For GOP, deficit reduction was never the goal in the first place
You could offer a lot of reasons for the apparent failure of the supercommittee to reach agreement on cutting the deficit before its deadline of midnight tonight.
However, the bottom line was the Bush tax cuts.
The Republicans insisted on making them permanent. The Democrats refused. And the Democrats had the better part of the argument. After all, everybody supposedly agreed that the supercommittee’s overwhelming priority — its entire reason for existence in the first place — was to cut the deficit and debt.
And if that’s the goal, you cannot responsibly insist on maintaining the Bush tax cuts in their entirety, given that such a step INCREASES the national debt by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. You can cut Medicare, cut Medicaid, cut student loans and cut Social Security, but if you do all those things AND make the tax cuts permanent, you have succeeded in making life tougher for a lot of people but you accomplished nothing toward reducing the deficit. In fact, you’ve made things worse than if you just sit back and do nothing.
UPDATE at 8:34:
Just so there’s no doubt, from The Hill:
“Mitt Romney said Sunday at a campaign stop in New Hampshire that he would not support any deal struck by the supercommittee that included new taxes, even if it meant trading limited tax increases now for the assurance that the Bush tax cuts would become permanent.
“I believe the right answer is cutting taxes, so I will not endorse any plan that raises revenues, raises taxes,” Romney said, according to Fox News….
“There will be a lot of give and take of proposals made and yet I will not support any proposal based upon increasing taxes or revenues. I will support proposals reducing spending,” Romney said.”
– Jay Bookman
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665 comments Add your comment
Darwin
November 21st, 2011
9:05 am
I agree with those who say let the triggers begin. When people start to see a cut in “their” programs, Republicans will pay the price. You can write off the swing states. My fear is that Republicans talk the talk and that’s it. When it comes down the really making these cuts, they walk away. Remember who passed the biggest increase in Medicare history?
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:05 am
Yellow card.
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:05 am
Jay, cease the lies and report the whole truth for once.
Jay
November 21st, 2011
9:07 am
TruthBe, the truth is not in you.
Last warning.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:08 am
Gas prices keep going down. Anyone who wants to blame Obama for when they go up want to step up and claim that Obama gets credit for it?
Or will you just admit that the President has absolutely nothing to do with gas prices, no matter who is in the office?
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:08 am
“In other words, jm believes I shouldn’t make such claims about Romney based on flimsy evidence, such as the plain words out of Romney’s own mouth.”
Someone isn’t aware it’s election season.
You know libs are losing when they just declare you wrong and ridicule you. But they can’t and don’t refute the facts.
Hilarious. Vote R 2012.
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:09 am
You are a slave to the Rothchilds. George Soros is a agent for them and Obama is a brought slave to them aswell.
Josef, can you send me contact information for the New World Order recruiter? I want the cushy life of a Soros/Rothchilds agent.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 21st, 2011
9:09 am
Why is it that so many on the right fail to understand this is a political blog, not a news report. And then they expect that they can accurately assess information presented when they cannot comprehend basic reality? I think not.
josef
November 21st, 2011
9:10 am
JAY
Aw, let him go ahead…I’ll turn his name over to Cuddin’ Klaus…
JohnnyReb
November 21st, 2011
9:10 am
I think Romney mispoke as I don’t know of any Republican who is against increased revenues. Against new taxes, yes, but not against revenue increases.
RB from Gwinnett
November 21st, 2011
9:10 am
“Yes, jm, the Dems did include stimulus in some of their proposals. But it was never a deal-breaker or dealmaker for them like taxes were for the GOP.”
Jay speaks as if he knows the conversations going on in these negotiations and then proclaims the R’s disengenuous when in reality, he knows nothing more than what we all read in the news. You don’t think Jay actally does any investigation into this stuff do you? He watches the reports on MSNBC and then writes about it.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:10 am
Oh. And when Romney promises not to raise taxes, I call that under-promising for a moderate. Romney will over-deliver.
Vote Romney 2012. For prosperity and freedom.
josef
November 21st, 2011
9:12 am
Aguagirl
Between Truth Be(right) and Soothsayer (left) we might be able to find it! Me and ZamVet are still looking for that line, too!
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:12 am
Jay, Prove what I wrote wasn’t the truth. Jay you know that the democrats won’t cut spending or stop pushing for taxes. And this Obama administration is full of CORRUPTION. An the mainstreet media is completely full of BS and bias. Ajc included Jay.
ByteMe
November 21st, 2011
9:12 am
Why is it that so many on the right fail to understand this is a political blog, not a news report.
Seems obvious, when their main source of news is other political blogs and cable channels focused mostly on crazy political commentary.
TaxPayer
November 21st, 2011
9:13 am
Looks like we have yet another radical right winger all fired up from listening to too much right wing talk show trash and is ready to take on a left winger with a display of facts and verifiable proof with no hyperbole or emotional outbursts. Ready to show his work, even.
Now come on, truthbe told, ^^^ that’s ^^^ comedy gold. Right!
ByteMe
November 21st, 2011
9:13 am
TruthBe: slow down, buddy. The meds will kick in soon and it’ll all be fine.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:13 am
RB. Don’t expect liberals to acknowledge the absurdity in Jays arguments…
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:13 am
“…It confirms what I wrote, that your priority and that of the GOP is not the deficit, which would require cutting spending AND raising taxes.”–JAY
And there it is folks, Jay’s junk food/welfare mentality that you can’t increase tax revenue WITHOUT disproprtonately raising the tax RATE on individuals that you envy because of their success and your failure in life.
Jay confirms what we have always known; that his envy of other people’s success and wealth trumps doing the right thing with regard to fixing our run-away spending problem.
Jay must have had sand kicked in his face and still holds a grudge. Let the Hate and anger go, Jay.
You will live a much happier life. And while you are at it, get your grubby Bolshevik hands OFF of other people’s money.
Jay lives in a Bumper sticker slogan world of welfare and junk food.
How about opening up your mind, Jay.
Narrow-minded and ignorant people like Jay are so stuck in their bluster and drivel that they can’t listen to new and diverse ideas.
Truly Sad
Jay
November 21st, 2011
9:14 am
Yes, jm, we can believe what YOU claim Romney will do. Or we can believe what Romney himself says he will do.
And yes, you’re right, it is election season. And Romney has clearly concluded that to win Republican votes, he has to depict himself as an absolute foe of compromise, unwilling under any circumstances to support tax increases for any reason. That’s his reading of his own party.
Well, that’s my reading of it too.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:14 am
Looks like TruthBe fell for the fair and balanced lie:
Pundit: “Why won’t Obama push for a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes?”
Obama: “I support a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes”
Pundit: “Why won’t Obama push for a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes?”
Mr. Holmes
November 21st, 2011
9:15 am
you know that the democrats won’t cut spending or stop pushing for taxes. And this Obama administration is full of CORRUPTION. An the mainstreet media is completely full of BS and bias.
Well that hit just about all the points, except maybe Obama being a Marxist Kenyan usurper.
AmVet - Just say no to spendaholic Republicans
November 21st, 2011
9:16 am
Monday morning meltdowns.
Silly, rabid Republicans.
I’m always amazed at the power and relentless beauty of the human spirit. This story should touch everyone who is still “kickin”…
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/20/us/football-oldest-college-kicker/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
TaxPayer
November 21st, 2011
9:16 am
You know libs are losing when they just declare you wrong and ridicule you. But they can’t and don’t refute the facts.
A Republican posting facts. Now that’s funny. The comedy is just overwhelming this morning.
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:17 am
Well that hit just about all the points, except maybe Obama being a Marxist Kenyan usurper.
Oh, I think there was still at least two he missed … teleprompter, ACORN….
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:17 am
Jay 9:14
Oh I will acknowledge I’m not the oracle and I might be wrong. But I obviously think it’s unlikely.
Yes, I think Romney isn’t being perfectly honest. BTW. How are those hope and change promises going, and that Obama promise to cut the deficit in more than half by the end of his first term?
Not swimmingly well, I would note.
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:19 am
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:17 am
Jay 9:14
Oh I will acknowledge I’m not the oracle and I might be wrong.
Not intended to be a factual statement.
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:19 am
Holmes, If you want to add that, that’s okay with me. Obama and his adminstration are corrupt and all of you know it. No morals in the media and no truth from they either.
jflavelle
November 21st, 2011
9:20 am
I find the republican comments here interesting. You are stating we have a spending problem not a revenue problem and it is the democrats fault. But, with the failure of the super committee spending cuts with no revenue will be automatic. It is the republicans more so than the democrats that do not want to see these automatic cuts. I can guarantee during the course of this year the republican house will do whatever it can to reinstate at least half of the spending to be cut. Do you really believe they want to go home and inform the 500 workers in the local factory they will be out of a job within a year because of the loss of military/government contracts.
So since the spending cuts will be automatic your arguments are very weak. Personally, I am very happy this failed. If we are going to cut government without increasing revenue, this is the way it should be done.
And I am still amazed at the hatred for Obama, between his continually cutting taxes and now the president who will have cut government more than the last 5 republicans combined, he should be your hero.
kayaker 71
November 21st, 2011
9:20 am
Lets see…… Siga Technologies. Ring a bell, libs? Seems that Ronald Perelman, the controlling stock holder of the company donated about 300K to Bozo’s re-election campaign and also donated about 50K to his Immacualtion. Siga is the company who, without competitive bidding, was given a 453M dollar loan guarantee by the Democrats to supply us with small pox vaccine. This vaccine has never been tested and approved by the FDA, and we already have about 1B dollars worth of small pox vaccine but that’s OK, now we have about 1.7M additional doses, supplied at about 3X the cost provided by other manufacturers. Seems like the last fatality from small pox was about 40 yrs ago world wide.
This is the kind of idiotic spending that Republicans want to curtail. Nothing but political payback to a big donor for a product that we do not need, not bid by another company and a a price that is insane. And you wonder why we don’t want taxes raised.
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:21 am
Oh, I think there was still at least two he missed … teleprompter, ACORN….
Where’s my bingo card?
Lord Help Us
November 21st, 2011
9:21 am
‘No morals in the media and no truth from they either.’
And, from what media sources does TruthBe acquire its information?
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:22 am
Kamchack 9:19
Well, I appreciate you thinking I’m the oracle. But I’m not. Nice compliment though.
Mr. Holmes
November 21st, 2011
9:22 am
Obama and his adminstration are corrupt and all of you know it.
Actually no. I don’t know it. And you don’t either–though I have no doubt you want to believe it. There is something you and a great many of your like-minded friends should learn, and it is this: Just saying something, no matter how often or loudly you say it, does not make it true.
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:22 am
“TruthBe, cease the personal attacks.”–Jay
LOL! How hypocritical of Jay.
Everyday, Jay’s Leftwing bloggers hurl “personal attacks” and Jay says NADA!
Does Jay’s “cease the personal attacks” threat apply to eveyone or just the people who call him out on his Leftwing/Socialist garbage?
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:22 am
Aquagirl
I’m still waiting for “Solyndra.”
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:23 am
Yes, I think Romney isn’t being perfectly honest
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!”
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:24 am
Well, I appreciate you thinking I’m the oracle.
Reading other people’s mind is not your forte.
Don’t quit your day job.
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:24 am
“Obama and his adminstration are corrupt and all of you know it. No morals in the media and no truth from they either.”–Truthbe
Thrill Is Gone? Matthews Turns On Obama; ‘I Hear Stories That You Would Not Believe’
http://tv.breitbart.com/thrill-is-gone-matthews-turns-on-obama-i-hear-stories-that-you-would-not-believe/
TaxPayer
November 21st, 2011
9:25 am
As Granny has already highlighted, the Republicans signed on to the legislation that included those default tax hikes and DoD cuts and NO cuts in social security or medicare or medicaid once, er um, I mean, in case, the supercommittee failed. Perhaps the Republicans did find a way around Grover and Grover is just too stoopid to realize it. Then again, that’s certainly not the only possible explanation. That was a most excellent piece of work by the Democrats and Obama. Now we just havin’ fun with you Republicans just so we can watch you squirm and wriggle.
josef
November 21st, 2011
9:25 am
USMC
Be careful…take a look at what it was that Imam Torquemada was calling him in on…don’t align yourself with that line of thought…
Peadawg
November 21st, 2011
9:26 am
This blog is hilarious. It’s nothing but pointing fingers and blaming each other. Popcorn – the breakfast of champions.
tyler pike
November 21st, 2011
9:26 am
FAIR TAX.
Jay, you and your column are a joke. Go to California and be a journalist for Cynthia Mckinney
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:26 am
“Don’t quit your day job.”–Koatchek
Why not? We can just go get welfare/food stamps and live on Jay’s blog like you do.
Newtpewt
November 21st, 2011
9:26 am
Looks like “The Grover” has Mittster “by the short-hairs” (and curlies, too.)
man behind the curtain
November 21st, 2011
9:27 am
Actuall the Republican’s priority is neither defict redxuction nor tax breaks for the rich. Their game plan since the eighties has been to defund the government to the point of crisis so they can say, “see, we can’t aford social seurity and medicare, etc.” They have achieved the crisis they had been looking for, which is totally artificial and of their own making, and are calling in their chips. The sooner Americans see their game of backdoor cuts to entitlements (they know they can’t openly peddle that crap, see Paul Ryan’s plan) the sooner we can start getting back on track.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:27 am
You know someone’s a hyperpartisan when they blame only one party.
Jay needs a better description other than a little opinion about a lot of things.
He should add: these ate the words of someone that can’t see both sides of an issue and is massively politically biased.
It would just be a more accurate description. After all, stock analysts have to disclose conflicts of interest…..
AmVet - Just say no to spendaholic Republicans
November 21st, 2011
9:29 am
Crybaby ex-Marines. How sad.
I suspected from the get-go that the men in this super-duper-gooper committee were not going to have the moral courage to accomplish anything.
The legacy of Newt Gingrich – never, ever, ever compromise.
And the worst government that dirty money can buy…
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:29 am
November 21st, 2011
9:22 am
“Obama and his adminstration are corrupt and all of you know it.
Actually no. I don’t know it. And you don’t either–though I have no doubt you want to believe it. There is something you and a great many of your like-minded friends should learn, and it is this: Just saying something, no matter how often or loudly you say it, does not make it true.”
Holmes, You, the media , the communists, and the democrats do this everyday day. Get Real.
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:29 am
Does Jay’s “cease the personal attacks” threat apply to eveyone or just the people who call him out on his Leftwing/Socialist garbage?
People you would certainly consider to be left-wingers have been sent to the penalty box. Don’t let that interrupt your butthurt fest.
TaxPayer
November 21st, 2011
9:31 am
Well, I appreciate you thinking I’m the oracle
If you move to Nebraska perhaps you could be the Oracle of Omahaha.
Welcome to the Occupation
November 21st, 2011
9:33 am
Um. Headline is not factually correct.
Um, yes it was.
stands for decibels
November 21st, 2011
9:33 am
Late to this thread, but is anyone ready to celebrate at the Super-Commie-Politburo’s apparent failure?
Come on, let’s dance! it’s a good day to live in a representative democracy!
got the bubbly chillin’…
JKL2
November 21st, 2011
9:33 am
byteme- JKL2 thinks that how a person handles a budget is the same as how a government should run a budget.
Demwits in congress have shown they don’t possess the ability to produce a budget. How can you ever expect to reduce the deficit when you have no concept of basic accounting. We know this add and subtract stuff is tough, but it still works.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:34 am
I think democrats are about to get clobbered in tue next election
We shall see
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:35 am
This is your brain….
Now, This is your brain on drugs and a junk food diet…
“People you would certainly consider to be left-wingers have been sent to the penalty box. Don’t let that interrupt your butthurt fest.”–Aquagirl
…just say no!
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:36 am
How can you ever expect to reduce the deficit when you have no concept of basic accounting.
How can you expect us to take Republicans seriously when Cheney said that Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter?
man behind the curtain
November 21st, 2011
9:37 am
My comment at 9:27 was gold, pure gold, and not one poster on here stopped bickering long enough to even acknowledge it’s depth of profundity and accuracy. :>)
USMC
November 21st, 2011
9:37 am
“I think democrats are about to get clobbered in tue next election”–jm
The Dems will lose the Senate AND Executive branch…
Even Chris Matthews knows that Obama is “toast” in 2012:
http://tv.breitbart.com/thrill-is-gone-matthews-turns-on-obama-i-hear-stories-that-you-would-not-believe/
Recon (2nd.and 3rd.)
November 21st, 2011
9:37 am
The Democrats have a fixation for tax increases on the wealthy. As far as spending cuts the Democrats on the committee couldn’t agree among themselves, so when the Republican committee members put forth their proposal that offered revenue increase through tax reform and closing loopholes the Dem’s weren’t prepared to offer up a counter proposal of their own. Now their running around trying to peddle this bunk that the Republicans are to blame for this failure. BTW…where’s the president while this foolishness goes on? Why he’s off pretending that he’s leader of the free world and thinking that he has an effective campaign strategy blaming Republicans for the super committee’s failure. He wants it to fail because getting reelected is far more important to him than solving this nations economic crises.
godless heathen
November 21st, 2011
9:37 am
Super Committee, like ObamaCare, designed and intended to fail. Then the Dems can blame the Republicans and move closer to what they really want.
midtownguy
November 21st, 2011
9:38 am
If I get in credit card debt over my head what do I do. Well, I cut back on my spending as much as possible without depriving my family of basic needs then I go get a part-time job on Saturday and pay that additional income toward my credit cards.
That is the only way to get out of debt and it applies to families and to countries. It is not possible to spending cut alone your way out of debt.
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:38 am
We need to fix America and stop wasting our money on other Countries. Our Country is in trouble and ALL of you should know it. The President, Senate, Congress, are at fault all of them. We the People need to take back our Country from the corrupt leadership it has today. Now is the time for action. Vote all of them out period. Everyday Citizens need to be voted into office. No to the Democrats and Republican Parties. People from mainstreet American and from the Country side to run this Nation instead of a bunch of inside the beltway lying brought and paid for career corrupt polictians.
joe
November 21st, 2011
9:39 am
Jay, you can make cuts without raising taxes…anyone with a 5th grade education knows this. It doesn’t have to be both. The goal is lower the debt and cut big government, which in turn cuts spending. Raising taxes gives big government more to spend…not necessary.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:39 am
USMC: Why not? We can just go get welfare/food stamps and live on Jay’s blog like you do.
I hear it’s a cushy lifestyle, full of flatscreen TVs and Escalades. So why aren’t you doing it already, if it’s so great?
Gordon
November 21st, 2011
9:40 am
This should be simple.
R’s and D’s should coax as much revenue as possible out of the American people, making the case that the money spent will benefit them more than if they spent it themselves. Based on how successful they were at that, they spend the money and government grows or shrinks. The American people then decide if the amount spent was worth the services received, and either send more or less to Washington or demand that the same amount be spent in a somewhat different way. The process repeats.
How did we get away from that? We got away from that by have non-discretionary parts of our government that did not trigger automatic tax increases when the costs inevitably rose. We have a “defined benefit” but no possible way to pay for it. This final result was inevitable. Spending other people’s money, whether it belongs to a future generation or the “rich”, is as addictive as crack.
240 years…..it was a great run.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:40 am
Jay
Look at Canada. 7-1 spending cuts total increase ratio.
Canada then topped the G7 growth rate tables for a decade
Cut cut cut
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:42 am
Jm: 7-1 is not 100% spending cuts, and includes no further or continuing tax cuts.
True
November 21st, 2011
9:43 am
It takes a special kind of idiot to continue to grow spending while revenues are shrinking. See Bookman for reference.
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Canada then topped the G7 growth rate tables for a decade
Are you really citing those socialist-welfare commies who pass out healthcare to everyone?
Welcome to the Occupation
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Recon: “The Democrats have a fixation for tax increases on the wealthy. ”
Wrong. There’s only one fixation in American politics — the fixation of the power class (overlaps both parties) on grabbing more and more wealth from the people for their own enrichment. THAT’s the reason that the only unstoppable impulse in American (and much of the world) politics today is austerity.
By the way, you don’t need an apostrophe in “Dem’s”.
kayaker 71
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
If you missed Ron Paul handing Bob Schieffer his hat yesterday, you missed a good one. Schieffer, as with other left wing “journalists” are not interested in finding out what the candidate stands for or exploring their views….. only making them look bad. And Schieffer found out yesterday that with Ron Paul, that was not so easy a task. Ron Paul made him look like the “pseudo journalist” that he is.
TruthBe
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Cut spending and cut down the size of the Federal government TODAY.
Quagmire
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Grover has punked the GoP’ers. They are scared of a 4′5 nothing man that’s playing them like puppets. Grover and the rest of the GoP has no interest in supporting the middle class, only to protect the golden goose, corporate america and the wealthy. I forgot, corporations are people too…….dumb.
Mr. Holmes
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Everyday Citizens need to be voted into office.
Really? OK, here’s a test: The holidays are upon us, which means we’ll all be spending time with our families. As we share turkey & dressing this Thursday, look around the dining room and the kids table and ask yourself honestly: This is who I want running the country? This is who I want playing foreign-policy chess with Iran and N. Korea and Russia and Venezuela and everyone else?
No. I love my family, but there’s a reason Herman Cain’s wings are melting and he is falling to earth. I want smart people running my government, people who know more than me on their own–not just those who pledge to appoint smart people around them. Because unless your decision-making is grounded with a solid foundation of your own knowledge, how do you know when you’re being gamed, even–sometimes, yes, especially–by those “friends” you appointed?
We don’t need Joe the Plumber running the country. We need smart folks who understand that our government is designed to function through compromise.
man behind the curtain
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Return to the tax rates of the 50s, America’s finest decade.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:45 am
Adam. Stop talking. You haven’t studied the issue and therefore have no cred.
Bad Guy
November 21st, 2011
9:46 am
I lurk in here periodically and I normally see the same people arguing over the same things. It appears to me that the country is angry with our entire administration regardless of lib/con bend. It is time to give up the party line and do what is right for the people. we need smaller government that is less intrusive in our lives and our business. For goodness sake, people Boo-ed Obama’s wife at a sporting event. That should tell you the discontent among average americans, regardless of their background.
Neither party is right in this fight 100%. I wish for my children that we would pass a balanced budget ammendment that LIMITED the power of our government to decide the winners and losers in our society.
JKL2
November 21st, 2011
9:48 am
aquagirl- This is why they don’t care if Herman Cain is stupid
You don’t get to this level by being stupid. I’ll even give someone like obama credit for having a few braincells to rub together. The key element you are missing is leadership. Herman has tons of it. obama wouldn’t know what leadership was unless it came across his teleprompter or he googled it.
Hard to be leader of the free world and lack any traits of leadership whatsoever. That’s why he was a communitee organizer. Even he realized he wasn’t a leader.
Midori
November 21st, 2011
9:49 am
I don’t know which is funnier: the current converstation or the weekend conversation about toilet seats
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:50 am
Aquagirl
Yep. Cause they make America’s conservatives look like liberals. And our liberals look like commies. Which they apparently are.
jflavelle
November 21st, 2011
9:51 am
We have a massive debt and deficit. You can cut spending, but still have that massive, yes massive, debt that republicans seem so concerned about. There is no way we can cut enough to pay down that debt without increased revenue. It is simple math. If you really care about the debt then you would have no problem with increased revenue. I heave heard a lot of talk about shared sacrifice, but the only ones I see that republicans want to share in that sacrifice are the poor, elderly and children. While saying those that could afford to sacrifice the most should pay even less.
Recon (2nd.and 3rd.)
November 21st, 2011
9:52 am
Occupation-Wrong. There’s only one fixation in American politics — the fixation of the power class (overlaps both parties) on grabbing more and more wealth from the people for their own enrichment. THAT’s the reason that the only unstoppable impulse in American (and much of the world) politics today is austerity.
You sound like someone who hasn’t accomplished much in life. Sorry about that.
Welcome to the Occupation
November 21st, 2011
9:52 am
True: “It takes a special kind of idiot to continue to grow spending while revenues are shrinking. See Bookman for reference.”
Hey Einstein, couldn’t agree more. It takes quite an idiot to keep expanding a military empire while shifting the burden of that spending to an increasingly strapped and job-less multitude.
But history is littered with the ruins of idiot regimes.
Jm
November 21st, 2011
9:52 am
That Arab spring thing appears to be going well in Cairo. Good job Obama.
Meanwhile the Taliban is making peace with Pakistan. Good job Obama.
And Europe is falling apart due to too much debt which Obama wants to emulate. Good job Obama.
Herman Cain looks like a freaking genius next to Obama.
Welcome to the Occupation
November 21st, 2011
9:55 am
You sound like someone who hasn’t accomplished much in life. Sorry about that.
Now now, let’s not get ad hominem. After all, you don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.
But what about the truth value of my statement? That’s what you have no answer to, and thus you try to change the subject.
TaxPayer
November 21st, 2011
9:56 am
The rate at which the 400 U.S. taxpayers with the highest adjusted gross income actually paid federal income taxes –their so-called effective tax rate — fell to about 18 percent in 2008 from almost 30 percent in 1995, IRS data show. That’s the tip of the iceberg, since much of their wealth never converts into income on a tax return, McCaffery said.
You got that, Republicans. The wealthiest pay a lower tax rate only on the income that they have not found a way around reporting to the IRS. The rest of their income, the unreported part, is completely tax free and yet Republicans want to give them more bigger tax cuts. The Republican constituency is so owned.
Aquagirl
November 21st, 2011
9:56 am
Yep. Cause they make America’s conservatives look like liberals.
Let me know when you find a presidential candidate that’ll take a 7-1 ratio, since all your boys and girls said 10-1 was unacceptable.
So much for your idea America’s cons are more conservative than Canadian cons. NEXT!
Kamchak
November 21st, 2011
9:56 am
Herman CainBeavis and/or Butthead looks like a freaking genius next toObamaHerman Cain.Typos fixed.
JKL2
November 21st, 2011
9:58 am
kamchak- How can you expect us to take Republicans seriously when Cheney said that Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter?
It didn’t matter at the time because we didn’t have much on the credit card. Now that the card is maxed out and the bank (China) is telling us we need to cool it, times have changed. The obama plan of turning the dollar into a peso and spending our way out of debt isn’t going to be good.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:58 am
Jm: Adam. Stop talking. You haven’t studied the issue and therefore have no cred.
HAHAHHAHAHAHA!
That’s rich, coming from you.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
9:58 am
Jm: Herman Cain looks like a freaking genius next to Obama.
Let’s see… um… Libya…..
Gman
November 21st, 2011
9:59 am
Anyone with a family realizes the fastest way to get out of debt is to CUT spending and INCREASE revenue! Waging wars without the funds to pay for them is a sure-fire way of getting deeper in debt,
Citizen Canters
November 21st, 2011
10:00 am
LOL!
Matthews sees the lightweights.
Obama’s netrooters are virtually “little kids with propellers on their heads.”
AMEN?
Adam
November 21st, 2011
10:01 am
Herman Cain: “We need a leader, not a reader”
Simpsons Movie Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I was elected to lead, not to read”
Recon (2nd.and 3rd.)
November 21st, 2011
10:02 am
“But what about the truth value of my statement? That’s what you have no answer to, and thus you try to change the subject”
Truth value of your statements? Can’t find any truth value in nonsensical ideological rants but you go ahead and enjoy yourself anyway.
Welcome to the Occupation
November 21st, 2011
10:02 am
Jm: “And Europe is falling apart due to too much debt which Obama wants to emulate. Good job Obama.”
Greece aside, the Euro countries — esp. Spain — were largely model citizens in terms of deficits and debt before the crisis, so, oops, there goes your argument.
Try learning up a little on the subjects you expound on for a change.
DebbieDoRight
November 21st, 2011
10:03 am
Mary E.: And one has to ask, “Why?” Why have they been so insistent that the Bush tax cuts become permanent, when those tax cuts have reeked such harm to the nation, as a whole?
Because they are owned lock, stock, and barrel, by “Big Business” and they are nothing more than paid trollops who flounce on their backs everytime BB tells them to. BB’s sole purpose is to MAKE MONEY for THE COMPANY and it’s board members. PERIOD. They are not interested in the common good of the nation. they are not intersted in the after effects of their mandates and products and what it does to the populace (see Toyota, Merck, etc.). They are only interested in MONEY. The USA could fall in a gutter along the wayside and turn overnight into a 3rd world country, BB wouldn’t care. They’d just hop onto their private corporate jets and set up shop in another country. Preferably one that has zero interest in the common good of their country and only has the interest of their leaders at heart.
When people talk about the book of Revelations — I’m beginning to believe more and more that the W##ho$re of Babylon, (the one who seduces all the nations), is really BBs / money.
Afterall, as former U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasurer Bruce Bartlett has said, “If tax cuts were supposed to have created more jobs, then where are the jobs?”
Precisely.
kayaker 71
November 21st, 2011
10:03 am
taxpayer,
If these evil rich people have not broken the law, what do you expect them to do, donate more to this insane spending machine? The enemy is not those evil wealthy people….. it’s the tax code that allows this to happen. Congress can change the tax code anytime they wish. They could change it in a week if they wanted to. But the tax code has persisted for decades, growing more complicated every year and fraught with loopholes that allow people to dodge the bullet. Keep the present tax code and you perpetuate the problem. Change it and the system will take on a whole new image plus bring in more revenue. Couple this with spending cuts and lo and behold, perhaps we won’t need any new taxes.
Adam
November 21st, 2011
10:04 am
WttO: Germany. Don’t forget Germany.