By Skip Chatterson - July 21, 2011
Debt Ceiling Wrestling
John Boehner and the House republicans finally reached down and found out they were men (for those who are men in the house) and came up with a good debt ceiling proposal. To date they are sticking to it with like a Pit Bull.
Enter the senate, specifically the gang of six (idiots). Once a republican wins their senate seat they are required to enter a cattle shoot where they are castrated by any one of the many democrats in the senate. There are exceptions to this, Jim DeMint and Marcio Rubio both of whom escaped castration.
The gang of six, comprised of Chuck Grassley, IA, Mike Enzi, WY and Olympia Snowe(job) MA, are the duped republicans of this gang who came forth with a proposal that seeks increase the debt ceiling incentivize by compromising revenue increases (tax increases) and spending reductions.
The revenue increases will occur through sneaky tax increases or limits on tax shelters. One of the tax shelters the gang of six is targeting is the home mortgage interest deductions in trade for a lower overall tax rate. The idea of limiting home interest deduction is usually coupled with a flat-tax, but either way the problem with this tax compromise is, how long will it be before they decide to raise the tax rates? Once you give up a portion of your home interest deduction you will NEVERget it back, but how long will it be before they renege on their lower tax rates idea. The answer to that question is in this plan. At the same time the gang of six is telling us their plan will lower tax rates, they built into their plan the end of the Bush tax rates. Yes, the tax rates will increase for everyone under this plan from the gang of six idiots.
The other side of this plan is spending cuts. The cuts mentioned are vague at best and the equivalent to D.B. Cooper; haven’t been seen for decades.
Whenever spending cuts are mentioned remember, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush have been fooled by this promise. Reagan signed the Graham-Rudman Act, which promised $3 of spending cuts for every $1 of tax increase. The tax increase occurred but Congress continued to increase it’s budget annually, flipping Reagan the figurative bird on spending cuts. A similar promise was made to Bush, with the same result.
Considering Obama has spent more in his 2 1/2 years as President than all other Presidents combined, I would say the problem is not the lack of tax money going to Washington, but maybe it’s spending. We could cut back the 125% budget increase Obama gave to the EPA or cut Obamacare as an example of being fiscally responsible, but maybe that’s just me.
The promise to cut spending coupled with a tax increase is the same old play book and the republicans of the gang of six should know better, but again I believe they are true morons. Unfortunately the gang of six have given Obama a plan (bad plan at that) to hold up as a bipartisan example of getting things done in Washington. When things get done in Washington, it’s usually done to your pocketbook.
House republicans need to stick together and stick to their guns on this, and I do worry about whether Boehner is missing the tools to be a man. This is the line in the sand for both the republicans and Obama, whoever flinches loses in November 2012
No related posts.
Loading ...