Is Obama Planning a Surprise Tax Hike?

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geez

OK, so in the worst case scenario, how many of the respondees are in that top 1%? And how many readers of this article are? That's one of the greatest things the conservatives have done, been able to get the middle class to rally against issues that would actually stand to improve their lifestyles. To me, its baffling.

To be clear, I'm not a fan of tax hikes, wealth redistribution, or socialism. But come on, we've been running massive defecits for 7 years now. That has got to stop. And sorry, given the size of our defecit and the amount John McCain's tax cuts would have added vs. what he proposed curtailing (pork barrell spending), a vote for him seemed to be a vote for bankrupting our nation.

We now know that the entire concept of trickledown economics was a sham. The boom we had in the years since 2003 was simply a mirage caused by borrowed money. How about people learn that if our economy is 70% consumer driven, putting more money in the hands of the consumers will end up growing the wealth far more than piling money onto the top 1%? We can only delay a tax hike for so long, given our debt. China already made us bail out Fannie and Freddie, what happens to us if or when they say "you know, we don't want to loan you money at 1% anymore". Either we raise taxes to cover the short fall, or we have to massively increase interest rates to attract foreign capital to our debt markets. Which would divert that same capital from our equity markets. Also a horrible outcome.

Life is a seesaw. It went right for quite a while, and now needs to bear left. Maybe we only need to go left for 4 years and thats all it takes to prevent our ship from capsizing. Maybe it needs 8 years, i don't know. But what I do know is that we were on an unsustainable course and without someone with the courage of, say, Ron Paul at the helm who actually WOULD cut spending drastically, the best thing we can hope for is that we have someone there who'll at least stem the ever increasing amount of debt being accumulated in our names and that will have to be paid back one day?

LK of FL @ Nov 11, 2008 07:30:08 AM

Parody

Justin V, I keep re-reading your comment, thinking it must be satire. You can't really think like this, right? No one is that slow. If we all paid no taxes, where would free healthcare come from?

Will of IL @ Nov 11, 2008 06:43:26 AM

Obama is a looter

And he will do what looters always do when they get in power: find those who still have something to loot and relieve them of as much of it as they can.

I, for one, will no longer make enough money to allow him to loot me. I've laid off my employees and closed my business. I will now find a job that allows me to make enough to live but not enough to support the likes of this grinning, empty-headed socialist.

Michael Smith of GA @ Nov 11, 2008 06:24:55 AM

Business owners: Fire Obama supporters first

Business owners: If it comes to a situation where you have to lay off or fire some people because the tax burden on you is going up, if you have a choice get rid of the Obama supporters first.

Yes, it's hardball now.

Don't announce this, lest you get your *ss sued off or you get hauled up before Henry Waxman.

Just do it. And advise your friends to do the same.

Chester White of IL @ Nov 11, 2008 05:13:39 AM

Tax Cuts and Intelligence

I hope those people who responded with their "shut up and pay your fair share" and ". . . pay for tax cuts" like comments take time to learn about tax policy. The state of our education system is sad.

Taxes are for raising revenue.

During the Bush years revenue to the government was at an ALL TIME HIGH.

43% of the American people do not pay income taxes to the Federal Government.

Oh, why bother, I won't go any further. A moron will always be a moron.

Mike D. of TN @ Nov 11, 2008 03:18:18 AM

Is Obama Planning a Surprise Tax Hike?

The Democrats have the House of Reps, Senate, and the Presidency.

How on earth could anyone be surprised by a tax hike?

Everyone knew he was going to pay for the tax cuts/credits/whatever by increasing taxes on 'the rich'.

What most people don't realize is that they're rich.

rosignol of WA @ Nov 11, 2008 02:30:57 AM

Pat D, where do you get your information?

The wealthy hide their money in LLCs, trusts, offshore banking, etc. They do not pay the lion's share of taxes - the middle class does. Both the wealthy class and the poor class are the recipients of government welfare. Supported by the middle class.

Just like the recent bailout of the financial industry.

sharpinchit0wn of IL @ Nov 11, 2008 02:01:50 AM

No surprise here.

The unconstitutional unFederal noReserve has printed up so much funny money (which will soon be worth $0) that the U.S. citizen slaves will be taxed to death in order to pay the elite blood sucking owners of the fed their interest, to be collected by the overseers of the American plantation, the Internal Revenue Service, a private corporation.

escapefromobamastan of TX @ Nov 11, 2008 01:14:34 AM

Class Warfare

Class warfare is what he ran on in the primary. This wouldn't surprise. Protectionism, Crony capitalism and campaigning for 2012 already.

Glad to see Rahm Emanual, a Chicago pol who sat on Freddie Mac's board, as his chief of staff. That tells me all I need to know about where we go from here.

John d of CA @ Nov 11, 2008 01:02:41 AM

Is this the end of America?

I suspect that the Democrats will make such fools of themselves

over the next 4 years, that they may lose everything in 2012.

Either that, or anybody with any ambition and sense will

move out of the country, and start over somewhere else.

Dave of CA @ Nov 11, 2008 00:44:59 AM

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U.S. News business reporter Matthew Bandyk examines the issues, people, and debates that shape the nexus of political and economic life in the nation's capital.

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