BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG
We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
We'll be posting a new chart on the current state of income inequality every day for the next couple of weeks. Yesterday's chart
looked at how the richest Americans bounced back from the Great
Recession. Today's chart: How the richest of the rich have enjoyed
massive income gains for decades.
Since 1980, the average real income of the 1 percent has shot up more
than 175 percent while the bottom 90 percent's real income didn't
budge. But as this chart shows, the vast majority of gains have gone to
the tippy-top—the 1 percent of the 1 percent.
Source: Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty (Excel) Illustrations and infographic design by Mattias Mackler
A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the
past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now
make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the
bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.
Note: The 2007 data (the most current) doesn't reflect
the impact of the housing market crash. In 2007, the bottom 60% of
Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes. The top 1%,
in contrast, had just 10%. The housing crisis has no doubt further
swelled the share of total net worth held by the superrich.
Winners Take All
The superrich have grabbed the bulk of the past three decades' gains.
A Harvard business prof and a behavioral economist
recently asked more than 5,000 Americans how they thought wealth is
distributed in the United States. Most thought that it’s more balanced
than it actually is. Asked to choose their ideal distribution of wealth,
92% picked one that was even more equitable.
Productivity has surged, but income and wages have
stagnated for most Americans. If the median household income had kept
pace with the economy since 1970, it would now be nearly $92,000, not
$50,000.
MOTHER JONES presents a compelling argument against the reality of the fiscal cliff and offers evidence from conservative republican economist Bruce Bartlett from the reagan and george h w bush administrations. If he is right then the repiglicans / tea-baggers in Congress are using this in an attempt to protect the bush tax cuts for the rich and corporate welfare and tax loopholes. They are continue to wage class warfare against the 98%.
If there is no fiscal crisis, can there be a fiscal cliff?
The
current hullabaloo over tax cuts, spending cuts, entitlement programs,
and the debt ceiling has yielded much fodder for policy-minded
columnists, practically establishing a job creation program for
budget-following wonks. Recently, there have been a rash of articles
from this set advancing the essential point that raising the eligibility
age for Medicare, a proposal that might be on the table (that is, if
there is a table), would be awful policy because doing so would remove
healthier seniors from the Medicare pool and place this older group into
the non-Medicare pool and boost costs there. (Health care costs would
presumably go up overall—and particularly for private employers who
would have to carry these 65- and 66-year-olds on their policies.) Has
this spate of policy op-edding influenced the negotiating positions? We
don't know. The talks are all hush-hush. And this week, another
policymeister, in one of the most consequential columns of the past
fortnight, added another significant contention to the discourse: There
is no fiscal crisis.
Bruce Bartlett, who was an economics official
in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W.
Bush, is a contributor to the New York Times' Economix blog, and in an important post a few days ago he delved into the Government Accountability Office's new estimates
of the federal government’s long-term budget outlook. The bottom line:
"The idea that we are facing a crisis is complete nonsense." Bartlett,
by the way, considers himself a conservative, a reality-based
conservative. He points out, per the GAO report:
[S]pending is not out of control. Entitlement programs like Social
Security and Medicare are rising gently as the baby-boom generation
retires. All other spending, including that for the military and
domestic discretionary programs, falls—with the notable exception of
interest on the debt. Interest rises sharply as the deficit rises,
principally because the G.A.O. assumes that revenue will not be
permitted to rise above its historical average—as Republicans
continually insist.
In other words, the inability to raise revenue to diminish deficits—and tackle rising interest payments—is the major problem.
Here it is in chart form, courtesy of the GAO:
Note the explosive growth in net interest. Using these numbers,
Bartlett writes that the GOP's demand that Social Security and Medicare
be cut immediately—say, by raising the age of eligibility for Medicare
and changing the inflation adjustment formula for Social Security—is not
in sync with the actual data:
To be sure, some restraint is needed in federal entitlement
programs…Spending for Social Security, in particular, is very stable.
Relatively modest changes, such as raising the taxable earnings base
slightly, would be sufficient to put the program on a sound footing
virtually forever.
Bartlett chides Republicans for droning on and on that domestic
discretionary spending is responsible for bloated government. But, he
points out, "such programs have already been cut sharply
by the Budget Control Act of 2011." He adds, "That leaves interest on
the debt as the principal driver of long-term spending and deficits."
And if the Rs continue to resist raising revenues, he maintains, there
will be higher spending for interest on the debt. (The interest line in
that chart could even be much greater, if interest rates go up.)
Bartlett
advocates letting all the George W. Bush tax cuts expire and all the
automatic spending cuts kick in. He acknowledges that this might cause a
short-term hit to the economy, but he argues that taming the deficits
will lead to medium- and long-term growth. Whether that's the right
policy solution or not—it does entail a difficult trade-off—it's at
least based on data that reflects the real world.
His post,
though, does make one thing clear: President Barack Obama (or anyone
else) need not rush into a big deal at this moment. There is no imminent
fiscal crisis regarding entitlements. The Republicans are merely hyping
the matter to bolster their attempts to extract a ransom for either (a)
extending the Bush tax cuts for the bottom 98 percent, or (b) acceding
to a hike in the debt ceiling, which will soon reach its latest limit,
or both. The sky is not falling. It is not on fire. And the cliff may
not be that frightening.
One
of America's most profitable industries banks billions in subsidies—but
there's little talk in Washington of putting these handouts on the
chopping block.
POOR rep john boehner r OH, leader of the losers on 6NOV12, he still doesn't get it. The people have spoken and a vast majority want the wealthy 2% and corporate America to pay their fair share in taxes, want corporate welfare cut and do not want cuts in programs for the poor, education and national infrastructure. The repiglican's and tea-bagger's obstructionism in the House will be responsible if the nation goes over the fiscal cliff in January. Here are two articles from HuffPost on the attitude of the nation and boehner's inability to face reality, and to see what the government might have in store for 98% of us see my earlier postWhen You've Lost the VFW on Budget Cuts, You've Lost America 12DEZ12 ...
Americans' relative confidence in President Barack Obama and
their support for repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy could
give Democrats an edge in budget negotiations, according to a Pew Research poll released Thursday, while Republicans risk portrayal as obstructionists.
"The Democrats are in a strong position with the public as they
engage in negotiations to find a solution to the fiscal cliff crisis,"
the Pew report finds, echoing a slew of recent surveys that find broad support for a compromise between sides, but also a willingness to blame Republicans should the talks fail.
Obama's negotiating position is backed by strong approval ratings and
the perception that he's more serious about working with Republicans
than vice versa. The president's approval rating, at 55 percent, is more
than twice that of Republican congressional leaders, who have suffered
in the polls since the debt ceiling debate last summer.
Both parties are about equally trusted on jobs and the deficit, but
the Republican Party is seen, by a 20-point margin, as "more extreme in
its positions," than the Democratic Party, and as less likely to work
across the aisle by an even greater spread.
A plan proposed this week by House Republicans
would permanently extend Bush-era income tax cuts for the wealthy,
taking off the table the most popular of the changes Pew polled on.
About seven in 10 Americans support raising the tax on income over
$250,000. Measures that would limit taxpayer deductions, raise taxes on
investment income, and reduce Medicare and Social Security benefits for
higher-income seniors also won majority support.
Public opinion on other proposed cuts was murkier. Nearly
three-quarters of Americans say they support both spending cuts and tax
increases, but a majority disapproves of specific cuts to education,
infrastructure, defense and anti-poverty programs, as well as raising
the retirement age for Medicare and Social Security.
Knowledge of what the fiscal cliff entails was also mixed, with 57
percent of Americans correctly identifying that the phrase refers to
automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could go into effect next
year, but 43 percent misinformed or not sure about what the term meant.
Only
a quarter of people named the fiscal cliff as the country's biggest
issue, unchanged since March. More named jobs as their biggest worry --
22 percent of Americans believe that plenty of jobs are available, an
increase from 10 percent two years ago.
Perceptions of the state of the economy have somewhat improved as
well, with the percentage who say the economy is "poor" the lowes
t since
January 2008. But pessimism about the future has also grown, fueled by a
growing partisan divide, Pew found. While Democrats' economic outlook
has remained the same in recent months, Republican confidence in
America's economic future has plummeted since the election.
The Pew poll surveyed 1,503 American adults by phone between Dec. 5 and Dec. 9, with a 2.9-percent margin of error. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/fiscal-cliff-poll-pew_n_2292151.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
U.S. Fiscal Cliff Talks Continue, Republicans Losing Public Opinion Wars
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Negotiations are expected
to continue Thursday on the "fiscal cliff" with Republicans at a
growing public opinion disadvantage and approval ratings for President
Barack Obama rising to levels not seen since the killing of Osama bin
Laden.
Senior Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of
North Dakota said on MSNBC late Wednesday that he thought Obama and
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner were edging closer to a
deal.
He added that he hoped something will be
announced next week to avert the steep tax hikes and budget cuts set
for the start of 2013.
"I believe that they will
have a framework agreement," Conrad said. "I believe they'll have it
early next week. And I believe it will secure the votes in both the
Senate and the House. We may miss some on the wings, but I think the
center will hold."
Republican Representative
Kevin Brady of Texas, in a Fox Business News interview Wednesday
evening, disagreed with Conrad's assessment.
"I
started pretty optimistic about this that we could get this done well
before the holidays, but I don't feel that way anymore," Brady said.
"It seems to me a decision's been made perhaps by the White House
already to take us off this fiscal cliff."
Conservative
Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina said the economy had
already been damaged by the uncertainty caused by the deadlock.
"We can't fix it Christmas Eve and expect it all to bounce back in January," he said Thursday on CBS.
Sharp
differences remained between congressional Republicans and the White
House in talks to avert the cliff, and negotiators warned the showdown
could drag on past Christmas.
Both sides refused
to give any ground in public, with the main sticking point being the
expiring tax cuts, which Obama wants extended for all but high earners
and Boehner wants extended for everyone.
Polling
shows strong support for Obama's position. According to a Wall Street
Journal/NBC survey released late Wednesday, three-quarters of Americans
say they would accept raising taxes on the wealthy to avoid the cliff.
Among Republicans, some 61 percent say they would accept tax increases on high earners.
An
ABC News-Washington Post poll released Tuesday indicted that nearly
half of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the negotiations
versus the quarter of respondents who approved of Boehner's.
At
the same time, Obama's public opinion rating has reached about 54
percent in the Real Clear Politics polling average, above the level
where it peaked in May 2011, when bin Laden was killed.
Republicans
are in a bad negotiating position, Conrad said, noting that the
Democratic-controlled Senate has already passed a bill preserving tax
cuts for the middle-class, leaving the Republican-controlled House
standing in the way.
"And so Republicans are really in an awkward position," he said.
Boehner,
meanwhile, faces increasingly conflicting pressures, from the right to
hold firm, from the Republican center to be flexible and from the
polls to abandon his position. (Editing by Xavier Briand)
65% of Americans want it, all Americans will benefit from it, and more Patriotic Millionaires are stepping up and demanding it. Who's against it? The millionaires and billionaires who are greedy and self absorbed, unwilling to curb their lust for more wealth and power and the Congressmen and women they have bought out and control. The pressure continues to mount on Pres Obama to hold fast to his pledge not to extend the bush tax breaks for the rich and to close corporate welfare tax loopholes so the 2% pay their fair share. This update from Patriotic Millionaires and the Agenda Project and the NYT article follows, and for more on this see my earlier post Top Two Percent To GOP: Tax Us & Defense Execs Say Deeper DoD Budget Cuts, Higher Taxes OK 5&3DEZ12
http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-two-percent-to-gop-tax-us-defense.html
The measure of a society’s progress is not whether it can give more
to those who have more, but whether it can provide enough to those who
have less. - David Lim
I was delighted to open the New York Times this morning and see this article about all the NEW millionaires who have (finally!) joined the effort the Patriotic Millionaires started over two years ago to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans!! The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength
launched their campaign during the 2010 lame duck session of congress
and have been aggressively demanding higher taxes (on themselves!) ever
since. We are so excited so many more millionaires are coming forward to
echo this important message.
If you have a chance, watch this GREAT VIDEO where the Patriotic Millionaires take their “Tax Me!” message right to John Boehner. If every millionaire in this country agreed with the last line of this video, we would be MUCH better off.
And, maybe just maybe that is happening. The
Patriotic Millionaires started with a few dozen people and now has over
200 members. Several of the people in the NYT’s story actually told me
personally two years ago that they didn’t think their taxes should go up
– but now they have seen the light! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus!
The NYT's story shows that when Americans want
something they can make it happen. These Patriotic Millionaires have
wanted their taxes to go up for the good of the country since 2010 and
now, just two years later, they are going to succeed in making sure that
our country has enough money for the things we want and need.
Now we just have to convince the Republicans in
Congress. To that end, please call the Republicans in the House and ask
them to do what 65% of Americans – and hundreds of millionaires – want
them to do! Raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans!
The number to the House is 202-224-3121. To find the phone number for a specific Congress person, look HERE.
Lloyd C. Blankfein, of Goldman
Sachs, outside the White House. Administration officials have urged
business executives to support higher taxes on the wealthy.
A broad swath of the nation’s leading chief executives dropped its
opposition to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans on Tuesday,
while the White House quietly pressed Wall Street titans for their
support as well.
Before Tuesday’s about-face, the Business Roundtable had insisted that the White House extend Bush-era tax cuts
to taxpayers of all income brackets, but the executives’ resistance
crumbled as pressure builds to find a compromise for the fiscal impasse
in Washington before the end of the year.
“We recognize that part of the solution has to be tax increases,” David
M. Cote, chief executive of Honeywell, said on a conference call with
reporters. “That’s the only thing that allows a reasonable compromise to
be reached.”
Even as the Fortune 500 leaders announced their shift, the White House
continued to work behind the scenes to woo some of Wall Street’s most
powerful financiers — a group that had largely abandoned President Obama
in his bid for a second term after supporting him in 2008.
After seeking out corporate leaders from industrial companies last
month, the White House has intensified outreach to Wall Street in
December.
On Wednesday, several hedge fund managers, including Daniel Och, the
billionaire founder of Och-Ziff Capital Management, will meet with
Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to the president, and members of the
White House economic team.
Last Monday, White House officials sat down with a more than half a
dozen top bankers and financiers, including Gary D. Cohn, president of
Goldman Sachs, and Greg Fleming, head of wealth management at Morgan
Stanley.
The differing strategies — highly public meetings with corporate America
and private arm-twisting with Wall Street — both appear to be aimed at
winning popular support for higher taxes on the wealthy. The trade-offs
being roundly fought over in Washington, like what government programs
may be cut and which entitlements may be spared, are less important in
this effort to muster highly compensated chieftains whose support for
tax increases will provide cover for Congressional Republicans wary of
being seen as too quick to compromise on higher tax rates.
What’s more, the political symbolism of some of the wealthiest
Americans’ saying they support higher taxes on the rich takes a bit of
the sting out of the idea of raising rates, for both Democrats and
Republicans. Indeed, by appealing to both camps and enlisting their
support, President Obama hopes to neutralize potential critics,
according to allies of the president on Wall Street.
President Obama’s supporters cited the example of Frederick W. Smith,
the chief executive of FedEx. Last week, Mr. Smith signaled he was not
angered by higher tax rates for the wealthiest individuals, a
centerpiece of President Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit and a key
sticking point for Republicans in Congress.
“If people who didn’t support the president believe the president is
acting reasonably, they’re going to put pressure on the other side,”
said Marc Lasry, a longtime supporter of the president who runs Avenue
Capital. “You need both sides to be reasonable.”
For example, Mr. Lasry invited the real estate tycoon Barry Sternlicht, a
onetime Obama supporter who raised money for Mitt Romney in the last
election cycle, to the White House last week. Mr. Lasry, who has $13
billion under management, including $1.3 billion of his own money, is
among a small group of Wall Street figures who stuck with the president
before the election, even as those like Mr. Sternlicht deserted him.
This core group met with President Obama on Nov. 16, and included Tony
James, president of the Blackstone Group, as well as Roger Altman, a
Democratic stalwart who is executive chairman of Evercore Partners, and
Robert Wolf, a longtime UBS executive who recently began his own firm,
32 Advisors.
Also in attendance were Blair W. Effron, co-founder of Centerview
Partners, and Mark T. Gallogly, a Blackstone veteran who founded
Centerbridge Partners in 2005.
To be sure, most executives genuinely fear the consequences of the
automatic spending cuts and tax increases if a compromise is not found
by Jan. 1, but the efforts by big business to press politicians in
Washington could also pay large dividends in the future.
While most business leaders now say they are willing to support
increases in tax rates for individuals as well as cuts in entitlement
spending, their stance in favor of lower corporate tax rates could
actually benefit their bottom lines in the long run.
For now, however, the focus is on reaching a deal by end of the year
rather than a broad tax overhaul. At the White House, the outreach
effort is being led by Ms. Jarrett, and she has been joined in the
meetings with executives and bankers by Timothy F. Geithner, the
secretary of the Treasury; Jeffrey Zients, the head of the Office of
Management and Budget; and Gene Sperling, director of the National
Economic Council.
The White House arranged calls on Dec. 3 and on Monday for chief
executives who attended the earlier sessions with the president,
updating them on the negotiations and reiterating the need for their
support. Among the participants were Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief
executive of Goldman Sachs; Randall Stephenson, the chief executive of
AT&T, and Marriott’s chief executive, Arne Sorenson.
Some chief executives, like Mr. Blankfein, who have been relatively
outspoken in recent weeks about the need for tax increases, are viewed
as relative liberals in the business community.
But others who reversed course Tuesday, like Doug Oberhelman of
Caterpillar, are seen as more conservative politically and suggest an
important shift in the political landscape in terms of tax policy.
Another more conservative executive who signed a letter to Congress and
the president from the Business Roundtable was Rex W. Tillerson, the
chief executive of Exxon.
“Compromise will require Congress to agree on more revenue — whether by
increasing rates, eliminating deductions, or some combination thereof —
and the administration to agree to larger, meaningful structural and
benefit entitlement reforms and spending reductions that are a fiscally
responsible multiple of increased revenues,” said the letter, signed by
more than 100 chief executives.
Besides Mr. Cote, several other prominent chiefs joined the call with
reporters organized by the Business Roundtable, including Andrew N.
Liveris of Dow Chemical, Jeffrey R. Immelt of G.E. and Alexander Cutler
of Eaton.
Small businesses also appear anxious about the fiscal impasse. On
Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that
its Small Business Optimism Index had one of its steepest declines ever
in November.
The net percentage of business owners who said they expected better
economic conditions in six months — that is, the share that expected
improvement minus the share that expected deterioration — was negative
35 percent. That is the worst outlook since the federation began
collecting this data on a monthly basis in 1986.
Bill Dunkelberg, the chief economist at the federation, attributed the
pessimism to the stalemate in Washington, higher health care costs and
“the endless onslaught of new regulations.”
PRES OBAMA is asking all Americans what $2000 means to us because that is approximately the amount taxes will increase for each family in the 99% if the gop doesn't stop their obstructionism and is able to come to an agreement with the administration and Democrats in Congress. Just click the link to send your message to the White House, and then tweet your Representative and Senators at hashtag my2k, or e mail them at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
And you can check out my earlier post that includes the President's remarks on the budget negotiations at
When President
Obama asked you to tell us what the middle-class tax cuts meant for your
families, we knew you'd speak up. But I don't think any of us were
prepared for this.
The stories started pouring in immediately.
Within a couple hours, we received messages from tens of thousands of
people. Folks from every state in the country took time to write in. You
nearly took over Twitter, where the hashtag #My2K trended all day.
And people are starting to pay attention. News outlets are writing
stories about how everyday Americans are engaged in this debate.
Decision makers are coming to the sudden realization that they can't
ignore the perspective of the middle class when it comes to cutting
taxes.
You're changing an entire policy conversation. And we have to keep it up.
We heard from a woman in Alabama who explained that $2,000 was a
crucial part of her family budget -- the choice between two house
payments, three car payments, or medical prescriptions for a year.
We heard from a farmer in Michigan, just starting his business, who
wants to use $2,000 to invest in two greenhouses so he can extend his
growing season.
We heard from a dad in Indiana who did the math and realized that $2,000 will buy groceries for his family for 23.5 weeks.
We heard from graduate students working to pay down student loans and parents trying to help put their kids through school.
And these folks are not alone. Unless Congress acts, 114 million
middle-class American families are staring down a tax increase starting
January 1.
So we need you to join them. We're doing everything
to draw attention to the stories you share with us. We're sharing them
on Facebook and Twitter. We're putting them on the front page of the
White House website.
PRESIDENT OBAMA is calling on all Americans to e mail or tweet or call their Representative and Senators in Congress and demand the middle class tax cuts be extended and the tax cuts for the rich and corporations end. As the President has said, 98% of individuals and 97% of small businesses will not see a tax increase if the middle class tax cut is extended, and no American's taxes will go up on the first $250,000 of income. DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT, so it is vital that everyone contact your Representative http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ 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
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 AssociatesJim 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 Strengthconsists 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.
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.
We'll be posting a new chart on the current state of income inequality every day for the next couple of weeks. Yesterday's chart
looked at how the richest Americans bounced back from the Great
Recession. Today's chart: How the richest of the rich have enjoyed
massive income gains for decades.
Source: Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty (Excel)
