Guess Who?
Aug 22, 2011
Here are some tough-minded observations on America’s ever-worsening fiscal nightmare from a leading US politician. See whether you can figure out who’s talking.
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit Is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”
So: Who’s talking? Is it Michele Bachman? Or maybe John Boehner? Could it be Mitch McConnell?
No … it’s Senator Barack Obama, speaking in March, 2006. And with those wise words, Senator Obama is giving you the best advice you are ever going to get about whether or not to support President Obama in his bid for re-election in 2012.
As you may know from reading my posts, I don’t often agree with Barack Obama. But this time, I have to agree that the Senator is dead-on about the warning signs of a lack of presidential leadership: America does have a debt problem, a massive one, and America does deserve much, much better leadership on fiscal issues.
The problem is that the guy who is failing to supply the leadership is Barack Obama.
By the way, just in case you were wondering, Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006.
So as we approach election season, we face a question: Which Barack Obama are we going to get? Will we get the one who says whatever is necessary to get votes, in those beautiful, ringing tones that convince us he wants to fix what’s broken, and knows just how to do it? Or will we get the guy who bows to pressure and cuts short-sighted deals that only make big national problems bigger?
To put it a little more bluntly: Is the president going to mislead us again, just like he’s misled us in the past, in order to get re-elected?
We are now facing the second recession of the Obama presidency. The US goverment is still borrowing money from foreign countries because it “cannot pay its own bills.” Increasing America’s debt still “weakens us domestically and internationally.” And guess what? George W. Bush is no longer around to be the scapegoat.
At some point, Barack Obama is going to need to take personal responsibility for reversing the “reckless fiscal policies” that have left the US economy weakened under his watch. If he refuses to reverse those reckless fiscal policies (which he will) then voters — millions of whom are now facing hard times comparable only to the 1930s — need to hold him accountable and give him his pink slip.
LINKS:
National Review Online – Obama: Not Always a Fan of Upping Debt Ceiling
Let’s be real, had the President had a majority of Democrats in the House, he would’ve been able to institute the plans and programs design to alleviate this dbl-dip recession.
But due to the Republicans fighting his every step, for re-election purposes ONLY, it turned into a stalemate and he had to compromise, just to ‘kick the can down the road.’
Jordan, please, recognize that your friend G. Bush RUINED the economy for generations to come. He barely made it out of office in time…remember the banking crisis 3 summers ago…?
If you think it would only take 4 years to right all of his wrongs, you’re the delusional one.
Keep the Bush Era Tax Cuts…? Get REAL ! As UN-American as it gets…why should the rich NOT pay their fare share, but I HAVE to…?
I’d say adopt Warren Buffet’s 5-Minute Plan to Fix the Deficit:
Pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. Now we’ve got the incentives in the right place, right?
I think Obama’s doing the best job he can, running uphill everyday, while ducking the rocks that the Republicans are constantly throwing at him.
I’d say THEY are the ones that need the Pink Slips…!
Steve, please educate yourself before criticizing and displaying your ignorance.
#1: The political parties are not, NOT, your friend. Democrats nor Republicans.
#2: Think and, more importantly, do for yourself and your family. Do NOT expect the
government to be there for you, e.g. Katrina.
#3: Get rid of ANY politician, Dem or Repub that wants to take your freedoms in
exchange for promises of security. For how long do you think they are going to
allow you to keep your government sponsored “private” retirement funds?
#4: President Obama had the White House, the Senate, and the House of
Representatives for nearly TWO YEARS. No one to stop him and he did nothing
but continue to steal from the American People. DON’T BLAME ONE GROUP.
They are both stealing from you and your family.
#5 How much is “fair”? Read the link below from the non-partisan Tax Foundation
Recently released IRS data for 2009, shows that taxpayers earning over $200,000 paid 50 percent of the $866 billion in total income taxes paid that year, or $434 billion. Skeptics will say, “That’s because they earn the majority of the income in America. Not so. These taxpayers earned 25 percent of the $7.6 trillion in total adjusted gross income in the country that year.
The 2009 IRS data also shows that a record 58.6 million tax filers had no income tax liability that year. This means that 42 percent of the 140 million Americans who filed tax returns that year contributed nothing to the basic cost of government.
Millions of people received cash “refunds” in 2009 even though they paid no income taxes: Some 21 million nonpayers received $27.5 billion in refundable credits from the child credit; Obama’s Making Work Pay program gave out $12.8 billion in refundable credits to 32 million filers; The Earned Income Tax Credit program doled out $54 billion in refundable credits to 24.9 million filers; and, nearly 5 million filers received $3.9 billion in refundable Education Credits and roughly 1 million filers got $4.65 billion in refundable credits under the First Time Homebuyers credit program.
The data also shows that the corporate tax burden is extremely progressive as well.
In 2008, the roughly 1,900 largest corporations paid $152 billion in income taxes. This amounted to 67 percent of the $227 billion in total corporate income taxes paid that year.
The top-earning 5 percent of taxpayers (AGI over $159,619), however, still paid far more than the bottom 95 percent. The top 5 percent earned 34.7 percent of the nation’s adjusted gross income, but paid approximately 58.7 percent of federal individual income taxes.
There is more if you care,
http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html
#6: STOP the classic Marxist, communist strategy of class-warfare, or GET THE HELL
OUT OF THIS COUNTRY.
I think before anyone attacks president and his leadership should be taking issue with those in congress who are irresponsibly cutting revenue, giving and extending uncalled for tax breaks to corporations and the super rich, while blocking any attempt by anyone to do something for this country. Anyone who says that Obama is responsible for this mess must have been asleep for 8 years before he took office when the surplus funds were handed out like Halloween treats, and regulations were rolled back to pave the way for the bankers to steal America, and trillions of dollars were added to the deficit. Where were these cries of foul then?
These debates get old when the facts are constantly ignored for right wing rhetoric much of which has be proven false over and over again by many sources.
Chuck,
“This mess” has been created over the last 100 years, not the last 10.
Do you disagree with the IRS statistics above?
If so, please quote your sources.
We need to stop with the class warfare which, frankly, smacks of jealousy and envy, and stop looking for the government to make life “fair”.
I , as a fiscal conservative, was sick to my stomach by President Bush’s (43) spending.
However, until the Tea Party I felt as though I had no voice in a national sense.
It appears to me that you are confusing opinions with facts.
For example, the following is a fact:
Worse under President Obama-
Deficit spending
Government debt
Economic growth
Unemployment
Poverty defined by the number of Americans on welfare
Devaluation of the Dollar
Inflation
Misery index
Nationalization of private industry
Equity markets/ bond markets ( Federal Reserve manipulations don’t count)
Can we all agree that the US spends more than it takes in to the treasury?
This formula is not a winning strategy regardless of who pays taxes.
If we are all taxed at the same rate, then we all share in the tax burden.
The rich would inherently pay more than the poor by virtue of the math but everyone whould have equal skin in the game.
Step 1:Set a tax rate for everyone.
Balance the budget initially.
Step 1:Set a tax rate for everyone.
Step2: Balance the budget initially.
Step 3: Pay down debt as we go forward.
Thanks for the facts: WE THE PEOPLE…
It all makes me wonder, why I am working so hard. When you do the math the middle class walks away with less than someone who works the system and all its programs.
Think of all the options you get FOR working the system e.g. low rent control apt in NYC, refunds for people that don’t pay income tax and keep having children, they can’t provide for, help with a down payment on a house, receiving extra help for a mistake purchasing a house that realistically was well out of your logical price range ( making the lender YOUR scapegoat) ect… It’s very unfair. Don’t even get me started on the obamacare, the bank bailout or how a record number of the elderly ( after having paid into the system for decades) are losing their lifetime homes because they can’t afford taxes on their property.
Why should you punish people that have worked very hard to make over $200K by taxing the hell out of them and give money/benefits to people that have not even attempted to contribute to the basic cost of the government. Why do they deserve this help?
Obama is an enabler, who does not have the skill set to lead and persuade congress in a cohesive direction.
We the people…you should have included the fine print:
Some important facts to keep in mind about the information provided on this page.
(1) All tax returns that have a positive AGI are included, even those that do not have a positive income tax liability.
(2) Income tax after credits (the tax measure above) does not account for the refundable portion of EITC. If it were included (as is often the case with other organizations), the tax share of the top income groups would be higher. The refundable portion is legally classified as a spending program by the Office of Management and Budget and therefore is not included by the IRS in these figures.
(3) The only tax analyzed here is the federal individual income tax, which is responsible for about 25 percent of the nation’s taxes paid (at all levels of government). Federal income taxes are much more progressive than payroll taxes, which are responsible for about 20 percent of all taxes paid (at all levels of government), and are more progressive than most state and local taxes (depending upon the economic assumption made about property taxes and corporate income taxes).
(4) AGI is a fairly narrow income concept, and does not include income items like government transfers (except for the portion of Social Security benefits that is taxed), the value of employer-provided health insurance, underreported or unreported income (most notably that of sole proprietors), income derived from municipal bond interest, net imputed rental income, worker’s compensation benefits and others.
(5) Tax return is the unit of analysis, which is broader than households, especially for those at the bottom end, many of which are dependent returns. Some dependent returns are included in the figures here, and under other units of analysis (like Treasury’s Family Economic Unit), would likely be paired with their parents’ returns.
(6) The data source is the IRS Statistics of Income Division, which uses a national sample of tax returns to provide the figures used here. The figures above were taken from data that were labeled an “early release” by SOI in October 2010. The 2007 figures and those for years previous on this page above were taken from the final percentile data released by the IRS. Figures for 2008 may be subsequently revised.
(7) Figures presented represent the legal incidence of the income tax, although most distributional tables (such as those from CBO, Tax Policy Center, Citizens for Tax Justice, Treasury, and JCT) assume that the entire economic incidence of personal income taxes falls on the income earner.
And since Buffet has yet again been embraced as the spokesperson for the greedy, here’s what he really thinks:
Stop Coddling the Super-Rich
By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Published: August 14, 2011
Editorial: The Truth About Taxes (August 7, 2011)
OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.
If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.
The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.
Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.
Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.
But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.
Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Steve.
Your instinct to make excuses for Barack Obama is still popular in some circles, but it ignores the main reason we elect presidents in this country: To demonstrate leadership, even in the face of adversity, and to establish a clear vision for the country.
Ronald Reagan did both of those things in his first term, despite having to deal with Tip O’Neill and the other Democrats in Congress. Obama clearly hasn’t, despite the fact that he had a working majority in both the House and the Senate during his first two years in office.
But my big point here — the one you seem to have sidestepped — is that with Obama talking out of both sides of his mouth on, among other things, the debt ceiling issue, he has lost the credibility any president needs to make his case with the American people. If you doubt that, check his “unfavorable” ratings in the polls ((http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html)) — currently over 50% — and the real gut-check number, the percentage of Americans who think the country is on the wrong track, which now stands at a holy-shit 74% level ((http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html)). Translation: This guy is in trouble, and one major reason is that the American people don’t feel like he’s leveling with them. They’re right. He’s not.
On to the economic challenges we now face. I have to disagree with you on the idea that the country needs four additional years of Obama to solve these problems … and also on the suggestion that George W. Bush’s performance in office three years ago somehow leaves the country morally obligated to vote the current president back into office. We take these presidential elections one term at a time, Steve, and if history is any indication, Obama is in trouble. Can you think of a sitting president who was re-elected despite the economy tanking? I can’t.
A piece of friendly advice: Whining about W. is just not going to get it done for the Democrats this time around.
I do agree with you in the Buffet plan to reduce and eventually eliminate the deficit, though. See this blog.
http://bit.ly/otveyW
Nobody, your points are well taken but don’t change the fact that the “rich” pay their fair share and much more. We should all be thankful to them for our jobs and way of lives. IMO, eliminate the progressive taxation system including all the loopholes and deductions, institute a broad-based fair tax, and give people the money they earned – it is a private property issue. The economy is 70% consumer-spending based and this when combined with reinstitution of free-market principles will immediately restore this great country’s wealth and prosperity.
JZ, this country can’t afford another 4 yrs. of these policies. I’m not sure it can survive another 1yr.
I feel your frustration as well,Sink or Swim. We in the middle have been let down by poor “leadership”. They have convinced too many of us that there is a subgroup of our populace that are evil-doers who only got ahead through trickery and malfeasance. That these people are the reason why you and I don’t have all we desire and why we don’t live like they do. That if only we would elect the identifiers, they would confiscate these I’ll-gotten gains and hand them out back to their rightful owners. It doesn’t work. You can confiscate every single penny of all the wealth in this country and it doesn’t pay for ONE full year of what this country currently spends. And if (when?) they confiscate every penny , what then? Well the government will have to employ EVERYONE as no one has anything left. So, they start with taking over”failing”banks, auto companies,the healthcare industry, etc. because as they have already told us, “they are bad, the only reason you don’t have what you deserve. ”
On the surface it sounds so attractive and easy. After all, that’s what we want, right? The easy way?
We have lost many battles but we can win this war!
There are such great comments on this blog. Yesterday, President Obama took to the air to unveil his grand plan for deficit reduction and economic stimulus. Amazing display of parisian politics. What worries me most is the tone the President struck on in the name of re election. When is a politician going to put the country ahead of his career??
I am stunned by both the proposal which really was about tax increases for the wealthy. I am tired of being beaten up for being moderately successful. I pay, with state tax and property tax included nearly 60%. That means I don’t begin to make one penny until August 1st. That to me is ridiculous. When you look at the tax payer stats above that only includes federal taxes — let’s look at state taxes or better yet lets look at property taxes and the contributions the “rich” people make to local towns and school districts.
I am not opposed to looking at paying higher taxes, what I don’t like is someone telling me that I am not contributing my fair share. As I mentioned nearly 60% of my paycheck goes to either state, local or federal government. In addition, I can’t tolerate higher taxes without massive spending cuts. Government spending is simply out of control. It is funny President Obama proposed payroll tax cuts for company’s interested in hiring people. He is absolutely clueless when it comes to businesses. With all the economic uncertainty and the implications of Obamacare on business in 2014, as a leader of a small business there is absolutely no way I will hire additional people. In fact, it is just the opposite, I am looking at ways to cut my payroll. It is amazing that he and his administration can be so disconnected with the business community.
With all this said, I am deeply concerned with the tone the republican party is exhibiting today. They are the party of intolerance rather than the party of Lincoln. Repulican leaders continue to use strong and negative language regarding any thing the democratic party proposes. The Speaker has lost control of his party. The tea party movement and far right republicans have polarized the party and will eventually lead to a massive loss of both house and senate seats. The polls are very telling!!!!
Instead of bickering in the press, I want someone to lead the nation through these tremendously uncertain times!!! Please Mr. President and Mr. Speaker do something for the country rather than for yourselves!!
I am so tired of this Democrats vs. Republican debate! How about we all stop fighting like this is a school sports rivalry and start realizing that the problem is that the party system does not work anymore. It’s a dated concept. To be honest, the only candidate who seems REAL this year is Ron Paul! But, sadly, Fox News doesn’t care about you unless you’re a staunch Republican. Ron Paul is more moderate and his views are for the American People! Not just to please party leaders… Just my two cents.
That sounds about right, JZ. I always love comparing side-by-side, narcissistic ideologies with the actual reality of things. Although I do recognize that Obama was dealt a devastatingly terrible economy of which overall, he has demonstrated top leadership, he, like many other politicians, promise change and reform, but never quite deliver. This unfortunately, is not a party issue, but a universal dilemma we all are privy to. The leader I respect and would like to see in office—is the leader that can make good on his promises and step away from the politics of it all, long enough to actually be a leader and do what leaders do, which is pave the way with great ideas and policies that others have not even pondered. A leader like Martin Luther King, Jr., whom was met with great opposition from the majority of his colleagues and died fighting for those convictions and beliefs. A leader’s job after all, is is to lead, not follow. It’s tragic because the reality is, this govt is clearly not for the people, and I don’t know if it ever was…
The problems America face do not lie upon the burden of one person’s back. They were not caused by the decisions of one man and will not be fixed by the decisions of one man.
Once everyone has there wish, and Obama is not reelected. We’ll have a new president…who will not be able to turn the country around instantly…who will have to make unpopular decision just as Obama did.
…I hope you critics are just as vocal then…but something tells me you won’t be. Because at the end of the day even if the next president is worst or has the same EXACT views as Obama – as long as he has the same packaging as the other 43 presidents…you will be silent.