be leading us. Let it all come crashing down and let them suffer the consequences of their actions. And let those who voted these morons back in office suffer the consequences of their votes.
Elections have consequences and everyone should suffer them.
But, for Geithner to come out and claim the debt ceiling will be reached by Monday is nothing more than political theater and is designed to take away a bargaining chip Republicans have. This is why Geithner and his boss want the debt limit to be controlled by the White House and not Congress. These people want the ability to spend without limits and they do not want to have to ask Congress for more borrowing capacity.
They want total control and they know that the debt ceiling is a bargaining chip for Republicans to use in an effort to curb spending.
Will this work or will it backfire? If I were the Speaker I would call Barack Obama and lay out all MY terms for the budget. I would say we will have no tax increases and present a list of things that will be cut. I will remind him that the country will default in a few short days as determined by his Treasury Secretary and I will demand that he submit to ALL of my conditions. He will not like it but the bargaining chip that was further down the road is now, according to Geithner, a few days away.
I think it gives Boehner and the Republicans a stronger hand though I doubt Geithner planned for that. I think he was trying to pressure the right to give in to avoid default and to present Obama and his Democrats with a gift. I think this was a poor calculation by Geithner provided Boehner has the testicular fortitude to stand tough.
Hell, Boehner should go for broke and demand that the tax system be completely rewritten to impose a flat tax on all income and that includes the 47% of wage earners who pay NO federal taxes. Note to the left, this is federal income. Other taxes are not in question here.
The tax cheat Treasury Secretary is not interested in doing his job. He is interested in playing politics with the financial well being of the country. He is a shill for Obama and that is all this cretin is.
If he were any good at his job and we were really going to hit the debt ceiling on Monday wouldn’t he know that before today?
America is tired of the games. We are tired of last minute deals that screw us while keeping the morons in DC in power. We are tired of incompetent people running things. We are tired of this mess that both parties are responsible for.
It is time for the people in DC to do their jobs and quit playing games. We have plenty of income (and would have a lot more if unemployment was not so high) to run things but spending is out of control.
Now is the time Boehner. Stand tough and demand spending cuts and a revamped tax code that imposes a flat tax on all income from all wage earners.
Geithner unwittingly gave you a big hammer.
USE IT.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
[jpsub]
Tags: boehner, debt ceiling, fiscal cliff, lies, Obama, tax cheat, timm geithner
Boehner Takes Charge
Jan 6, 2011 Political
Now this is just funny, I don’t care who you are…
Kind of symbolic of the knock-out punch America threw Nanny Pelosi in November, isn’t it?
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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