$620 BILLION TAX INCREASE RECEIVES BROAD, “BIPARTISAN” SUPPORT
The U.S. Senate kicked off 2013 by retroactively endorsing a massive $620 billion tax hike on upper income earners – including small business owners whose ability to create jobs is vital to the health of the American economy. In passing the tax hike, lawmakers also reneged on the first round of spending reductions they agreed to as part of a 2011 deal to raise the government’s debt limit to a whopping $16.4 trillion.
In fact the legislation includes $61 billion in new spending – $31 billion in Medicaid payments to doctors and $30 billion to extend unemployment benefits to America’s millions of long-term unemployed workers.
So much for our “leaders” addressing America’s out-of-control debt problem.
Under the terms of the deal negotiated by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and “Republican” Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, individuals earning $400,000 (or couples earning $450,000) or more annually will see their income taxes climb from 35 to 39.6 percent. That’s a major political victory for U.S. President Barack Obama, who vowed to raise taxes on
Of course lower income earners will also feel the sting – as the employee portion of the federal payroll tax was allowed to increase from 4.2 to 6.2 percent as part of the deal. That represents a $1,000 tax hike on a worker earning $50,000 a year – and will drain an estimated $125 billion from the economy this year.
So much for all that lip service paid to the American middle class, right?
Anyway, the Senate passed the “cliff deal” by a vote of 89-8 – evidence of just how far to the left the “Republican” party has moved in recent years. There used to be a time when Republicans could be counted on not to support tax hikes, but clearly that time has passed.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (RINO-S.C.) supported the deal, while outgoing U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint did not vote.
Five Republicans – Kentucky’s Rand Paul, Florida’s Marco Rubio, Utah’s Mike Lee, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Alabama’s Richard Shelby – voted against the measure. So did three Democrats – Delaware’s Thomas Carper, Colorado’s Michael Bennet and Iowa’s Tom Harkin.
(To view the U.S. Senate roll call vote, click here).
The legislation – dubbed the “Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act” – now heads to the “Republican-controlled” U.S. House for a vote.
***
32 comments
U.S. Senate kicked off 2013 by kicking the can again.
Oh, well, 2013 starts out just like 2012; Billy Folks servicing Howie Rich and the rest of the Repugnant Party honor roll of “small business” like Kohlberg, Kravis; Bechtel; and birther-boy Donnie Trump.
Billy’s definition also hauls in LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and George Soros. His definition of the unemployed includes the Mittster.
If Billy had ever served his country, his MOS would be “chinwiper”, unlike his fellow-traveler, little t-bagger, who would come in under “chicken-hawk/cheerleader”.
Maybe Fits is just pissed that with Howie having to pay higher taxes,he wont be able to pay him to publish his constant stream of Right Wing blather?
FITS TOLD us there is NO difference between Obama and Romney…
If this does not show you what a Dumb@$$ all the Moderate-Libertarian and Conservative-Haters are — you’re too GD Stupid to EVER understand it….
The Wage of sin is Death…and the result of Obama is more Failure and Misery…
You Stupid MoFo’s Asked for it…now Suck it….
You’re really Bill Clinton, aren’t you – CONFESS!
You’re really a Major F&*kin Dumb@$$…CONFESS….
Bawk, bawk, bawk….the cry of ChickenHawk! a/k/a little t-bagger…bawk, bawk, bawk….
Oh Im LOVIN it!
But what are you bitchin about NUT NUT?
We know you aint makin 400 grand a year!All you Republicans tell us only “hard working” types make that much.You spend all your time here spewing hatred and lies hour after hour day after day!
Get back to work DUMB DUMB!
Who is going to pay for my welfare?
Lindsey Graham showed courage to do the right thing. He just gave the Tom Davis and the other assorted nut jobs some more ammo. Hopefully, it will fall short in the end though.
Now FITS, you know that we had been stealing from SS by getting the 2% reprieve the last two years. It is right that we quit robbing from SS.
And as for the “small business” tax hike crap…please stop. Personal income tax rates have NEVER affected hiring/firing.
@ Robert – Personal income tax rates ABSOLUTELY affect hiring/firing. If I am a rich business owner and my personal income tax goes up, do you think I’m going to simply live on less? Hell no, I’ll pass it on by either, firing a few employees so I can keep more of the profit or simply raise prices to my customers.
If you really need the extra hands, you’ll hire them even if you have to take the hit.
I also find it ridiculous that someone who would needlessly hire people out of the kindness of their heart, thus giving up business revenue they could pay themselves with, would suddenly fire them because they had to offset income past $400k being taxed at an ever so slightly higher rate.
Businesses hire based on demand and what they can afford, which tax increases on those making close to half a mil has little effect on. What is more likely to happen is that they will charge more for their product or service in order to afford themselves higher pay, but market forces will limit it I would think. Besides, they would only have to make up for a fraction of their income past the first $400k, not on their entire income.
We still need a Buffett rule, and it would be nice to have more revenue than what we got. We need more cuts too, though.
Chrome….then you don’t understand business. I’m not saying person with higher income will enjoy higher taxes, but if a business owner jeopardizes his/her business by firing or not hiring just to increase their own personal pay, then their business plan is a faulty one.
Just like capital gains tax argument…ok, so you will make a percentage less profit on investment…but you still make profit; so you’re not going to invest? Again, I know the higher tax is bitter, but it won’t stop REAL business minds from doing the correct things to make business profit.
All the reason to tax the rich slightly more. Our tax system is supposedly balanced on an ability to pay versus an ability to pay. Robert’s arguments just tell me that it doesn’t matter to REAL businesses.
I would like to say that the payroll tax cut should have been extended a little while longer, although (1) it shouldn’t be permanent and (2) it should have been paid for by either cutting spending or raising revenue to cover the costs. Problem is, Republicans and Democrats won’t agree on how to offset the tax cut.
Letting that cut expire is actually a bit concerning. I’d have given it another year or two, even if we couldn’t replace the revenue it gives up.
Secret Service Plans Bus Barricades Along Inaugural Parade Route…
Seems there are a lot of very angry voters out there that are fed up.
Yes, they are called Republicans.
Jim DeMint is so courageous he didn’t vote. Yea for conservatism.
lol… He’s already getting paid to leave, might as well spare us his bullshit standing on “principles.”
“lower income earners will feel the sting too…a $1000 tax hike on a worker earning $50,000” HaHaHa – the joke’s on you idiots who only thought “the rich” would get hit!
Thanks for taking up for us rich folks boy,but really shouldn’t you be at work?Yes,I know its a holiday,but you people need to be on the job,instead of idling around.I am a jobs creator and I know about these things.
Are you talking about the 2% payroll tax holiday ending? It should. WE’ve all been stealing from Social Security for two years now.
Shhhh!
Of course he doesn’t get it!.But he votes Republican because he knows we are fighting Socialism!Besides phe doesn’t want me to lose my tax cut!I’m a jobs creator you know.
americans can escape bad time if eat very good cheap fish !!
very simple !!
haf fun !!
:) :) :)
your humble servant, Nazir !!
original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETSl8gWsFZ0
fix up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_miGclPFGs&list=PL0EFC6CDE54BC6F3E
honorable story:
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/01/168402680/pakistan-embraces-man-behind-one-pound-fish-viral-video
Unnecessary Crisis They Created
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Official Washington was in celebration mode on New Year’s Day after kind of averting a completely unnecessary crisis that was entirely of its own creation.
“This deal proves that if we all procrastinate long and hard enough, we can semi-solve any self-inflicted problem at the very last minute in a way that satisfies no one,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).
But even as Sen. McConnell basked in self-congratulation, he warned Congress against the complacency that could come with having sort of fixed its own completely avoidable mess.
“This is a new year, and much work remains to be done,” he said. “It’s up to us to concoct entirely new optional disasters that we will have to undo at some later date in a more or less half-assed way.”
In a related story, an arsonist received an award for putting out his own fire.
Oh, man…I can’t believe my taxes are going up. Goddamnit! Why the fuck have I’ve been giving you Repubs all this money? My corporation’s feelings are hurt.
We are adding to the debt AND increasing taxes and people are acting like something is getting resolved…lol…it’s just too funny for words.
By the way, for one of the commenters above, we haven’t been “stealing” from Social Security because it has never been a “trust fund” as one would normally consider it in the financial world. Our gov’t has distorted the meaning of “trust fund” in this instance(surprised?) and it is universally understood to be a “pay as you go system”…which is why some rightfully call it a “ponzi scheme”.
There is no pile of money anywhere, regardless of the years whether it was off or on budget it makes no difference…those are simply credits/debits.
So you can’t “steal” from something that doesn’t exist:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund
ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths.html
(see myth #4, notice they admit there is no “trust fund” in the beginning, but later call the “pay as you go” system a “Trust Fund”…lol)
Btw, my favority tax subsidy to come out so far in the fiscal cliff deal in the one to railroads…which Buffett bought into heavily the other year…lol…how prescient of my favorite crony capitalist.
nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar.html?fc
A nice little list for those who don’t know of them.
Obama has not yet even been given a chance to fuck up his own name again while taking the oath of office and he’s down right giddy about breaking his promise to not raise taxes on the middle class.
Yes we can!
You call? I was busy bashing T Brains over on the sports posts.