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Sorry Sam, but the Bush cuts were only for those over $250K nm

Posted By: Mrs. M on 2008-10-28
In Reply to: Not an appreciable difference in the two... - sam

not us peons


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Bush Tax Cuts Will Expire

Don't blame me, it's the plan, as Dems refuse to keep it going.  Also, Nancy Pelosi is backed into a corner, so is only saying she'll consider drilling in the US.  It's the truth. She won't.  Just watch it play out.  Pelosi has the power to NOT bring items to the floor, and she will.  She & the Dems are beholden to moveon.org, etc.  George Soros has even far more power than Pelosi.  Again, do your research.  He's the one who was behind legalization of "medical" marijuana in CA, just to name a few.


Has anyone thought about the Presidency, House, & Senate all being one party? 


Whether it's R or D, it's not a good thing for Americans!


Incidentally, I'm not a fan of McCain or Bush.


But...how much are your taxes going up if the bush tax cuts are repeated....
that will be coming out of your huge difference there.
Obama said he was going to let Bush's tax cuts expire....
there is nothing at this site that suggests this takes into consideration letting Bush's tax cuts expire. Everyone should look at what Bush's tax cuts were and what you are going to lose when Obama lets them expire. Get the whole story.
THe Bush tax cuts that Obama is going to let expire...
DID help hardworking people. Do you even know what they are? Sheesh.
Sorry, wrong word....he DOES want to let the Bush tax cuts EXPIRE.
That will increase everyone's taxes across the board. THEN he will make his "tax cut." You will not see much of a cut, if any. Raising capital gains taxes is going to hurt the market, and about 50% or more of this country have their retirment and 401-Ks in the market...and not all of those people are RICH. You have to look at the BIG picture, not the class envy stuff he is feeding everyone.
You have it wrong nawnaw. That is including Bush cuts. nm
nm
the $250K
it's the business making $250K, not the man. Big difference.
MTs make under $250K
Just because plumbing seems like a crappy job, let's face it, I see those guys driving Jaguars where I live.  They are expensive and make a lot.  MTs work very hard for very little.  Wise up people.  Obama is our hope.  All the BS about him being with terrorists is dangerous propaganda.  That board who had Ayers and Obama on was a big Reagan supporter and actually the Anenbergs are McCain supporters so it's all crapola.  Obama is a wonderful man and a smart man.  McCain stutters and whistles through his teeth, clears his throat loudly.  I thought he was rude in the debate.  The losers usually feel desperate and he shows it.
He later corrected to $250K
He knows the middle class. I'm sure you make under $250K so why are you splitting hairs?
He never said that he made over $250K
He said that he wanted to buy a business that he thought made over $250K. I thought that it was okay to have dreams. How do you know what his intentions are? Even if he were a plant--which I think is silly--he is a citizen and ultimately has a right to propose a hypothetical question to someone asking for his vote to be the leader of our country. If he is attacked in this manner, should we not all fear what will happen if we say anything bad about Obama or ask a question that makes him look bad once he is--if he is--elected?
they changed that $250K...
Now they're saying more like $200K and going lower. And let's just face it. 20 bucks or $200K, everybody is gonna pay more taxes.
I understand the payroll tax on only over $250K....sm
I understand I won't pay more payroll tax and income tax at our low income, but it's the property taxes, fuel taxes, sales taxes, and capital gains taxes that are going to go up too, and being landowners and ranchers raising livestock, those taxes affect us big time and just add to the cost of our business, which already is hard to make a profit on.

I know it's hard for people whose income is from a job where you go to work and bring home a paycheck and taxes are simple to understand. But running a business isn't just about how much comes out of your paycheck for payroll tax and what you pay for income tax once a year. These corporate taxes he's talking about are going to affect so many small businesses because most of them make between $500,000-$1,000,000 a year, and increasing their tax rates is going to kill them. It's going to cause them to lay off employees, raise their prices, or simply close their doors.

I have several family members with mom-and-pop business in small towns from a beauty salon to a restaurant and a small computer fix-it business and they will really be hurt by this. They can't raise their prices because people in their small town can't afford to pay higher prices.

There are a lot of big farmers in our area who easily make over $250,000 a year, but what people don't realize is that probably 90-95% of what they sell their crops for has to go into planting and harvesting those crops and they have little to actually live on to pay their heating and food bills, etc., when it's all said and done, so where are they going to come up with the extra tax money?

By sticking it to the big corporate business, there's going to be a lot of collateral damage in the wake and those are going to be the small to mid-sized business of our friends and family. They need to raise the amount to 1-2 million or something because this is going to kill small town main street. JMHO
Oh, and BTW, $250K is not wealthy businesses

They're middle of the road, just making it businesses. They don't employ 3000 people like big business and they will be hurt the most. Big business will pass the tax increase onto the taxpayers. They'll be able to find loopholes with their 30+ laywers (exageration) who are paid to do that.


Wake up and take the blinders off!


If you make less than $250K you get tax break nm
nomopopo
It was $250K including a business....
and $250K for a business is nothing. and since when is rich a bad word. Only when someone is jealous.
Not unless I am making over 250K and that's not happening. nm
.
I never said I made $250K a year... where did you get that from my post?...sm
Actually, I work one full-time MT job and a part-time general transcription off and on. I make less than $38,000 a year. My husband is self-employed (we own a ranch) and everything we make from the sale of our livestock and grains has to go back into the operation of the ranch for property taxes, insurance, feed, equipment, repairs, so at best, we break even, and even that doesn't happen often. So we basically live on what I make as an MT, which is less than $38,000 a year.

Yes, it can be done. We do not apply for, nor take any of the government subsidies. We've worked hard and scrimped and saved, and have also sold aluminum cans to help with extra cash coming in, etc. I've always shopped thrift shops for clothes for us and the kids, I've never bought new furniture, have no china or crystal, and the only jewelry I've ever owned was my wedding ring, so couldn't fall back on having the option of selling things such as these to help out.

We've actually been rather comfortable with this and have always felt like we weren't missing out on anything by living a very simple and quiet life. But now I'm afraid we're going to lose what we've worked so hard for because we can't afford any more taxes to pay for those who won't work hard.

I could go on disability due to some physical problems and inability to do probably 99% of jobs out there, but my physical disability doesn't keep me from doing MT work, and I can make a decent living doing that, so why not? If at some point in my life something happens that I can no longer do MT, then I'll have no choice but go on disability because I can't stand/walk/move around in order to get most other jobs out there, but for now I have a choice to work doing something I can do, and I choose to do that.

Most people I know on disability have other skills and could be doing other jobs, but they'd rather take the label of disabled and never work again. I choose to work at what I can do until I can't do it anymore.

I know one gal who was on disability and was offered a great job that paid over $2000 a month, but she would lose her disability, so didn't take the job... when I asked her how much her disability was, it was only $1300 a month! Duh... And the thing is, she would be great in that position and would have been a wonderful asset to the community doing that job. Just didn't make sense to me.

I feel for your situation and I don't think that things like your disabled child being on SSI or whatever is ''on the dole'' because those are exactly the people we as fellow Americans need to be helping. I'm sorry for your health situation and that is most tragic as it can happen to anyone.

The people I'm talking about are the ones who have no major health problems, no job, but could get a job if they wanted to, but welfare pays better, so they don't. My daughter works in a field where she sees daily where parents are dropping kids off at a daycare which is paid for through the social services office, and they go sit in the casino and gamble and smoke cigarettes. How much is a pack of smokes these days, $5? That's $150 a month that could pay for heating your house, putting food on your table, etc., but they don't need the money for those things because they are on programs to get those paid for too.

I'm not pointing a finger at you or people who have real problems and can't work, it's the abusers of the system that I'm upset about. I know of one couple who just a few years ago traveled on a vacation to Tokyo and got to leave their five adopted children with a foster care service absolutely free. This woman used to complain that she only got 15 hours a week of ''respite'' babysitting service.... I raised my kids and probably never had 15 hours total away from them in all the years they grew up as I didn't have family around where I lived and couldn't afford a babysitter. This particular family drives new vehicles, has memberships to clubs, eat out all the time as it's too hard for the mom to cook for so many people, etc., and they have no jobs or any other income. How do they do that?

Again, I'm just saying, we have always made as much as we could and spent as little as we could get by with and were perfectly happy that it balanced out enough that we could live on our own without having to take any freebies from anybody, and if we have to pay more taxes in the future, that balance is going to be upset, and I don't want to lose what we've worked so hard for.

I don't know which candidate is going to be able to do anything about our healthcare situation, but I believe your medical situation is a prime example of how the messed up healthcare industry is bringing decent people down and something needs to be done about it... But I can't afford my own medical care, how can you expect me to pay for everyone else's?
Holycrap! You make more than 250K a year!
How did you do that with MT jobs? 
I wouldn't mind making 250K and paying
25% in taxes....
Bidens words - no longer $250K - Now $150K (nm)
x
"Senator Obama's Four Tax Increases for People Earning Under $250k"...

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/senator_obamas_four_tax_increa.html


I confess.  Senator Obama's two tax promises: to limit tax increases to only those making over $250,000 a year, and to not raise taxes on 95% of "working Americans," intrigued me.  As a hard-working small business owner, over the past ten years I've earned from $50,000 to $100,000 per year.  If Senator Obama is shooting straight with us, under his presidency I could look forward to paying no additional Federal taxes -- I might even get a break -- and as I struggle to support a family and pay for two boys in college, a reliable tax freeze is nearly as welcome as further tax cuts.


However, Senator Obama's dual claims seemed implausible, especially when it came to my Federal income taxes.  Those implausible promises made me look at what I'd been paying before President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, as well as what I paid after those tax cuts became law.  I chose the 2000 tax tables as my baseline -- they reflect the tax rates that Senator Obama will restore by letting the "Bush Tax Cuts" lapse.  I wanted to see what that meant from my tax bill.


I've worked as the state level media and strategy director on three Presidential election campaigns -- I know how "promises" work -- so I analyzed Senator Obama's promises by looking for loopholes. 


The first loophole was easy to find:  Senator Obama doesn't "count" allowing the Bush tax cuts to lapse as a tax increase.  Unless the cuts are re-enacted, rates will automatically return to the 2000 level. Senator Obama claims that letting a tax cut lapse -- allowing the rates to return to a higher levels -- is not actually a "tax increase."  It's just the lapsing of a tax cut.


See the difference? 


Neither do I. 


When those cuts lapse, my taxes are going up -- a lot -- but by parsing words, Senator Obama justifies his claim that he won't actively raise taxes on 95 percent of working Americans, even while he's passively allowing tax rates to go up for 100% of Americans who actually pay Federal income taxes. 


Making this personal, my Federal Income Tax will increase by $3,824 when those tax cuts lapse.  That not-insignificant sum would cover a couple of house payments or help my two boys through another month or two of college.


No matter what Senator Obama calls it, requiring us to pay more taxes amounts to a tax increase.  This got me wondering what other Americans will have to pay when the tax cuts lapse. 


For a married family, filing jointly and earning $75,000 a year, this increase will be $3,074.  For those making just $50,000, this increase will be $1,512.  Despite Senator Obama's claim, even struggling American families making just $25,000 a year will see a tax increase -- they'll pay $715 more in 2010 than they did in 2007.  Across the board, when the tax cuts lapse, working Americans will see significant increases in their taxes, even if their household income is as low as $25,000.  See the tables at the end of this article.


Check this for yourself.  Go to http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/ and pull up the 1040 instructions for 2000 and 2007 and go to the tax tables.  Based on your 2007 income, check your taxes rates for 2000 and 2007, and apply them to your taxable income for 2007.  In 2000 -- Senator Obama's benchmark year -- you would have paid significantly more taxes for the income you earned in 2007.  The Bush Tax Cuts, which Senator Obama has said he will allow to lapse, saved you money, and without those cuts, your taxes will go back up to the 2000 level.  Senator Obama doesn't call it a "tax increase," but your taxes under "President" Obama will increase -- significantly.


Senator Obama is willfully deceiving you and me when he says that no one making under $250,000 will see an increase in their taxes.  If I were keeping score, I'd call that Tax Lie #1.


The next loophole involves the payroll tax that you pay to support the Social Security system. Currently, there is an inflation-adjusted cap, and according to the non-profit Tax Foundation, in 2006 -- the most recent year for which tax data is available -- only the first $94,700 of an unmarried individual's earnings were subject to the 12.4 percent payroll tax. However, Senator Obama has proposed lifting that cap, adding an additional 12.4 percent tax on every dollar earned above that cap -- and in spite of his promise, impacting all those who earn between $94,700 and $249,999. 


By doing this, he plans to raise an additional $1 trillion dollars (another $662.50 out of my pocket -- and how much out of yours?) to help fund Social Security.  Half of this tax would be paid by employees and half by employers -- but employers will either cut the payroll or pass along this tax to their customers through higher prices.  Either way, some individual will pay the price for the employer's share of the tax increase.


However, when challenged to explain how he could eliminate the cap AND not raise taxes on Americans earning under $250,000, Senator Obama suggested on his website that he "might" create a "donut" -- an exemption from this payroll tax for wages between $94,700 and $250,000. But that donut would mean he couldn't raise anywhere near that $1 trillion dollars for Social Security.  When this was pointed out, Senator Obama's "donut plan" was quietly removed from his website. 


This "explanation" sounds like another one of those loopholes. If I were keeping score, I'd call this Tax Lie #2.


(updated) Senator Obama has also said that he will raise capital gains taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent.  He says he's aiming at "fat cats" who make above $250,000.   However, while only 1 percent of Americans make a quarter-million dollars, roughly 50 percent of all Americans own stock – and while investments that are through IRAs, 401Ks and in pension plans are not subject to capital gains, those stocks in personal portfolios are subject to capital gains, no matter what the owner’s income is. However, according to the US Congress’s Joint Economic Committee Study, “Recent data released by the Federal Reserve shows that nearly half of all U.S. households are stockholders.  In the last decade alone, the number of stockholders has jumped by over fifty percent.”  This is clear – a significant number of all Americans who earn well under $250,000 a year will feel this rise in their capital gains taxes. 
Under "President" Obama, if you sell off stock and earn a $100,000 gain -- perhaps to help put your children through college -- instead of paying $15,000 in capital gains taxes today, you'll pay $20,000 under Obama's plan. That's a full one-third more, and it applies no matter how much you earn. 


No question -- for about 50 percent of all Americans, this is Tax Lie #3.


Finally, Senator Obama has promised to raise taxes on businesses -- and to raise taxes a lot on oil companies.  I still remember Econ-101 -- and I own a small business.  From both theory and practice, I know what businesses do when taxes are raised.  Corporations don't "pay" taxes -- they collect taxes from customers and pass them along to the government.  When you buy a hot dog from a 7/11, you can see the clerk add the sales tax, but when a corporation's own taxes go up, you don't see it -- its automatic -- but they do the same thing.  They build this tax into their product's price.  Senator Obama knows this.  He knows that even people who earn less than $250,000 will pay higher prices -- those pass-through taxes -- when corporate taxes go up. 


No question: this is Tax Lie #4.


There's not a politician alive who hasn't be caught telling some minor truth-bender.  However, when it comes to raising taxes, there are no small lies.  When George H.W. Bush's "Read my lips -- no new taxes" proved false, he lost the support of his base -- and ultimately lost his re-election bid. 


This year, however, we don't have to wait for the proof: Senator Obama has already promised to raise taxes, and we can believe him. However, while making that promise, he's also lied, in at least four significant ways, about who will pay those taxes.  If Senator Obama becomes President Obama, when the tax man comes calling, we will all pay the price.  And that's the truth.


Tax Rates - and the Obama Increase - $50,000/year Taxable Income















































2000 Tax Tables


2003 Tax Tables


2004 Tax Tables


2010 Tax Tables - (Bush Tax Cuts have Expired)


Increase with Obama Tax Increase*


Taxable Income


$50,000


$50,000


$50,000


$50,000


$50,000


Tax: Single


$10,581


$9,304


$9,231


$10,581


$1,350


Tax: Married -  Filing Joint


$8,293


$6,796


$6,781


$8,293


$1,512


Tax: Married - Filing Separate


$11,143


$9,304


$9,231


$11,143


$1,912


Tax: Head of Household


$9,424


$8,189


$8,094


$9,424


$1,330



Tax Rates - and the Obama Increase - $75,000/year Taxable Income















































2000 Tax Tables


2003 Tax Tables


2004 Tax Tables


2010 Tax Tables - (Bush Tax Cuts have Expired)


Increase with Obama Tax Increase*


Taxable Income


$75,000


$75,000


$75,000


$75,000


$75,000


Tax: Single


$17,923


$15,739


$15,620


$17,923


$2,303


Tax: Married -  Filing Joint


$15,293


$12,364


$12,219


$15,293


$3,074


Tax: Married - Filing Separate


$18,803


$16,083


$15,972


$18,803


$2,831


Tax: Head of Household


$16,424


$14,439


$14,344


$16,424


$2,080




Tax Rates - and the Obama Increase - $100,000/year Taxable Income















































2000 Tax Tables


2003 Tax Tables


2004 Tax Tables


2010 Tax Tables - (Bush Tax Cuts have Expired)


Increase with Obama Tax Increase*


Taxable Income


$100,000


$100,000


$100,000


$100,000


$100,000


Tax: Single


$25,673


$22,739


$22,620


$25,673


$3,053


Tax: Married -  Filing Joint


$22,293


$18,614


$18,469


$22,293


$3,824


Tax: Married - Filing Separate


$27,515


$23,715


$23,504


$27,515


$4,011


Tax: Head of Household


$23,699


$20,741


$20,594


$23,699


$3,015



*   When "President" Obama allows President Bush's tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 to expire, this will amount to a DE facto tax increase

tax cuts. oh, really?

I thought I was the only one who knew this.  If tax cuts expire, we get honked!  Duh!  That's more $ out of our pockets! 


Can someone explain why they want to have a lower salary?  All I ever hear around here is how our paychecks continue to dwindle.  If Obama gets elected, plan on an even smaller check!


How can this be so hard to figure out?


pay cuts
Where are you seeing this information so I can read this?
I see that there are tax cuts in there -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/ap_on_go_co/congress_stimulus
Tax Cuts
I really think if we had had the tax cuts the last 8 years that we had WITHOUT all the additional spending, we would have been fine. I don't think it was the tax cuts that didn't work, but we spent way more than the tax cuts could help.

With that line of thought, spending more definitely isn't going to help.

Maybe all of the politicians that have 5 or 6 houses (yes, including Mccain) should sell all of their extra fluff and try to pay back some of our deficit. You know, live like regular hard-working American people. I mean really, they got us here, because they don't ever listen to what the regular people say!

Like that'll ever happen!
Tax Cuts
President Barack Obama ordered the U.S. Treasury on Saturday to implement tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans, fulfilling a campaign pledge he hopes will help jolt the economy out of recession.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE51K1P320090221

Of course, those of you on the right who despise President Obama certainly do not have to accept these tax cuts. You are welcome to stay at your current tax rate in protest.
So much for tax cuts for 95%
of us.  What a joke.  Obama wants a cap and trade green tax.......do you realize how many people that will hit hard.  Gas prices will be higher, grocery prices will go up, utility bills with skyrocket.  This isn't just for the rich.  This will hit everyone!!!   Obama himself said that energy costs would skyrocket.....he said that during his campaign.  I'm all for our environment, but this isn't the time to do this.  This isn't going to help us at all.  This is going to hit all consumers.....including low class and middle class consumers.....not just the rich.  So this BS of providing tax cuts for 95% of Americans is nothing but a distraction for the Kool-Aid drinkers.  He is like an illusionist....gets you focusing on one hand so we can't see what he is doing with his other hand.
tax cuts
Did anyone actually see a larger check beginning April 1st? I know I did not. I am paid hourly for 40 hours and my check was SMALLER by almost $50. Is this an anomaly or did my payroll dept screw up or am I not the only one who experienced this? Just curious.
where are the cuts coming from?
who is losing out ESPECIALLY when he has all these plans for additional government programs?
Thanks for posting this - I think it cuts thru the
thanks
The problem with the tax cuts is that

they only work when the government stops spending wasteful money.  Instead they are giving us tax cuts AND still spending money.  This bill spends more than anything.  I don't see where you get the OP was racism.  I too am doubtful of this stimulus package and it has nothing to do with what color President Obama is.  We can criticize our president as we have always been able to do in years past.  Why has this changed?  I'm sick and tired of people hating Obama because he is black but I'm also sick and tired of hearing how the people who criticize him are only criticizing him because he is black.  Either way....it is racism BS.  STOP IT!


If we go back and look at the last 8 years, Bush's tax cuts didn't help because government was STILL spending.  Bush was not a dictator any more than Obama is.  Government as a whole contributed to our downfall.  I blame them all and  I tend to keep an eye on the whole lot....not just Obama.


The problem with the tax cuts is that

they only work when the government stops spending wasteful money.  Instead they are giving us tax cuts AND still spending money.  This bill spends more than anything.  I don't see where you get the OP was racism.  I too am doubtful of this stimulus package and it has nothing to do with what color President Obama is.  We can criticize our president as we have always been able to do in years past.  Why has this changed?  I'm sick and tired of people hating Obama because he is black but I'm also sick and tired of hearing how the people who criticize him are only criticizing him because he is black.  Either way....it is racist BS.  STOP IT!


If we go back and look at the last 8 years, Bush's tax cuts didn't help because government was STILL spending.  Bush was not a dictator any more than Obama is.  Government as a whole contributed to our downfall.  I blame them all and  I tend to keep an eye on the whole lot....not just Obama.


that knife cuts both ways
I am reluctant to say it but...biden wasn't the only one. Palin got in her fair share, too. Take a look at "fact check." They both spun things their own way. That's what is so very sad. They all lie and expect us to swallow their crap like it's gospel and they leave people knowing we can't trust anyone in our own government. I think people now vote not for someone they actually like (because we can't trust them) but for whoever will be the lesser of 2 evils.
tax cuts?? just look at the table at the bottom
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/senator_obamas_four_tax_increa.html
I heard him say that the tax cuts would precede
no definite timetable on the increases. I was particularly happy to see the emphasis on jobs in generally speaking, relief to the middle class as his obvious priority.
Stimulus versus tax cuts

Stimulus means SPENDING


Non-refundable tax rebates means every $1.00 spent creates $1.02 in economic activity. 2 freaking cents (makes sense to the pubs.....I guess)


Infrastructure - every dollar spent equals $1.59 in economic activity (bridges, roads, etc.)


Food stamps (which the pubs want to cut out of the bill) - every dollar spent equals $1.73 in economic activity. This is the single most productive stimulus we have. Food stamps will get SPENT, unlike tax rebates.


If the pubs have their way, the bill will be 42% tax cuts which will not benefit job creation or improve the economy. They want to fail. Why? And you all call your senators to support this? If it gets pushed through like this, you have only yourselves to blame when everything goes to helll. You can't blame Obama for this cluster.


 


 


Trickle up tax cuts 4 rich works so well
full-blown depression in view of FMFM. JM promises change in economic policies how? Show me the plan.
O's plan gives tax cuts to people who dont pay
nm
So lets do all tax cuts which have proven to be ineffective?
That trickle down crap doesn't work - or haven't you figured that out yet? Hmm, over 10 trillion dollars spent on Bush's watch and what did he accomplish? It sure as helll didn't trickle down but all the CEOs got nice bonuses. This crisis is Bush's doing - why don't you get that?
Tax cuts didn't work - what is your cure? nm
x
Ending the Hidden Agenda Behind Tax Cuts

by: Joe Brewer, t r u t h o u t | Perspective


photo
The way that taxation is viewed by the public has a lot to do with the way politicians frame the debate. (Artwork: inventions-guide.com)



    Something as simple as a metaphor can mean the difference between shared prosperity and widespread suffering.

    It's time to tell the truth about tax cuts. This phrase dominates political discourse and is coughed out every time a conservative public figure opens his mouth. It is treated like the basis of sound reasoning, yet no one points out what should be obvious - that "tax relief" and "tax cuts" are just code words for destroying the capacity of government to serve the public.

    We've heard over and over again that the source of society's problems is the government. The solution that follows is to "trim the fat," "cut out the waste," "shrink the government" and provide "relief" to millions of citizens who suffer the burden of exploitation by Washington elites. This story flies in the face of the facts, yet it makes sense to a significant portion of the US population. How can this be?

    The answer has to do with how we make sense of things in the world. Our experiences shape what seems legitimate by reinforcing (or undermining) our ideas about the way things work. So, for example, a progressive politician may speak honestly and forcefully about the positive role of government in our lives. But this will fall on deaf ears if our typical experience is at odds with such claims. This observation demonstrates a key element of what George Lakoff and I have dubbed the Cognitive Criterion for Public Support:

    An effective policy must be popular if it is to stand the test of time and it must be popular for the right reasons, namely because it promotes the right long-term values in the minds of citizens, reinforced through the lived experience.

    The reason many people accept conservative claims about taxation and government is that they hold up for many common experiences, especially when conservatives are in control of the government. Conservative officials enact policies that make life worse for people while claiming that things will get better. Then they draw upon these negative experiences to advance their agenda. No Child Left Behind is an excellent example. The strategy works like this (a more detailed analysis can be found here):

1. Declare that the agenda is to "improve" public education.


2. Pass legislation that cripples public schools.

3. Cry out for "reform" when people see how bad our schools are doing.

4. Get rid of public schools and replace them with private schools, especially schools that teach conservative ideology (e.g. elite charter schools, religious schools, etc.).


    This strategy demonstrates how *cognitive policy* works. Emphasis is given to how people understand what is happening. The goal is to ensure that our experiences are interpreted through a conservative lens. It is not literally the case that taxation is a burden (a provocative metaphor), but rather that our common sense is influenced by a combination of our experiences in the world and the interpretive filters that give them meaning. (A key feature of how the political mind works, as I discuss in The Great Political Blind Spot.)

    Back to the hidden agenda behind tax cuts; we can apply this insight to see that conservatives *want* people to have negative experiences with government. Why? Because it supports decades of propaganda - and an underlying belief that stems from their worldview - that government is the problem. In the early 1970's, conservative elites started investing heavily in the creation of idea factories to spread their views far and wide so that they eventually became the new common sense of our culture. They had to work tirelessly for years to change the underlying values of American citizens because our long history has been devoted to advancing our most cherished values, which happen to be progressive. But, as we can see by the pervasiveness of their ideas today, this effort has been catastrophically successful.

    Now is the time to nip their bankrupt idea about taxation in the bud. The way to do it is simple. Take their reasoning to its logical conclusion and see what happens if it is applied to the real world. We can test the conservative belief about taxation against our own and decide what's best by looking at the outcomes.

    First, we'll need to be very clear about just what conservatives and progressives mean by taxation. Then we can apply these understandings to the world to see their consequences. (The insights that follow come from linguistic analysis of cognitive "frames" that shape political thought.)

    Taxation as Conservatives Understand It

    I've already alluded to an interesting metaphor that helps make sense of conservative thought about taxes, which I'll call Taxes Are a Burden to make it explicit. The understanding of taxation that follows from this metaphor can be seen in this story:

    Hard-working Americans are in need of some tax relief. Years of mismanagement by tax-and-spend liberals have taken money out of the hands of working people and put it into bloated government programs that serve special interests. We need to cut taxes, return fiscal responsibility to government, and put money back in the hands of taxpayers who know best how to spend it.

    This perspective is grounded in two beliefs: (1) The world is comprised of individuals; and (2) People are inherently bad and must learn right from wrong through self-discipline. I like to call this the "Me First" perspective because it assumes that people must help themselves before thinking about others. It can be summarized with the declaration, "You're on your own!" The Me First perspective assumes that any assistance from the community would be "coddling" or "spoiling" us. This claim is asserted as truth in the conservative worldview.

    Taxation as Progressives Understand It

    Progressives have a different understanding of taxation that can be expressed through a variety of metaphors: Taxes Are an Investment, Taxes Are Membership Dues, Taxes Are Pathways to Opportunity, Taxes Are Infrastructure and Taxes Are a Duty. (Read more about progressive taxation in "Progressive Taxation: Some Hidden Truths") Reasoning that emerges with these metaphors can be seen in this progressive story:

    Our great nation was founded on a promise of protection and opportunity. Through our shared wealth, pooled together by taxation with representation, we have invested in the public infrastructure that makes possible the creation of new wealth. We have a sacred trust to keep this promise alive throughout our lifetimes, expand it as we are able, and pass it along to our children.

    This perspective is grounded in the beliefs that (1) Individuals are influenced significantly by our communities; and (2) People are inherently good and benefit from cooperation with others. I like to call this the "People First" perspective because it assumes that people must help each other in order to enhance their ability to help themselves. It can be summarized with the declaration, "We're all in this together!" The People First perspective assumes that we are greater than the sum of our parts and that new opportunities emerge when we make wise investments with the common wealth we share.

    Truth and Consequences

    Now that we have a clear sense of what taxation means to conservatives and progressives, we can see what happens if these different ideas are used as governing principles for shaping society. This analysis accomplishes two purposes. First, it reveals key truths about taxation that complicate arguments made by conservatives, truths that don't get talked about nearly enough. And second, it exposes a covert agenda that deceptively exploits real concerns of people to advance an otherwise unpopular agenda.

    What happens if the Me First perspective is applied to taxation? Just look to the world we find ourselves in today. A problem defined as "too much spending" leads to budget cuts. This results in a diminished capacity to provide vital services. Public goods like education, civil and criminal courts, road maintenance and fundamental scientific research are too costly for individuals - or even multinational corporations - to afford. So these services are cut and people lose their jobs. Thousands of teachers no longer cultivating young minds. Countless construction workers laid off when city and state governments halt infrastructure projects. Graduates with advanced degrees unable to find work because public agencies are "tightening their belts" and cutting back on grants to academia, nonprofits and the private sector.

    Beyond the direct human suffering of disrupted lives, there is substantial reduction in government programs that protect the public against harm. The FDA cannot staff enough inspectors to keep toxic peanuts out of the food supply. The EPA lacks capacity to keep drinking water clean in cities and towns across the country. The SEC is unable to keep a watchful eye on runaway speculation and our economy spins wildly out of control. Bridges crumble and levies break because funds are in short supply.

    The consequence of conservative ideology is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People are forced to be "on their own" with no protection against serious threats and no assistance to get them beyond their current means. When disasters strike, there is widespread suffering and death because the tapestry of society - our precious safety net - has withered and decayed. Think I'm exaggerating? I'll just say one word - Katrina.

    And despite their claims to the contrary, conservative leaders want this to happen.

    Contrast this with the People First perspective. Again, we can let experience be our guide. A decade of rampant deregulation, perpetrated by a conservative mindset about the relationship between government and the economy, led to the great stock market crash of 1929. A visionary progressive leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stepped in and vastly expanded a wide variety of public programs. The flood of revenues accompanying this expansion was enough to put millions of unemployed back to work. New programs that embody the spirit of progress emerged in the decades that followed. Social Security, the GI Bill, Medicare and the FDIC are a few examples of the legacy this pooling of resources delivered to the American people.

    Along with this massive investment in societal infrastructure, Americans experienced tremendous growth of shared prosperity. For the first time in our history, an entire generation of children from working-class families moved up the economic ladder with college degrees in hand. Home ownership skyrocketed. Literacy rates went through the roof and new skills emerged to expand the capacity of markets. And two generations of people experienced the benefits of cooperation in their daily lives, codifying the ethic that we're all in it together as a bedrock of sound reason.

    I can attest to this from personal experience. Both of my parents came from working-class families. I was the first to get a college degree. Federal and state scholarships delivered me from the rural farm to the hallowed halls. And now society gets to benefit from the fruits of my labor as I work to transform our political system for the betterment of society. The cognitive policy of the People First perspective is a foundation of my identity in the world.

    The Hidden Agenda Exposed

    The progress of our nation is being held hostage by a malicious metaphor. Treating taxation as nothing more than a burden is tantamount to declaring that citizenship is nothing more than getting all you can for yourself … everyone else be damned. Conservative elites have undermined the responsibilities we have to one another to advance their agenda. They are fully committed to crafting the world in their image, as we've seen all too clearly these last eight years and throughout the current debate about economic recovery under the Obama administration.

    I say enough is enough. Let's call this tactic out for what it is. People are hurting in every corner of the land and they're looking for help where they haven't dared to look for quite some time - in the service of our representatives in the federal government. Conservatives will try to convince us that our hardships are caused by excessive government. The truth is that we are suffering under excessive conservative ideology of governance, which is a very different beast. They continue to claim that we can't get ahead because we're overtaxed. This claim is absurd!

    Not a single home foreclosure throughout this crisis has been caused by excessive taxation. The misfortune of illness in a dysfunctional health system has burdened people with horrendous debt. Where did this problem come from? Profit-driven health care created under the Nixon administration.

    Banks haven't failed catastrophically through oversized personal W-2 forms. Radical deregulation is the culprit. Who deregulated the market? Conservative ideologues from both political parties. (This is what the word "centrist" really means - conservatives who've infiltrated the Democratic Party.)

    Companies haven't been driven to huge layoffs because their tax burden is too high. They are victims of an unraveling market. What undermined the integrity of the global economy? An extremist philosophy of governance that is blind to the role of the regulatory frameworks that give stabilizing structure to our markets.

    What can we do to stop the conservative agenda? Call it out for what it is. When someone says, "People need tax relief," respond by letting them know that "We really need to invest in one another." Make it clear what the consequences of tax cuts really are - the destruction of our mechanisms for protecting and empowering one another. And let's stop taking their language for granted just because everyone is doing it. That logic didn't make much sense in middle school. It's all the more dangerous to follow as adults. Challenge the conservative meaning of taxation directly. Declare that we are decidedly NOT on our own. Point to the benefits we've taken for granted too long, things like education and schools and roads and courts.

    We mustn't stop with a critique of their ideas either. We need to fervently argue for our own. Together we are greater than the sum of our parts. A prosperous community is a place where neighbors pool their efforts for the greater good. Taxes provide resources for investments larger than anything we could build on our own. And these benefits create a space for new ideas to take hold and expand our wealth.

    Ideas matter. Words are important. We cannot afford to let a radical minority set the tone of public debate any longer. The time is ripe for moving beyond the era of misguided individualism. Let's take the momentum we've built in the last few years and place the United States back on a course that resonates with our deeply held values - caring for one another, expanding freedoms to the marginalized, and recognizing that our shared prosperity is at the core of our success as a nation.


Yes, let's continue with tax cuts to the wealthy, that has worked so well.....NOT!
Or better yet, let's sit on our hands and do nothing - let the market take care of it! I wish you were in charge of making decisions for this country - I'd feel sooooo much safer!!          KAAACKKKK!
Obama's "Budget Cuts" Laughable

So - you think it's impressive that Obama plans to ask his department heads to cut $100,000,000 from their budgets?  Let's put aside for a moment the question of why he's asking them for cuts at all when he's the one who says that MORE government spending is the solution to our economic crisis.


Obama is crowing about this because he knows that Americans don't know how to translate "huge" numbers into percentages, and also that Americans have grown used to hearing numbers in the $trillions.  I mean - millions, billions, trillions all sound pretty much alike!   Let's prove him wrong, shall we?


If Obama were asking for $100 million to be cut from a $3.5 billion budget, it would represent 1/35th of that budget.  1/35 is about 2.86%.  So even on a $3.5 billion budget this wouldn't be much.


But wait.  Obama's budget is $3.5 TRILLION, which is 1000 times larger. (A trillion is 1000 times larger than a billion.)  Conversely, that makes $100 million a thousand times smaller of a percentage of the budget.  In other words, we're not even talking about 2.86%, but one-thousandths of 2.86%.  Here's what that looks like:   0.00286%.


In other words, if Obama made NEW cuts of $100,000,000 from his budget every day for over 300 days, he still wouldn't have even cut 1% from his budget.  So you may now be forgiven if you're underwhelmed by Obama's $100 million budget cut. 


 It's kinda like someone crowing about how they've reduced their carbon footprint by disconnecting their doorbell.  And this little object lesson showing how little $100,000,000 is compared to Mr. Obama's budget also gives you a little bit better idea just how disgustingly gargantuan his budget really is.


Amen! This cuts across all party lines
EVERY American man, woman and child should be up in arms and demand answers about this. How absolutely disgusting!

I live in Texas and we have the same problems this teacher is discussing here. It's time we take back OUR country and send the illegals packing.

I am all of immigration - if it is done correctly and legally. Not sneaking across the border or having babies in American so the whole clan is grandfathered in! That is abusive!
What tax cuts is Barack going to give middle class?
facts to back it up. We are most definitely middle class and in the last 4 years, I made more money as an IC but didn't have to pay in at year end, for the first time in YEARS. We also got a higher child credit, etc. Or maybe I should ask what you consider middle class, but I am quite sure my measly salary doesn't qualify as anything but and I sure as heck am not in the upper 10%. The proof is in the pudding for me, and not having to pay taxes when I always had before, despite having made more money as an IC, is tasty pudding to me. I can't complain on that particular point.

I've compared both Obama's and McCain's tax proposals, and I sure didn't see a lot of give for middle class in either so apparently you are privy to some information that I am not. Can you show me where I can find that? IMO, they are both ignoring the middle class and the middle class is most of America.
Wall Street Journal says Obama's tax cuts

Some need to pay close attention to this.........  it's called welfare handouts.  "Entitled mentality".  The working class will get NO tax cuts.  You all will be working to put money in the hands of those that do not.  It makes perfectly good sense.  I've been saying there is no way he can do anything he is leading people to believe he can because 1/3 of people in this country pay NO TAXES.   He has led so many to believe he will cut middle class when he can't.  He is blatantly trying to disguise "government handouts" as "tax credits".   You want your hard earned money going to everyone who doesn't bother to work? 


One of Barack Obama’s most potent campaign claims is that he’ll cut taxes for no less than 95% of “working families.” He’s even promising to cut taxes enough that the government’s tax share of GDP will be no more than 18.2% — which is lower than it is today.


It’s a clever pitch, because it lets him pose as a middle-class tax cutter while disguising that he’s also proposing one of the largest tax increases ever on the other 5%. But how does he conjure this miracle, especially since more than a third of all Americans already pay no income taxes at all? There are several sleights of hand, but the most creative is to redefine the meaning of “tax cut.”


For the Obama Democrats, a tax cut is no longer letting you keep more of what you earn. In their lexicon, a tax cut includes tens of billions of dollars in government handouts that are disguised by the phrase “tax credit.” Mr. Obama is proposing to create or expand no fewer than seven such credits for individuals[.]


 


Tax cuts, progressive tax system, social programs
are as American as apple pie and these same policies and initiatives can be found puncuating the pages of our history from the day of our country's inception.

You do not understand Marxism or socialism, or you would be a lot more exercised by the current redistribution of wealth that takes your tax dollars and moves them upward to an elite ruling class that represses and undermines the middle class at the drop of a hat. State ownership of banks, lending institutions and direct personal property "buy outs" (as proposed by McCain certainly smack of Marxism and are not exactly what you could call traditional American values.
Repeated? Obama doesn't want to repeat tax cuts

for the rich -- and "rich," by the way, is anyone earning more than a quarter of a million dollars a year.


Obama wants to give tax CREDITS to businesses that keep jobs in the USA, instead of exporting them out of the country.


These huge greedy corporations may be creating jobs, but they're not creating American jobs.  Obama wants to try to slow that down and wants to reward companies who don't turn their backs on Americans.


Lawmakers Question O's Missle Defense Cuts

Lawmakers are demanding to know why the president's proposed 2010 defense budget cuts missile defense by $1.2 billion and does not provide any funds for the European missile defense shield as Iran and North Korea defy the international community with missile testing.....


At Fort Greeley in Alaska, the missile defense silos can defend the U.S. from both North Korea and Iran, but the Obama budget would cuts the number of interceptor missiles based there from 44 to 30. And that has both Republicans and Democrats asking, why now?


"Is this being budget-driven?" Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., asked.


"The numbers don't add up to me," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., "I think it's just a question of somewhere somebody has decided to cut missile defense substantially, and you're doing the best you can under a difficult circumstance."


Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska said: "With North Korea, it seems since we've made this announcement, as I've said, 40 percent of their testing has occurred, plus an underground nuclear test. I mean, I don't know. That seems risky to me."......


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/16/lawmakers-question-obamas-missile-defense-cuts/


So people are poor because they chose to give tax cuts to billionaires?
Just today Cheney cast the deciding vote to cut back Medicare, Medicaid, and student loans. I guess as long as you're not the one who has a bit of misfortune and need a safety net, you really don't give a hoot, do ya? What about the billions spent in Iraq to turn it into a theocracy like Iran?
Finally an article on the truth of Obama's big tax cuts and plans...sm
It's been hard to find this story and the facts lately, and I'm glad you posted this.


It really sounds like Obama is trying to "buy" the votes of all the people in America in the lower income bracket.


Very sneaky and scary, as most people believe him.