GOP may OK tax increase that Obama hopes to block

GOP may OK tax increase that Obama hopes to block

news.yahoo.com

News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right?

Apparently not.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Last year Obama got congress to approve a tax break on the SS tax for all workers. He cut the SS tax from 6.2% to 4.2% for employees (bet some of you didn't know Obama put a little extra cash into your pockets, huh?).

news.yahoo.com...

At issue is a tax that the vast majority of workers pay, but many don't recognize because they don't read, or don't understand their pay stubs. Workers normally pay 6.2 percent of their wages toward a tax designated for Social Security. Their employer pays an equal amount, for a total of 12.4 percent per worker.

As part of a bipartisan spending deal last December, Congress approved Obama's request to reduce the workers' share to 4.2 percent for one year; employers' rate did not change. Obama wants Congress to extend the reduction for an additional year. If not, the rate will return to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1.

And now Obama wants to extend that for at least one year...there is only one little problem....REPUBLICANS. They don't want you to have that extra cash...they want to raise your SS tax up 2%...they want to stick it to the group of people that need this extra cash the most.

Social Security payroll taxes apply only to the first $106,800 of a worker's wages. Therefore, $2,136 is the biggest benefit anyone can gain from the one-year reduction.

The great majority of Americans make less than $106,800 a year. Millions of workers pay more in payroll taxes than in federal income taxes.

But watch when Obama wants to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest Americans...the Republicans will say hell no...they will fight to the death to protect the rich and put more money into their bank accounts...as they did last year.

But Republican lawmakers haven't always worried about tax cuts increasing the deficit. They led the fight to extend the life of a much bigger tax break: the major 2001 income tax reduction enacted under Bush. It was scheduled to expire at the start of this year. Obama campaigned on a pledge to end the tax break only for the richest Americans, but solid GOP opposition forced him to back down.

Some Republicans, like Mitt Romney thinks that the SS tax break should be extended...but taken away from the workers and given to the companies. That's right...he wants to raise the SS tax back up to 6.2% for the workers, and reduce the companies portion from 6.2% to 4.2%.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney did not flatly rule out an extra year for the payroll tax cut, but he "would prefer to see the payroll tax cut on the employer side" to spur job growth, his campaign said.

The Republicans (and their new faction TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party) should really change their motto...it needs to go from "No Tax Increases", to "Screw the Poor". And the TEA Party should change to DTRP Party....The Don't Tax Rich People Party.



So I just have one question for anyone here on ATS who isn't rich and supports Republicans....how does it feel to know that those you support are going to be taking money out of your pocket and hand it to their rich friends???

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


I'm sure you will see the TEA party crowd turn their backs if this is implemented. I believe Romney doesn't stand a chance. At least I hope he doesn't.

But I will not be voting Obama either.

I have never voted for the lesser of two evils, but next year, I just might...unless it's Romney. He strikes me as a snake.

reply to post by TDawgRex


I really hope you are right and TEA Party supporters and republicans in general will raise hell if they do move to block this tax break for the working class people.

But then again, most of them never even gave credit to Obama in the first place when he implemented this...so I doubt they will make this a big deal either.

I wonder how many here knew that Obama put more money directly into their pockets over the past year???

Ideally both the Bush tax cuts and this payroll tax reduction should be terminated immediately. Those who make the argument “we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem” are the types of people you cannot take seriously when our revenue has plummeted because, 1) Bush tax cuts, and 2) recession. The more tax revenue we can collect to help reduce our yearly deficits the better, in my opinion. And by my interpretation of “shared sacrifice” it means everyone takes a hit, not “well we can raise the tax on everyone under $106,000 income but if you touch $250,000+ we will have an uprising”.

What happened to the Grover Norquist “No Tax Increase” pledge? Or does that just not apply to tax increases on anyone below the $250k bracket?

It is increasingly difficult to rationalize what these Republicans are thinking. One cited low taxes as helping to increase our deficit, which they claim to be against, but then they fought tooth-and-nail for the biggest destroyer of revenue in a generation. If they think tax increases are absolutely essential to battle the deficit, just say it, Americans will not throw you out for being honest. But they damn sure will not have any reservations throwing you out for being hypocritical liars with a careless favoritism towards the rich.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


Did you forget that Congress is now a super congress with 12 members to rule all financial and tax questions? OF course they are going to raise taxes everyone who was against austerity and tax increases was banned from being a part of the new congress. Be proud no one is represented excerpt the people elected these 12 and Obamam has t.he final say

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


I wonder which TPM or GOP member will come here first with the "class warfare" chant?

reply to post by Misoir


I agree with you if your goal is to reduce the deficit/debt. If that is your true goal, as all republicans claim it is...they should be wanting to end all tax breaks and be eager to raise taxes where they can. Which the easiest group to raise taxes on is the rich, since they have the most disposable income and it will hurt them the least.


However, that isn't really my ultimate goal. People are more important to me than the national debt. So giving breaks to the working class is more important to me than giving breaks to the rich.

I really don't know what the republicans are thinking either. It's going to be hard for them to spin this into something positive. But my worry is that most republican supporters are so locked into the Fox News propaganda...it won't matter what they say...they will eat it up.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


Balancing the budget is most important to me, besides ending our foreign involvements, and I agree with Prescott Bush on how in part to balance the books:

"raise the required revenues by approving whatever levels of taxation may be necessary"

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Very informative post. This is one of the bad things about political parties and their "ideologies." They say they are for one thing, but are still going to do what benefits them, not the people they represent. (politicians, I mean)

It is always the double-standard, and I do not know if the Republicans do this more, or if I just notice them doing it more than Dems, but they always seem to be the instigators of the double-standard. I can think of a few off the top of my head, spanning the last decade, over multiple presidencies.

This is why I hate political parties...Well, part of the reason.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


And this is why there are issues with our Government....

Its going to take closing tax loopholes, cutting government spending and programs, and raising taxes to fix this mess.

What even more craptastic is how they upped the debt ceiling until AFTER the elections.

This is not politics, this is the future of our country... I urge people to vote when the time comes, and to fire ALL their butts, Republican, Democrat AND Indpendants.

We need people who represent the people, and not big business or foriegn intrests. Its evident the government we have now in washington doesnt get that...

Originally posted by Misoir
reply to post by OutKast Searcher

 

Balancing the budget is most important to me, besides ending our foreign involvements, and I agree with Prescott Bush on how in part to balance the books:

"raise the required revenues by approving whatever levels of taxation may be necessary"

www.abovetopsecret.com...

edit on 8/21/2011 by Misoir because: (no reason given)

I would agree with that quote with an addendum of taxation on the group of people that it would burden the least.

I would love for any republican or Tea Partier to come here and justify raising taxes on the working class while fighting for tax cuts for the rich.

But it appears that they have all gone silent....where are all the Republicans and Tea Partiers in this thread???

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher

GOP may OK tax increase that Obama hopes to block

news.yahoo.com

News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right?

Apparently not.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What you fail to say is that this tax is for those who pay NO federal tax. Per you link, " Workers normally pay 6.2 percent of their wages toward a tax designated for Social Security. Their employer pays an equal amount, for a total of 12.4 percent per worker.
As part of a bipartisan spending deal last December, Congress approved Obama's request to reduce the workers' share to 4.2 percent for one year; employers' rate did not change. Obama wants Congress to extend the reduction for an additional year. If not, the rate will return to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1."

Your untruth is Busted! This thread needs to go to the hoax bin

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


I am a Republican, although if it was truly stated here on ATS most of my beliefs I would be labeled a RINO by the Tea Partiers. But as for your question in regards to where all the Republicans and Tea Partiers are allow me to say, they are avoiding this thread like the plague… except of course the truly partisan ones who will have something to say which is either, 1) completely irrelevant to the core points of the OP, or 2) will be completely obnoxious. The same would go for the partisan Democrats if some thread came up with their party being 100% hypocritical liars.

reply to post by Violater1

What you fail to say is that this tax is for those who pay NO federal tax.

Ummmm....no. You need to read a little more carefully.

While it does help those that don't own any federal tax because they don't make enough money, they still have to pay the SS tax. So a federal income tax break would never help these people...but this SS tax break does help these people.

But it also helps ANYONE who makes money...ANYONE.


And a big to you wanting this to go into HOAX....LOL. You know the AP...always hoaxing people

I think you are just worried that the Republicans will be exposed for what they really are.

reply to post by Violater1


Shouldnt you be in a ron paul circle jerk thread, screaming about socialism?

I dont even understand your point...are you saying someone making 60K a year pays no federal taxes?

The reason that the TPM and GOP members are not participating in this thread is because even considering anything other than "trickle down" and "Reaganomics" is ideologically heracy to the dittoheads and they are afraid of losing their mega ditto status.

reply to post by whaaa


The other reason is that the talk shows and Fox News haven't had time to have their commentators spread the propaganda and talking points for this article.

I predict this thread will be much more active tomorrow.

Oh, wow, I guess I'll vote for him in 2012

That Darn George Bush!
Obama is victim of Bush's failed promises!

Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his
first term in office:
Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken
promises ever.

Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting
failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever!

Wow! Talk about change.

Just one year ago, fresh from his inauguration celebrations, President
Obama was flying high. After one of the nation's most inspiring political
campaigns, the election of America’s first black president had captured the
hopes and dreams of millions.

To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his
administration would be gripped in self-imposed crisis.

Of course, they don't see it as self-imposed. It's all George Bush's
fault!

George Bush, who doesn’t have a vote in congress and who no longer
occupies The White House, is to blame for it all.

He broke Obama's promise, to put all bills on the White House web site
for five days before signing them.

He broke Obama's promise, to have the congressional health care
negotiations broadcast live on C-SPAN.

He broke Obama's promise, to end earmarks.

He broke Obama's promise, to keep unemployment from rising above 8
percent.

He broke Obama's promise, to close the detention center at Guantanamo
in the first year.

He broke Obama's promise, to make peace with direct; no precondition
talks with America's most hate-filled enemies during his first year in
office, ushering in a new era of global cooperation.

He broke Obama's promise, to end the hiring of former lobbyists into
high White House jobs.

He broke Obama's promise, to end no-compete contracts with the
government.

He broke Obama's promise, to disclose the names of all attendees at
closed White House meetings.

He broke Obama's promise, for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in
all matters.

He broke Obama’s promise, to have chosen a home church to attend Sunday
services with his family by Easter of last year.

Yes, it's all George Bush's fault! President Obama is nothing more
than a puppet in the never-ending failed Bush administration.

If only George Bush wasn't still in charge, all of President Obama’s
problems would be solved.

His promises would have been kept, the economy would be back on track,
Iran would have stopped its work on developing a nuclear bomb and would
be negotiating a peace treaty with Israel.

North Korea would have ended its tyrannical regime, and integrity
would have been restored to the federal government.

Oh, and did I mention what it would be like, if the Democrats, under
the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn't have the heavy yoke
of George Bush around their necks?

There would be no ear marks, no closed-door drafting of bills, no
increase in deficit spending, no special-interest influence (unions),
no vote buying ( Nebraska , Louisiana ).

If only George Bush wasn't still in charge, we'd have real change by
now.

All the broken promises, all the failed legislation and delay (health
care reform, immigration reform) are not President Obama's fault or the fault
of the Democrat-controlled Congress. It's all George Bush's fault!

Take for example the decision of Eric Holder, the president’s attorney
general, to hold terrorists' trials in New York City. Or his decision
to try the Christmas Day underpants bomber as a civilian.

Two disastrous decisions.
Certainly those were bad judgments based on poor advice from George
Bush!

Need more proof?

You might recall that when Scott Brown won the election to the U.S.
Senate from Massachusetts, capturing "The Ted Kennedy Seat", President Obama
said, Brown's victory was the result of the same voter anger that
propelled Obama into office in 2008.

People were still angry about George Bush and the policies of the past
10 years. And they wanted change.

Yes, according to the president, the voter rebellion in Massachusetts
was George Bush’s fault.

Therefore, in retaliation, they elected a Republican to the Ted Kennedy
seat, ending a half-century of domination by Democrats. It is all George
Bush's fault!

Will the failed administration of George Bush ever end, and the time
for hope and change ever arrive???


Will President Obama ever accept responsibility for something /
anything?