Tea Parties against increased taxes as tax cuts are showing up in paychecks
Apr 15th, 2009 | By Mike | Category: Stimulus, Taxes |
Today there are TEA parties occurring across the nation. People are upset about bailouts, taxes, and socialism. TEA stands for “Taxed Enough Already”. Only one problem with this criticism: Obama just cut taxes. My last paycheck put an extra $50 in my pocket, and I didn’t get a raise. Republicans have again distorted the facts to instill anger to their supporters. This is not a strictly Republican tactic, Democrats do it as well, but this is a great example of why people need to do their own homework and stop listening to 10-second soundbytes on mass media.
While I don’t like the bailouts as much as the next guy, if AIG failed, so would financial system. Since most of these TEA party supporters are conservatives, I hope they remember the first bailout came from President Bush, a conservative Republican who realized the potential disaster of failure for these companies. The only bailouts I really don’t agree with are for the auto industry. They have been failing for years, and when GM is placing their bets on the PUMA, a segway/car hybrid, I’m not really gaining any confidence that they can redeem themselves.
The only part of this argument I could even think of supporting is the socialism claim, but even that is quite a stretch. It has nothing to do with taxes, but everything to do with his policies on GM and AIG. However, if President Obama stopped influencing how these companies used bailout money, the same people would grab their pitchforks and scream about company bonuses. Geesh, how about doing some research before getting in to a mad frenzy. The guy is trying to please the mob by instilling government oversight and the mob calls him socialist.
If you got an extra $50.00 in your pocket from your last paycheck, you got more than the rest of us and will probably owe at the end of the year. Mine was $18.00, and is going directly back by W4. I do not need the government telling me I need an extra $20.00 now, instead of in my refund. And by the way, if you have to borrow the $50.00 to put it in your paycheck, then my grandchildren will be paying $150.00 for you to have taken that with the interest to China. Good job, moron.
Hey Tracy,
you’re grandkids are going to be stuck paying for Bush’s war until they’re 80, but I notice you don’t say anything about that. We’re going to be paying for bushie’s mistakes for the rest of our lives. If he and darth cheney had actually done a decent job of running the country we wouldn’t have the problems we do now.
I don’t like the bailouts and huge deficits, but you know what, deficit spending was the conerstone of the reagan revolution and both bush presidencies, and has been a republican strategy for years (they call it “starving the beast”). Now all of a sudden people like you care, what a joke.
Hi Tracy,
You are mistaken, this is a tax cut, not a rebate program. You will be paying less in taxes this year, plain and simple. I agree that we are spending money we don’t have, but the investments made today (science, education, alternative energy) will provide the technology for industries that will lead America in the future.
Mike
Leave all of the party bickering and cheerleading to the simpletons who buy into it (on the left and the right). Then maybe the rest of us can really produce some decent changes in the democratic process. What am I talking about? It’s a simple step that anyone can take! Join a real grassroots, non-partisan movement; go to flushtheparties.org.
The ignorance of some and the lack of thinking about the future . . . where do you think the payment for this enormous spending bill will be comming from. I guess you don’t care if you are not a taxpayer, but there are no free lunches. Anyone that talks about current tax cuts does not have any intelligence of looking to the future and evidently do not need to balance their own personal finances. Please, please, please . . . lets treat the disease rather than the symptom . . . of course, since I know most of you are short on intelligence, you probably can not figure out my previous statement.
Hi Larry,
You are entitled to your opinion, but please don’t call anyone else dumb. The idea behind investments are that they return high yields. So if we develop a new technology that can be sold globally, we will increase profits and salaries of individuals at those companies, which in turn produces higher tax income without increasing the tax rate. Does that make sense?
Mike
“I hope they remember the first bailout came from President Bush, a conservative Republican”
President Bush was a republican, but he was most certainly not a fiscal conservative. He wasted tons of money and republicans were up in arms about it. Even Glenn Beck and the like blasted President Bush for his wasteful spending. I would have gladly voted for another candidate if a conservative had run against Bush.
The first bailout DID come from Bush and I (and many of my friends) hated it then as much as we do now. Washington DC was flooded with complaints about the bailout – they just didn’t take notice.
These protests are not hypocritical; they’re consistent.
“you’re grandkids are going to be stuck paying for Bush’s war until they’re 80″
The deficit under President Bush was less than $ One Trillion (roughly 750 billion). Obama’s stimulus plan (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) will cost $787 billion. A week after that was signed, they came up with another plan known as the “omnibus spending bill” which would cost another $410 billion. This omnibus spending bill had over 9000 earmarks or special projects that wouldn’t really “stimulate” the economy.
So add up the deficit of President Obama’s first year 750 Billion (from before) + 787 Billion (stimulus) + 410 Billion (omnibus) = 1,947 Billion or almost 2 Trillion. Where is that money coming from? Even if we cut out the entire department of defense’s budget which is $481.4 billion, we’re still pretty far in the red.
So where does this money come from? Well, we’re passing this debt onto our future generations (kids and grand kids). Try going to Amscot or some other place and get a cash advance for 4 times you’re annual salary because you’re bills are currently higher than you’re income. How long would it take you to pay it off, particularly if you have to keep borrowing money to make ends meet.
Obama did promise that he would post a bill on the white house website for 5 days after he receives it from Congress before he signs it so Americans could review it. This is part of his “Transparent administration” he promised. So far he has not kept to this promise.
sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/20/AR2009032001820.html
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/stimulus_bill_earmarks/2009/02/23/184512.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/defense.html
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/234/allow-five-days-of-public-comment-before-signing-b/
What a lot of people seem to be missing is that this is not a Conservative vs. Liberal sporting event, or Democrat vs. Republican game show. We can’t continue to blindly follow one side or the other where ever we are led all the while screaming that we are right and everyone else is wrong. That doesn’t work. We can see the results of those habits in the current state of our nation. The only way we will ever move forward is united as one people, one team, one nation with a common goal. It’s time to let go of all the divisive rhetoric and put our efforts and energy to better use. Quit slinging mud and walk together if only for this one moment in our nations history.
Carlos, I like what you have to say. Did you see my comment above? I wasn’t as positive as you are in your coaching, but I’m on the same page (and I try to stay positive). Thanks for the comment!