Saturday, November 28, 2009

Opinion

Peter Roff

Obama Is Raising Taxes—Not Cutting Them

April 21, 2009 04:45 PM ET | Peter Roff | Permanent Link | Print

Reader Comments

obama

well listen im 16 and i know that raising taxes is not the right thing to do i don't know why he thinks that we need the government to rule us we are a free nation we don't need someone to tell us what doctor to see and what to do im not gonna lets this happen to me in the future we need to lower taxes and people would have more money to buy things and then economy would raise and we could be out of debt wouldn't you like to buy things that you wanted in life and have a good future for your children thats why im going to fix this huge problem in the future waiting for us and i dont want to see more people losing jobs and losing homes anymore we need to make a change not an Obama change. the preamble says we the people. and i plan on keeping like that

who's going to work?

If we tax the crap out of the rich making their life more like ours where they can't afford to do alot of the stuff they do and buy what they buy,won't we loose our somwhat crapy little lifestyle.Not to mention if we take that much more of their income what incentive do they have to employ us.I dont know the answer but unlike politions I admitt it.

Duh

Well obviously as the wealth gap continues to grow and the rich get increasingly rich they are going to pay a larger amount of the country's taxes.

Fact of the matter is as the economy grows it needs more money to govern itself. Since the wealth of the middle and lower class isnt growing, and the rich folks are making out like bandits, obviously this money needs to come from the rich.

I have never understood how the people who control our nation's wealth can complain about not having enough of it. Its like watching a morbidly obese person demanding scraps of food from a starving child. You have to be one helluva a greedy bastard to think that is some how ok and manage to sleep at night.

Although the cigarette tax thing is pretty messed up... anyway you you look at it, its a poor economic move in the long run... and increasingly taxing the lower class is morally questionable.

While republicans are riddled with greed, democrats seem to be riddled with prejudice ( taxing smoking, increasing gun control) by trying to eliminate the products they dont like.

As a person who enjoys his freedom of choice, but also a humanitarian that believes in giving the less fortunate folks a hand... seems my beliefs have no place in modern politics.

ITNJ

Anyone else, like blair of CA out there, naïve enough to believe that you can quadruple the deficit with new spending, and get enough money from 5% of taxpayers to not only offset that, but lower everyone else's taxes? News flash: as outlined in the Wall Street Journal, the top few percent don't have enough to pay for the new budget, even if you take it all. To pay the budget Obama is selling us, he would need to take 100% of the income of those earning over $75,000. In the meantime, the lite intellectuals out there have also forgotten that Obama is already planning on raising the rates on ALL Americans by allowing the across-the-board Bush tax cuts to expire. So what if Obama has lowered your withholding (NOT your tax obligation) by $400? In 2010, an average $75,000-a-year household with a $200,000 home will pay $1,275 more just from that sin of omission! Democrats really are the party of the people, aren't they? They can make anyone "rich" just by saying so!

Where was the Democrat majority?

So, for all you Repub-bashers out there, where exactly were the members of the Democrat-controlled Congress while those evil Republicans were ruining the economy? Hanging out at the water cooler? Maybe out for a spin on the Potomac in their yachts while the decisions were being made? Funny, now they all know exactly how it happened and who caused it, but of course it wasn't any of their responsibility. They were only the majority - whatever could they do?

Re. BillInStl of MO

What precise regulations were cut that allowed this credit crisis we're in now?

Fact is, Bush and the Republicans tried to put oversite on two of the major contributors to this current mess: Fannie and Freddie. They tried way back in 2004, but it was blocked by the Democrats in Congress, led by Barney Frank.

To put the blame solely on Republicans is revisionist history at its most partisan.

taxes

I now pronounce you incorrect. Just the top few percent, no problem for me. Let's see, that leaves at least 3 or 4..................million, billion folks like me. Really, no kidding, I looked at my first check stub for April and....... lo and behold, Obama ain't the lying dog you thought he was.

Party of No (solutions,constructive dialogue,earning the salary I pay for,coming to the aid of your country when you are needed, creativity,willingness to change your (you lost)tact, your party) or (as noted above) the Party of ON and On and On (try Becks' 9......12 step program for said affliction.

OK, your turn to have fun. See you at the polls.

Re. SLS2 of OH

I'm not sure what SLS2 of OH is suggesting - that we impose a higher tax rate on the bottom 50% of the population who have no disposable income?

Our previous pres. claimed we could "grow our way" out of debt. He failed to make that work.

He cut regulation and oversite to free business from the shackles of government. That left us with a major recession.

Any cuts he made to programs was easily offset by increases in other expenditures. Thank you for leaving us so few options.

People are in a fantasy world if they think the Conservative rhetoric about taxes and fiscal responsibility is realistic. They blew their chance to prove that and lost my respect.

Back at Wrong Mac

Oh I do thank them, I do. I just don't feel sorry for them.

Wrong Mac

The poorest half in this country EARNS 13% of all income. They PAY 3% of all federal income taxes.

I'm just pointing out that the richest in this country pay twice what they earn percentage wise, while the poorest pay less than a quarter.

Our tax code built on the back of the rich. Instead of denigrating them, you should be thanking them for supporting their fellow countrymen.

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Peter Roff is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report. A former senior political writer for United Press International, he is currently a senior fellow at the Institute for Liberty and at Let Freedom Ring, a non-partisan public policy organization. His writing has also appeared on Fox News' Fox Forum.

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