Showing posts with label Payroll tax cut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Payroll tax cut. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tea Party massacred on payroll tax decision

Senate majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) has brought the Tea Party to its knees once again.  He beat Sharon Angle, a TP favorite, for his Senate seat in Nevada just a year ago, and now he backed House Speaker John Boehner, backed by radical TPers, into a corner on the payroll tax bill until they had to lose face and give in to what had been the right thing to do all along.  The only upside to this whole bizarre episode is that the American public is finally seeing the real color of these right wing fanatics.

President Barack Obama signed the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut this past Friday, a victory for himself over a Tea Party that has targeted the President since its inception and his inauguration.  Independents and moderate Republicans should view this as an example of how Democrats and progressives in general can champion tax cuts.  Also included in the bill are a continuation in jobless benefits and a delay in decreased Medicare payments to doctors that could seriously affect Seniors.

Apparently Boehner, who was originally in favor of passing the two-month deal worked out by Senate Democrats and Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, caved to the TP lunatics led by head maniac Eric Cantor (R-VA) House Majority Leader.  Some have even questioned whether it is Cantor or Boehner leading the House, and if it’s Cantor, then, up until last Friday the Tea Party had definitely been in control. 

Political analysts view this defeat and turmoil leading up to the showdown as significantly hurting the GOP in their backbone Republican philosophy of tax cuts at any cost.  It clearly shows that when it comes to the wealthy, there is absolutely no concession on taxes, but they are willing to sacrifice the middle-class and lower income groups on the basis of demanding a year’s extension over the two-months that was finally passed.



Jon Summers, who was instrumental in Reid’s win over Angle, thinks that things will go much the same way at the end of the two-month extension as it did last Friday.  Democrats are on a roll and they will get what they want in February of 2012.  Harry Reid has already predicted that the Tea Party, spawned in hard times, will just fade away as the economy improves.  In the second phase of the payroll tax cut fight, even more damage could be done to the GOP by TPers that place extreme right ideology over their country.

If you want to know who to blame, you can take a look at the list of Tea Party caucus members here, led by presidential hopeful (?) Michele Bachmann, along with some other good info on the group by Wikipedia.  The list is a blueprint of House representatives and Senate members, some of which are running for office in 2012, that we progressives want to give the boot.  This is also the gang

that is apparently enraged at John Boehner after caving to Democrats last Friday.

When Congress reconvenes in January and the fireworks start, it will be interesting to see who is on the offensive and who is on the defensive.  If the Democrats and all progressives alike don’t take advantage of their current momentum to slay the ultra conservative dragon, the elections of 2012 could well be a complete toss up.

Monday, December 19, 2011

House Speaker Boehner freaks out on payroll tax cut. Is Tea Party to blame?


Speaker John Boener
 It was a slam dunk with a vote in the Senate of 89 to 10 to pass the two-month extension on the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits, also including a deal on the Keystone XL pipeline.  But House Speaker Boehner caved to the Republican caucus that Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer described as “…a small group at the extremetry to dictate every move this nation makes.”  This sounds like Tea Party extremists to me, and once again Boehner has reneged on an agreement.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor
Everyone involved agreed it wasn’t the best and should have instead been a plan to carry these programs through for a full year.  But Boehner had earlier left it to Senate leaders to come up with a deal, one that even Republican Mitch McConnell was in favor of.  But conservative extremists, apparently led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, turned their wrath on Boehner who once again changed his mind and went with the flow.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Schumer question Boehner and the GOP’s ability to lead.

Reid has said repeatedly that the Dems. have supported the two-month deal because “that was the best we could get.”  A statement that seems to reflect a combination of the willingness to negotiate with Republicans—completely contrary to the latter’s refusal to raise taxes—and some degree of weakness that must be turned around soon if progressives are to win control of this country.  It has to start from the top down and we haven’t seen much of that from President Obama.

It is also clear that the GOP is insisting on including the pipeline issue in any payroll tax legislation because they back the oil industry as is the case with any big business.  This, even though there is some credible concern by environmentalists and the state of Nebraska where the pipeline is scheduled to cross.  But politics aside, it is incomprehensible that conservatives would make this demand in light of its opposition possibly scuttling the passage of the whole payroll tax bill, just to support the corporate world.

 

So what can you expect if the payroll tax bill is not passed?  A cancellation of the program means that individuals will pay from $700 with a salary of $35,000 to $2,341 if you earn $110,000 and up, the maximum.  But there are some questions re. just how much a continuation will spur the economy.  There are those who believe, because it takes such a broad sweep in income, there is not enough emphasis on low and middle-income households which are most likely to do the most spending in the marketplace.

But this whole fiasco is just another example of a dysfunctional government that has now taken on a life of its own.  These morons in Congress walk around in a state of denial, in delusions of grandeur actually believing what they are doing is right.  Power is king and being reelected the only goal of their actions.  However, if they think this goes unnoticed, the Pew Research Center shows discontent with Congress at record levels.  Right now two-thirds of voters believe lawmakers should be voted out of office in 2012.  Amen!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Will Congress adjourn without extending payroll tax and unemployment compensation?


Pres. Obama, Speaker Boehner
While the two houses bicker over how to pay for the tax cuts with one relentless on not raising taxes, millions of Americans cannot enjoy their holidays with the thought that 2012 will only bring more financial problems.  The payroll tax cut covers 160 million Americans, and the extended unemployment compensation 6 million.  The former could cut at least $1,000 from the average paycheck next year and the latter would eliminate $300 from average monthly unemployment benefits.

If Congress takes no action, this will cancel some $165 billion from the economy in 2012.  All because we have a band of dysfunctional legislative morons in Washington.  And folks we put them there but we can remove them in 2012.  And there is an additional issue of heading off the scheduled cut in Medicare payments to doctors next year, something that could affect future medical care to seniors.

According to CNN Money, the Democrats want a tax on millionaires producing $155 billion over 10 years.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charging mortgage lenders more; estimated revenue $38 billion.  Ban millionaires from receiving unemployment benefits and food stamps saving $127 billion over ten years.

Republicans would limit pay and the size of the federal workforce plus a 3-year extension on the current 2-year freeze on pay for civilian employees and members of Congress.  This would save $222 billion over 10 years.  Also they would only extend the pay freeze for another year, saving $26 billion over 10 years.  Changing the rules for retirement for federal civilian retirees would save $37 billion over 10 years.  Charge millionaires more for Medicare saving $9.2 billion over 10 years.  And increase premiums on high income households by 15 percent saving $31 billion over 10 years.



There is more but the above is the substance of where the left and the right are coming from.  The Dems concentrating on the inequities of wealth in the private and corporate sectors for revenue.  The GOP placing the burden on the backs of the middle class federal workforce, except for concessions on congressional pay raises and Medicare payments for the rich that are already blatantly obvious.

Republicans in Congress are daring Democrats to scuttle their bill that they claim comes to the aid of the middle class.  Eric Cantor (R) Virginia, bases this on tax cuts and job creation he claims is built into the GOP legislation.  It is all but certain the bill will fail in the Democrat controlled Senate.

So back to the original question.  Will this inept body be able to salvage the future of the American working public or will they go home for Christmas each laying the blame on the other side?  If this happens, they will have to face the voter’s Grinch in 2012.

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