and your Senators http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
or tweet at hashtag my2k and express your views on extending the middle class tax cuts and ending the tax cuts for the wealthy. Here is the transcript of President Obama's remarks on this issue on 28NOV12, followed by statements by Patriotic Millionaires and top fiscal policy wonks on eliminating the tax cuts for the rich.
Here is a transcript of President Obama’s remarks on middle-class tax cuts delivered on Nov. 28, 2012.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: It would be good for our children’s future, and I believe that both parties can agree on a framework that does that in the coming weeks. In fact, my hope is to get this done before Christmas. But the place where we already have, in theory at least, complete agreement, right now, is on middle class taxes. And as I’ve said before, we’ve got two choices.
If Congress does nothing, every family in America will see their taxes automatically go up at the beginning of next year. Starting January 1st, every family in America will see their taxes go up.
OBAMA: A typical middle-class family of four would see its income taxes go up by $2,200, that’s $2,200 out of people’s pockets. That means less money for buying groceries, less money for filling prescriptions, less money for buying diapers.
(LAUGHTER)
It means a tougher choice between paying the rent and paying tuition, and middle-class families just can’t afford that right now. By the way, businesses can’t afford it either.
Yesterday I sat down with some small business owners who stressed this point. Economists predict that if taxes go up on middle class next year, consumers will spend nearly $200 billion less on things like cars, and clothes, and furniture, and that obviously means fewer customers, that cuts into business profits, that makes businesses less likely to invest, and hire which means fewer jobs and that can drag our entire economy down.
Now, the good news is, there’s a better option. Right now, as we speak, Congress can pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody’s income. Everybody’s. And that means that 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses wouldn’t see their income taxes go up by a single dime. Ninety-eight percent of Americans, 97 percent of small businesses would not see their income taxes go up by a single dime.
Even the wealthiest Americans would still get a tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. So it’s not like folks who make more than $250,000 aren’t getting a tax break, too. They are getting a tax break on the first $250,000 just like everybody else. Families and small businesses would, therefore, be able to enjoy some peace of mind heading into Christmas and heading into the new year.
And it would give us more time than next year to work together on a comprehensive plan to bring down our deficits, to streamline our tax system, to do it in a balanced way, including asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more so we can invest in training, education, science, and research.
Now, I know some of this may sound familiar to you because we talked a lot about this during the campaign. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. This was a major debate in the presidential campaign, and in Congressional campaigns all across the country, and a clear majority of Americans, not just Democrats, but also a lot of Republicans, and a lot of independents, agreed we should have a balanced approach to deficit reduction that doesn’t hurt the economy and doesn’t hurt middle-class families.
And I’m glad to see, if you’ve been reading the papers lately, that more and more Republicans in Congress seem to be agreeing with this idea that we should have a balanced approach.
So if both parties agree we should not raise taxes on middle- class families, let’s begin our work with where we agree. The Senate’s already passed a bill that keeps income taxes from going up on middle-class families. Democrats in the House are ready to vote for that same bill today. And, if we can get a few house Republicans to agree as well, I’ll sign this bill as soon as Congress sends it my way. I’ve got to repeat, I’ve got a pen, I’m ready to sign it.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
So -- so my point here today is to say, let’s approach this problem with the middle class in mind, the folks who are behind me, and the millions of people all across the country who they represent.
You know, the American people are watching what we do. Middle- class families, folks working hard to get into the middle class, they are watching what we do right now. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, when the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, Congress listens.
You know, some of you may remember that a year ago, during our last big fight to protect middle-class families, tens of thousands of working Americans called and Tweeted and e-mailed their representatives asking them to do the right thing. And sure enough, it worked. The same thing happened earlier this year when college students across the country stood up and demanded that Congress keep rates low on their student loans. Congress got the message loud and clear and they made sure that interest rates on student loans did not go up.
So the lesson is that when enough people get involved, we have a pretty good track record of actually making Congress work. And that’s important because this is our biggest challenge yet, and it’s one that we can only meet together.
So in the interest of making sure that everybody makes their voices heard, last week we asked people to tell us what would a $2,000 tax hike mean to them. Some families told us, it would make it more difficult to send their kids to college. Others said it would make it tougher for them to cover the cost of prescription drugs. Some said it would make it tough for them to make their mortgage.
Lynn Lion (ph) from Newport News -- where’s Lynn, there she is -- she just wants to see some cooperation in Washington. She wrote, “Let’s show the rest of the world that we’re adults, and living in a democracy we can solve our problems by working together.” So that’s what this debate’s all about and that’s why it’s so important, that as many Americans as possible send a message that we need to keep moving forward. So today I’m asking Congress to listen to the people who sent us here to serve. I’m asking Americans all across the country to make your voice heard. Tell members of Congress what a $2,000 tax hike would mean to you. Call your members of Congress. Write them an e- mail. Post it on their Facebook walls. You can Tweet it by using the hashtag “my2k”. Not y2k.
(LAUGHTER)
“my2k,” we figured that would make it easy to remember. And, I want to assure the American people I’m doing my part. I’m sitting down with CEOs, I’m sitting down with labor leaders, I’m talking to leaders in Congress. You know, I -- I am ready, and able, and willing, and excited to go ahead and get this issue resolved in a bipartisan fashion so that American families, American businesses have some certainty going into next year, and we can do it in a balanced and fair way, but our first job is to make sure that taxes on middle- class families don’t go up, and since we all theoretically agree on that we should get that done.
(APPLAUSE)
If we get that done, a lot of the other stuff is gonna be a lot easier.
So in light of just sort of spreading this message, I’m going to be visiting Pennsylvania on Friday to talk with folks at a small business there that are trying to make sure that they’re filling their Christmas orders. And I’ll go anywhere, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get this done. It’s too important for Washington to screw this up.
Now’s the time for us to work on what we all agreed to, which is let’s keep middle class taxes low. That’s what our economy needs, that’s what the American people deserve, and if we get this part of it right, then a lot of the other issues surrounding deficit reduction in a fair and balanced and responsible way are going to be a whole lot easier, and if we get this wrong, the economy is going to go south, it’s going to be much more difficult to balance our budgets and deal with our deficits because if the economy is not strong, that means more money is going out on things like unemployment insurance, and less money is coming in in terms of tax receipts, and it actually just makes our deficit worse.
So we really need to get this right. I can only do it with the help of the American people, so tweet -- what was that again? My2k -- tweet using the hashtag my2k or email, post it on a member of Congress’ Facebook wall, do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. We don’t have a lot of time here. We’ve got a few weeks to get this thing done.
We could get it done tomorrow. Now, optimistically, I don’t think we’re going to get it done tomorrow.
(LAUGHTER)
But I tell you, if everybody here goes out of their way to make their voices heard and spread the word to your friends and your family, your coworkers, your neighbors, then I am confident that we will get it done, and we will put America on the right track, not just for next year, but for many years to come.
Alright? Thank you very much everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
END
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obamas-remarks-on-middle-class-tax-cuts-on-nov-28-2012-transcript/2012/11/28/f3b347b6-3979-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_print.html
PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES AND TOP WONKS
DOMINATE FISCAL CLIFF DEBATE
The Patriotic Millionaires and Top Wonks are dominating the fiscal debate following the election. The Agenda Project is delighted to be amplifying the voices of top experts and wealthy Americans who are putting the needs of regular Americans at the front of this critical public policy debate - which is exactly where they should be.
Patriotic Millionaire and Filmmaker Abigail Disney (NY) pushes for higher taxes on wealthy Americans as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. Abigail Disney says: “…Small
provisions – letting these tax cuts lapse just for the 2%, getting
capital gains taxes back to where they were under the Clinton
Administration, and taxing dividends like ordinary incomes…Those things
will get us to almost a trillion dollars over ten years...I can’t
imagine how anybody can look at this situation we’re in…If my life is
not going to be materially affected in a bad way by a tax increase, why
would I object?"
Top Wonk and President and Founder of Kynikos Associates Jim Chanos (NY) explains how to dodge the fiscal cliff on Bloomberg’s "Street Smart Fiscal Cliff Summit." Jim Chanos says: “[The
Fiscal Cliff] is not an asteroid…it is something of our own making.
This is something we did, we can undo it… No deal is better than a bad
deal. We are still the greatest country in the world…We can print money
to pay our debt and we are the world's reserve currency.”
Patriotic Millionaire and Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners Leo Hindery (NY) juxtaposes progressive and conservative views on the fiscal cliff on Bloomberg TV. Leo Hindery says: "The
fiscal cliff is highly nuanced, trading back and forth, my philosophy
verses yours...There is what is called cutters and growers. In the
past, the progressives, of which I am one, have been too much about the
spending side, spending for growth. And the cutters, the
conservatives, have been too much weighed towards just slashing for
slashing's sake. It’s going to take a confluence. There
are three or four great things you could do that wouldn’t add to the
deficit that would create jobs. [For example the] infrastructure bank,
the manufacturing renaissance, some tax reform that would incite that
manufacturing renaissance..."
Top Wonk and Former Chief Economist of the IMF Simon Johnson (MA) tackles historic and contemporary deficit crises in his recent book White House Burning and briefs PBS on the fiscal cliff. Simon Johnson says: “Watch
out for the coming hysteria on the so-called 'fiscal cliff.' In the
post-election commentary, you will hear numerous voices – definitely on
the right but also on the left – arguing that we could not possibly
increase taxes this year or next, as this will push our economy back
into recession. Do not believe them – this is just the latest
disinformation put out by people who agree with Grover Norquist that the
real goal of politics should always and everywhere be to reduce taxes
and shrink the size of government. It is exactly such policies that
have brought us to our current economic predicament.”
Patriotic Millionaire and Angel Investor Ron Garret (CA) explains the intersection between higher taxation and growth on Fox Business' After The Bell. Ron Garret says: “There
is this myth that raising taxes on rich people is a jobs killer. It is
simply not true. If you go and look at the historical data, the
periods where the United States has been at its most prosperous, has
almost exactly coincided with periods when the top marginal tax rates
have been the highest.”
Top Wonk and Economic Policy Institute Economist Heidi Shierholz (DC) stresses the need to extend unemployment insurance before the start of the fiscal slope on January 1st in her extensive new report. Heidi Shierholz says: “Federally
funded extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are set to expire
at the end of this year. These benefits serve two very useful public
purposes. Most obviously, they provide a lifeline to the long-term
unemployed and their families during the deepest and longest economic
downturn since the 1930s. Less understood but equally crucial, the UI
benefit extensions boost spending in the economy and thereby create
jobs. We find that continuing the extensions through 2013 would generate
spending that would support 400,000 jobs. If this program is
discontinued, the economy will lose these jobs.”
ABOUT THE PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES
The Patriotic Millionaires
first came together two years ago during the lame duck session of
Congress to urge the President to let the Bush tax cuts expire for
people making more than $1 million per year. Since then, the Patriotic Millionaires have advocated for higher taxes on the wealthy across the country and have generated 100+ million media impressions.
Today, Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength consists of more than 200 members including:
former Google employees David desJardins, David Watson and Frank
Jernigan; Founder of Ask.com Garrett Gruener, CEO of NuCompass
Mobility Services Frank Patitucci, Founder of Schottenfeld Group
Richard Schottenfeld, Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners Leo
Hindery, former AOL Executive Charlie Fink, Filmmaker Abigail Disney,
CEO of iControl Systems Tal Zlotnitsky, Partner at Berger &
Montague Daniel Berger, Angel Investor Ron Garret, Managing Partner of T2 Partners LLC Whitney Tilson, and scientist Morris Pearl, among others.
The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength sparked
recent media attention six days after the election when they stormed
Washington DC to repeat their call for higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
Over two dozen Patriotic Millionaires met with 14 Congressional
leaders and received a two-hour briefing on the fiscal cliff from White
House senior officials in Communications, Legislative Affairs, and the
Office of Management and Budget and were later interviewed by the
White House Press Corps. Recent press coverage on the Patriotic Millionaires includes: MSNBC's Ed Show, MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Washington Post, Politico, LA Times, Yahoo News,Mother Jones, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, CNBC's Squawk on the Street, International Business Times, Fox Business News, Bloomberg News, Sun Sentinel, CNBC's Rising Above, CNBC's Fast Money Half-Time Report, Orlando Sentinel, Zerohedge.com, larou
Earlier this year, The Patriotic Millionaires stood with President Obama on his Tax Day address in support of the Buffett Rule. In November 2011, the Patriotic Millionaires stormed the Hill demanding that Congressional leaders kill any Super Committee bill that did not include increased taxes for millionaires.
*To learn more about the Patriotic Millionaires, visit www.patrioticmillionaires.org. If you or anyone you know would like to be a Patriotic Millionaire, please contact Rachael Wall: rwall@agendaproject.org or call our office 212-481-8302.
ABOUT THE TOP WONKS
TopWonks.org is a single source, multimedia directory of over 160 knowledgeable policy experts committed to inellectual innovation and analytical rigor.
The Top Wonks include: BROOKSLEY BORN former Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, JOSEPH STIGLITZ Professor at Columbia University and former Vice President and Chief Economist for the World Bank, JAMES GALBRAITH former Director of the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress, ANNE SIMPSON Head of Corporate Governance, California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CALPERS), JEFFREY SACHS Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, NOURIEL ROUBINI Founder and Manager of Roubini Global Economics, ROBERT REICH former United States Secretary of Labor, and SIMON JOHNSON former Chief Economist of the IMF among others.
*To learn more about the Top Wonks, visit www.topwonks.org which features full professional profiles, multiple policy areas, up to the minute expert tweets on trending major policy issues, over 400 high resolution videos, over 70 conference and speaking podcasts, published workers, 70 areas of expertise complete with an interactive and fluid filter page, over 800 major news outlet's op-eds and a downloadable e-book.
.
ABOUT THE AGENDA PROJECT
The Agenda Project
is a public policy organization that aims to build a
powerful, intelligent, well-connected political movement capable of
identifying and advancing rational, effective ideas in the public debate
and in so doing ensure our country’s enduring success. The Agenda
Project is responsible for Top Wonks and The Patriotic Millionaires.
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