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Monday, December 31, 2012
Bait and Switch: In face of fiscal cliff, Obama demands spending boost for 2013 Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/31/bait-and-switch-in-face-of-fiscal-cliff-obama-demands-spending-boost-for-2013/#ixzz2GgYPcLpx
Under the deal, planned tax increases on middle-class Americans would be cancelled, but Obama insisted on raising tax rates on Americans earning more than $400,000 per year.
“They’re holding that [deal] hostage” to boost 2013 spending, GOP Sen. Bob Corker said shortly after Obama lauded the pending agreement.
“The tax piece is complete and done as of last evening at 1:45 a.m. I thought the entire deal was sealed. Early this morning, the White House called demanding that we also turn off the sequester,” said the email, signed “Mitch.”
The sequester refers to scheduled cuts in spending during the first nine months of 2013. Half of the $109 billion in cuts are to be imposed on the Pentagon.
Republicans are seeking budget cuts to reduce the federal government’s annual deficit of $1 trillion, and also to trim the size and reach of government.
In response to Obama’s last-minute demand, McConnell offered to find other spending cuts, according to the email.
“I have recommended that we look to find offsets to buy down two months of the sequester and have offered several ways to pay for this,” McConnell wrote.
However, “the White House has yet to find a way to agree to any of $100 billion of various proposals that I have suggested but we are continuing to talk. I intend to bring us all together as soon as this issue is resolved to talk in greater detail.”
Obama’s demand for removal of the sequester — which he first proposed in 2011 — is likely to antagonize GOP leaders who want to trim federal spending.
In contrast, progressives want to increase spending that broadens the reach of government.
The president’s negotiating position may also torpedo the pending fiscal cliff deal, in part, because that deal raises taxes by roughly $700 billion over 10 years, but does not trim federal spending.
In a brief floor speech at 2:50 p.m., McConnell urged quick passage of the tax deal, saying the Senate should not “hold up protecting Americans from the tax hike that will take place in about 10 hours.”
But he downplayed the disagreement over Obama’s demand for extra 2013 spending. After passage of the tax deal, he said, legislators can work “on smarter ways to fight spending.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/31/bait-and-switch-in-face-of-fiscal-cliff-obama-demands-spending-boost-for-2013/#ixzz2GgYYqCj8
Krauthammer: Obama showed ‘incredible arrogance’ in ‘astonishing’ press conference [VIDEO] Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/31/krauthammer-obama-showed-incredible-arrogance-in-astonishing-press-conference-video/#ixzz2GgXb5BAj
Politics
Krauthammer: Obama showed ‘incredible arrogance’ in ‘astonishing’ press conference [VIDEO]
7:43 PM 12/31/2012
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer voiced his displeasure over President Barack Obama’s New Year’s Eve press conference, which came during intense fiscal cliff negotiations on Capitol Hill.
“I found it astonishing,” Krauthammer said. “Here he is — coming out to speak to the nation at a crucial moment in very delicate negotiations — and he comes out there with incredible arrogance. He ridicules the Congress. He spikes the football on the Republicans. He rubs in the fact that they were resisting a raise in rates and he made them do it. And of course, as always, he places himself hovering benignly at an Olympian level above the fray, where the children are playing in the sandbox, and he is asking that everybody be reasonable, as if he just arrived in Washington on a tourist visa.”
Krauthammer said Obama is intent on going over the fiscal cliff.
“And then he goes into detail, where he basically says I’m giving the Republicans zero on spending, and I mean zero — not even discretionary spending,” Krauthammer said. ”If there are any spending cuts in the future, there is going to have to be an increase — a further increase in taxes
on the rich. Of course, it’s always millionaires that will balance out those spending cuts. He laid out a radically oppositionist position, gleefully. And I think he wants to go over the cliff, and dare the Republicans to take the blame.”
on the rich. Of course, it’s always millionaires that will balance out those spending cuts. He laid out a radically oppositionist position, gleefully. And I think he wants to go over the cliff, and dare the Republicans to take the blame.”Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/31/krauthammer-obama-showed-incredible-arrogance-in-astonishing-press-conference-video/#ixzz2GgXhP0mk
Happy New Year Middle Class: The Fiscal Cliff Is Going To Rip You To Shreds
The middle class has quite a gift welcoming them as the calendar flips over to 2013. Their payroll taxes are going to go up, their income taxes are going to go up, and approximately 28 million households are going to be hit with a huge, unexpected AMT tax bill on their 2012 earnings. So happy New Year middle class! You are about to be ripped to shreds. In addition to the tax increases that I just mentioned, approximately two million unemployed Americans will instantly lose their extended unemployment benefits when 2013 begins, and new Obamacare tax hikes which will cost American taxpayers about a trillion dollars over the next decade will start to go into effect. If Congress is not able to come to some sort of a deal, all middle class families in America will be sending thousands more dollars to Uncle Sam next year than they were previously. And considering the fact that the middle class is already steadily shrinkingand that the U.S. economy is already in an advanced state of decline, that is not good news. You would think that both major political parties would want to do something to keep the middle class from being hit with this kind of tax sledgehammer. Unfortunately, at this point it appears that our "leaders" in Washington D.C. are incapable of getting anything done. So get ready for much smaller paychecks and much larger tax bills. What is coming is not going to be pleasant.
So what happened?
Weren't the tax increases only supposed to be for the wealthy?
Well, that is what the politicians always promise, but it is always the middle class that ends up getting hit the hardest.
In this day and age, the big corporations and the ultra-wealthy are absolute masters at avoiding taxes.
For example, Facebook paid approximately $4.64 million in taxes on their entire foreign profits of $1.344 billion for 2011.
That comes out to a tax rate of about 0.3 percent.
Overall, the global elite have approximately 18 trillion dollars parked in offshore tax havens such as the Cayman Islands.
Keep in mind that U.S. GDP for 2011 was only slightly above 15 trillion dollars.
So the global elite have an amount of money parked in offshore banks that is substantially larger than the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States each year.
According to one estimate, a third of all the wealth in the entire world is stationed in offshore banks. Our politicians are playing checkers and the global elite are playing chess when it comes to taxes. Our current system of taxation is irreversibly broken and should be entirely thrown out and replaced with something else.
And of course under our current system those that are poor don't pay much in taxes because they are just trying to survive.
So who always ends up getting the painful end of the hammer?
The middle class does, and that really stinks.
Let us hope and pray that our politicians can come together and do something for the middle class. In particular, we should all be screaming and yelling at our politicians about the Alternative Minimum Tax. It was originally designed as a method to "tax the rich", but unless Congress does something the middle class is about to be ripped to shreds by it. The following is from a recent CNBC article about the AMT...
In a cruel epilogue to 2012, roughly 28 million families would owe the IRS $86 billion more than they anticipated for this year should the country plunge off the cliff, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.Those families would face the "Alternative Minimum Tax," which was introduced in 1969 to supposedly guarantee that wealthy Americans could not elude the taxman. But the AMT not only flopped, it was never indexed to inflation. So with each passing year, it seeps away from high society and into the wallets of Target and Wal-Mart shoppers. That sets up a disaster for April 15.
So how much money are we talking about?
According to that same article, many families are about to be socked by tax bills that will be absolutely huge...
On the whole, 98 percent of those with incomes between $200,000 to $500,000 would pay an additional $11,000 in AMT this year, according to the center's estimates. About 88 percent of those with incomes of $100,000 to $200,000 would need to fork over another $3100, and even the majority of Americans with earnings between $75,000 and $100,000 would have an AMT liability.
Most of the tax increases that will be coming as a result of the fiscal cliff will be for 2013 earnings, but the AMT tax hike will apply to 2012 earnings. So if you end up falling under the AMT, you better get ready to write a very large check to Uncle Sam in just a couple of months.
And the AMT is only just one of the very painful tax increases that American families will be facing. If no deal is reached in Congress, every single middle class American taxpayer will be dealing with significantly higher taxes.
A recent ABC News report entitled "Fiscal Cliff: By The Numbers" detailed some of the other tax increases that you can expect in 2013...
So why don't our politicians do something about all of this?
What are they fighting so bitterly about anyway?
Sadly, neither side is actually serious about substantially reducing the size of government deficits or about getting government spending under control.
During a recent interview on CNBC, Ron Paul explained that "they pretend they are fighting up there, but they really aren't. They are arguing over power, spin, who looks good, who looks bad; all trying to preserve the system where they can spend what they want, take care of their friends and print money when they need it."
Most in the mainstream media are making it sound like some kind of a "battle royal" is going on in Washington, but as Lou Dobbs recently pointed out, the U.S. national debt is going to end up in just about the same place no matter what happens.
According to Dobbs, if we "do nothing" the U.S. national debt will be approximately 25.8 trillion dollars in 2022.
If "Obama wins", the U.S. national debt will be approximately 25.4 trillion dollars in 2022.
If "Boehner wins", the U.S. national debt will be approximately 25.2 trillion dollars in 2022.
You can watch the entire analysis by Lou Dobbs right here...
So they are putting all of us through all of this torture even though nothing will really change in the long run no matter who wins?
What kind of a circus is this?
Meanwhile, the reckless spending continues.
Barack Obama has just issued a new executive order that ends the pay freeze for federal workers that had been in place.
So now all federal employees will be getting a nice hefty pay raise.
For example, Vice President Joe Biden brought in $225,521 this year.
Next year, he will make $231,900.
Not that our politicians really need the money. Most members of Congress are millionaires anyway. But if they can get us to pay for it, they might as well go for it, eh?
There are now close to half a million federal employees that bring homeat least $100,000 a year. Plus, it is important to keep in mind that the benefits that federal employees get are absolutely outstanding, and it is close to impossible to actually fire a federal worker.
Life is good if you are working for Uncle Sam.
Meanwhile, our politicians seem determined to keep draining more blood out of the middle class. Even if a "deal" is reached, we will still be hit by some categories of tax increases. Let's just hope and pray that we don't get hit by all of the tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect. That would be a financial disaster for millions of families.
So happy New Year middle class. Your taxes are about to go through the roof and our politicians are too busy fighting with each other to do anything about it.
What else will 2013 bring?
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/happy-new-year-middle-class-the-fiscal-cliff-is-going-to-rip-you-to-shreds
OBAMA SCUTTLES 'FISCAL CLIFF' DEAL?
This afternoon, in one of the more bizarre appearances of his presidency, Barack Obama gave a televised address to a room full of supporters on the "fiscal cliff." He broke no news, but mocked Congress, and hinted at future tax hikes. Observers worried that he may have deliberately scuttled a potential agreement.
Even though he has come off his last campaign for political office, President Obama acted like a candidate on the campaign trail--one prepared to use whatever political capital he had accumulated to take shots at the opposition in Congress at the very moment leaders from both sides are trying to work together.
Less a President, Obama behaved more like an ESPN talking-head making fun of RG III's knee injury.
Obama's address, which you can watch below, was held basically to announce that some other people are working on solving the "fiscal cliff" crisis. They are close, Obama reported, but they aren't quite there yet. He then proceeded to make some jokes about Congress, to warm applause from his selected audience. Smug doesn't come close to capturing the true nature of his tone.
What Obama's presser did reveal, however, was that never-ending tax hikes are on the table for the next four years. Obama said that, beyond any deal Congress may reach on the "fiscal cliff", we will have to take further steps to address our debt and deficit. That is obviously true, as any possible deal won't really deal with spending cuts. But, Obama said that, going forward, we will have to continue to have a "balanced" approach and ask the wealthy to contribute more.
Obama said he will continue to ask for "shared sacrifice" for "as long as I'm President. And, I'm going to be President for four more years." Tellingly, this "sacrifice" always includes more taxes, rather than cuts in spending.
To anyone who wondered whether Obama wanted the "cliff" talks to fail, this afternoon's presser provided the answer. If the GOP thinks it can cede some ground on taxes and then move on to debating spending, Obama, this afternoon, put that notion to rest. Obama will treat ALL future talks on deficit reduction as opportunities to increase taxes. Anything the GOP agrees to in the next 24 hours is simply a down-payment on what Obama wants.
I have long noted that repealing the Bush-era tax cuts doesn't come anywhere close to plugging our deficit. Obama, today, agreed with that. He signaled that, as long as he's President, further tax hikes will always be on the table. In doing so, he undermined all the work that's been done in Congress this weekend.
Obama may have just scuttled any real "fiscal cliff" deal.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/31/obama-scuttles-fiscal-cliff-deal
McMorris Rodgers: Obama Using ‘Smoke-and-Mirror Numbers’ in Fiscal Talks Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/mcmorris-rodgers-obama-fiscal/2012/12/06/id/466818#ixzz2GgNCdDe0 Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers declared in an exclusive Newsmax TV interview that the nearly $3 trillion in cuts that President Barack Obama claims to have already made in his plan to cut the federal deficit over 10 years are “really smoke-and-mirror numbers.”
“Now, this was news to everyone,” McMorris Rodgers, the House Republican Conference Chairwoman, tells Newsmax. “The president has been running up a record deficit — and now he’s suggesting that there’s been all of these cuts.
“Look at the record: A $1 trillion-plus deficit every year’s he been in office, and trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, nearly a doubling of our debt.
“He hasn’t cut the cost of healthcare or healthcare costs,” McMorris Rodgers added. “His program’s going to cost us more — and for him to be suggesting that he’s reducing and saving taxpayer dollars is just false.”
Obama also has not taken a leadership role in the negotiations to reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff scheduled for the end of the year.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of communication right now between the president and the speaker, between the staff — and what we need is for the president to get serious,” McMorris Rodgers said. “We need to have these good-faith negotiations. We’ve known for over a year that this day was coming, and it’s not acceptable to go over the fiscal cliff. It would be devastating to our economy.
“We don’t want to go over the fiscal cliff. It would hurt all Americans. And yet, recently, we heard Secretary Geithner say it would be OK to go over the fiscal cliff. This is the Treasury Secretary of the United States saying it would be OK. It would not be OK.”
Story continues below the video.
Geithner told CNBC on Wednesday that the Obama White House was “absolutely” willing to go over the fiscal cliff if Republicans refused to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.
“I see it as the administration not being serious,” McMorris Rodgers tells Newsmax. “They’re still in campaign mode. We see the president continuing to campaign — and the day after the election, Speaker Boehner went to the podium and he said that, as Republicans, we’re willing to put revenue on the table.
“What the Republicans are calling for is tax reform. The president’s been focused on the top 2 percent and their tax rate. It’s interesting to know we could tax them at 100 percent, and it would fund the federal government for 91 days. The focus on the top 2 percent is really a straw man. It doesn’t solve the problem.
“We need a simple, fairer tax code for all Americans — for the middle class — and that’s the way we can also help get our economy growing again.”
Neither side has specified which entitlement programs should be cut or tax programs eliminated — and McMorris Rodgers also declined to identify where certain reductions should be made.
“The Republicans have put a framework together and that’s where you start,” she said. “You start by agreeing to what the framework would be. And we presented to the president a framework that included both new tax revenue as well as the spending reductions, the entitlement reforms that are needed in order to make sure that these programs are in place and are safe for many years to come.
“The reality is that we need to be doing the big things. This is our moment to address these big issues, these pressing problems that face America — and we need a real fix, not just a quick fix, and it needs to be comprehensive.
“We need to look at the tax reform. We need to look at the spending, the entitlement reform, debt,” McMorris Rodgers added. “Avoiding the fiscal cliff doesn’t solve the problem. We need to solve these problems now. That’s what America wants. They want the leadership by Republicans and Democrats on these issues so that we don’t find ourselves in this situation another three months or a year from now.”
The negotiations should be private — and, maybe, on Capitol Hill instead of at the White House, McMorris Rodgers said.
“These are going to be difficult negotiations. The current approach, unfortunately, in public, which is one proposal versus another, that isn’t the way to negotiate. We need to sit down, face-to-face at the table, sitting across from each other.
“It’s very frustrating that the president seems to continue to be in campaign mode,” McMorris Rodgers reiterated. “He’s having these negotiations on the campaign trail — and what we need is for him to get serious and come to the table so that we can really start hammering it out.”And, as for Obama coming to Capitol Hill, “It would be a step in the right direction, if we could at least open the lines of communication and start those negotiations,” McMorris Rodgers said. “And the sooner, the better. There’s no reason to continue this uncertainty for middle-class Americans, for our job creators, for our economy. They need certainty.”
She cited the 1983 negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill that led to the bipartisan Social Security compromise as an example that both parties can work together.
“That’s the type of approach we need today,” McMorris Rodgers said. “But it starts with the president recognizing that he needs to lead — coming to the table and having those types of negotiations.”
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/mcmorris-rodgers-obama-fiscal/2012/12/06/id/466818#ixzz2GgNIM2Ne
“Now, this was news to everyone,” McMorris Rodgers, the House Republican Conference Chairwoman, tells Newsmax. “The president has been running up a record deficit — and now he’s suggesting that there’s been all of these cuts.
“Look at the record: A $1 trillion-plus deficit every year’s he been in office, and trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, nearly a doubling of our debt.
“He hasn’t cut the cost of healthcare or healthcare costs,” McMorris Rodgers added. “His program’s going to cost us more — and for him to be suggesting that he’s reducing and saving taxpayer dollars is just false.”
Obama also has not taken a leadership role in the negotiations to reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff scheduled for the end of the year.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of communication right now between the president and the speaker, between the staff — and what we need is for the president to get serious,” McMorris Rodgers said. “We need to have these good-faith negotiations. We’ve known for over a year that this day was coming, and it’s not acceptable to go over the fiscal cliff. It would be devastating to our economy.
“We don’t want to go over the fiscal cliff. It would hurt all Americans. And yet, recently, we heard Secretary Geithner say it would be OK to go over the fiscal cliff. This is the Treasury Secretary of the United States saying it would be OK. It would not be OK.”
Story continues below the video.
Geithner told CNBC on Wednesday that the Obama White House was “absolutely” willing to go over the fiscal cliff if Republicans refused to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.
“I see it as the administration not being serious,” McMorris Rodgers tells Newsmax. “They’re still in campaign mode. We see the president continuing to campaign — and the day after the election, Speaker Boehner went to the podium and he said that, as Republicans, we’re willing to put revenue on the table.
“What the Republicans are calling for is tax reform. The president’s been focused on the top 2 percent and their tax rate. It’s interesting to know we could tax them at 100 percent, and it would fund the federal government for 91 days. The focus on the top 2 percent is really a straw man. It doesn’t solve the problem.
“We need a simple, fairer tax code for all Americans — for the middle class — and that’s the way we can also help get our economy growing again.”
Neither side has specified which entitlement programs should be cut or tax programs eliminated — and McMorris Rodgers also declined to identify where certain reductions should be made.
“The Republicans have put a framework together and that’s where you start,” she said. “You start by agreeing to what the framework would be. And we presented to the president a framework that included both new tax revenue as well as the spending reductions, the entitlement reforms that are needed in order to make sure that these programs are in place and are safe for many years to come.
“The reality is that we need to be doing the big things. This is our moment to address these big issues, these pressing problems that face America — and we need a real fix, not just a quick fix, and it needs to be comprehensive.
“We need to look at the tax reform. We need to look at the spending, the entitlement reform, debt,” McMorris Rodgers added. “Avoiding the fiscal cliff doesn’t solve the problem. We need to solve these problems now. That’s what America wants. They want the leadership by Republicans and Democrats on these issues so that we don’t find ourselves in this situation another three months or a year from now.”
The negotiations should be private — and, maybe, on Capitol Hill instead of at the White House, McMorris Rodgers said.
“These are going to be difficult negotiations. The current approach, unfortunately, in public, which is one proposal versus another, that isn’t the way to negotiate. We need to sit down, face-to-face at the table, sitting across from each other.
“It’s very frustrating that the president seems to continue to be in campaign mode,” McMorris Rodgers reiterated. “He’s having these negotiations on the campaign trail — and what we need is for him to get serious and come to the table so that we can really start hammering it out.”And, as for Obama coming to Capitol Hill, “It would be a step in the right direction, if we could at least open the lines of communication and start those negotiations,” McMorris Rodgers said. “And the sooner, the better. There’s no reason to continue this uncertainty for middle-class Americans, for our job creators, for our economy. They need certainty.”
She cited the 1983 negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill that led to the bipartisan Social Security compromise as an example that both parties can work together.
“That’s the type of approach we need today,” McMorris Rodgers said. “But it starts with the president recognizing that he needs to lead — coming to the table and having those types of negotiations.”
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/mcmorris-rodgers-obama-fiscal/2012/12/06/id/466818#ixzz2GgNIM2Ne
Corker: Cliff Deal Won't Dent Deficit
Obama is saying that he will be saving the money from the war and reinvest it.....Its not there to spend, Its borrowed! No savings whatsoever!
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., thinks Democrats and Republicans will be able to hash out an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff, but he doesn’t believe that accord will have much impact on the budget deficit.
“Whatever happens today is really inconsequential,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday, referring to negotiations about the cliff. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen. We will have a solution.”
Later he told Politico, “The solution that we’ll ultimately vote on isn’t going to have an impact on long-term deficits.”
The fact that a deal likely wouldn’t deal with entitlements would prevent it from doing much about the deficit, Corker says. He’s already begun to shift his focus to the debt ceiling issue. The debt limit will have to be raised early next year to keep the government from defaulting.
“I do hope that during this debt ceiling debate, we’ll actually get into the kind of entitlement reforms that our nation needs to solve its problems,” he told MSNBC. “This is a lot of fuss about nothing today, unless you make between $350,000 a year and $550,000. That’s all that’s being discussed.”
Corker’s optimism about a deal being reached apparently is shared by the stock market, which was slightly higher late Monday morning. “I think we will get a deal. How do we sort that out and the tightening effect on the economy, that will be what the market responds to after the deal,” Walter Hellwig, a money manager at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Ala., told Bloomberg.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/corker-fiscal-cliff-deficit/2012/12/31/id/469553#ixzz2GgMg331m
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., thinks Democrats and Republicans will be able to hash out an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff, but he doesn’t believe that accord will have much impact on the budget deficit.
“Whatever happens today is really inconsequential,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday, referring to negotiations about the cliff. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen. We will have a solution.”
Later he told Politico, “The solution that we’ll ultimately vote on isn’t going to have an impact on long-term deficits.”
The fact that a deal likely wouldn’t deal with entitlements would prevent it from doing much about the deficit, Corker says. He’s already begun to shift his focus to the debt ceiling issue. The debt limit will have to be raised early next year to keep the government from defaulting.
“I do hope that during this debt ceiling debate, we’ll actually get into the kind of entitlement reforms that our nation needs to solve its problems,” he told MSNBC. “This is a lot of fuss about nothing today, unless you make between $350,000 a year and $550,000. That’s all that’s being discussed.”
Corker’s optimism about a deal being reached apparently is shared by the stock market, which was slightly higher late Monday morning. “I think we will get a deal. How do we sort that out and the tightening effect on the economy, that will be what the market responds to after the deal,” Walter Hellwig, a money manager at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Ala., told Bloomberg.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/corker-fiscal-cliff-deficit/2012/12/31/id/469553#ixzz2GgMg331m
Corker Slams Obama for 'Pep Rally' Comments
This Idiot should be working with congress instead of out Campaigning again with Props. He needs to be a Leader.....not a Divider! The House Passed an extension of the Busch tax rates , and The Liberal Idiot in the House never brought it up to a vote! So who's fault is this??
Republicans attacked President Barack Obama on Monday for his public comments on talks to avoid the looming fiscal cliff — saying the president’s remarks may have hurt prospects for a deal.
“I just listened to the president and my heart is still pounding,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said on the Senate floor minutes after Obama called on Congress to work to complete an agreement.
Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are in talks on a deal to avert more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 2.
Corker said Obama’s speech was part of a “pep rally” and warned that it might cost him votes when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives votes on any fiscal cliff deal, the Hill reports.
“I was very disappointed to hear what the president had to say in front of a pep rally," Corker said. “I know the president has fun heckling Congress, but I think he probably lost a number of votes with this.”
At the White House before a group identified as “middle-class taxpayers,” Obama made it clear that any future bids to reduce the deficit would have to come both from revenue increases and spending cuts "at least as long as I'm president, and I'm going to be president for the next four years, I hope."
He said Republicans seem to think deficit reduction will come through spending cuts alone. "If they think that is the formula for how we solve this thing, they have got another thing coming," Obama said. That’s not how it’s going to work."
The audience repeatedly applauded as Obama criticized Congress, saying it always seems to make decisions at the last possible moment.
But his criticism did not sit well with Corker and other GOP members. Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Obama was essentially mocking Republicans amid the sensitive negotiations.
"What did the President of the United States just do?" the 2008 presidential candidate asked. "He sent a message of confrontation to Republicans.
"I guess I have to wonder — and I think the American people have to wonder — whether the president really wants this issue resolved, or is it to his short-term political benefit to go over the cliff?"
The president’s remarks would "clearly antagonize" House Republicans, McCain said. The GOP controls the House.
"What he was saying is … take it or leave it," McCain said. "That's not the way presidents should lead."
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Corker-Obama-pep-rally/2012/12/31/id/469585#ixzz2GgJU82PJ
Republicans attacked President Barack Obama on Monday for his public comments on talks to avoid the looming fiscal cliff — saying the president’s remarks may have hurt prospects for a deal.
“I just listened to the president and my heart is still pounding,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said on the Senate floor minutes after Obama called on Congress to work to complete an agreement.
Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are in talks on a deal to avert more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 2.
Corker said Obama’s speech was part of a “pep rally” and warned that it might cost him votes when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives votes on any fiscal cliff deal, the Hill reports.
“I was very disappointed to hear what the president had to say in front of a pep rally," Corker said. “I know the president has fun heckling Congress, but I think he probably lost a number of votes with this.”
At the White House before a group identified as “middle-class taxpayers,” Obama made it clear that any future bids to reduce the deficit would have to come both from revenue increases and spending cuts "at least as long as I'm president, and I'm going to be president for the next four years, I hope."
He said Republicans seem to think deficit reduction will come through spending cuts alone. "If they think that is the formula for how we solve this thing, they have got another thing coming," Obama said. That’s not how it’s going to work."
The audience repeatedly applauded as Obama criticized Congress, saying it always seems to make decisions at the last possible moment.
But his criticism did not sit well with Corker and other GOP members. Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Obama was essentially mocking Republicans amid the sensitive negotiations.
"What did the President of the United States just do?" the 2008 presidential candidate asked. "He sent a message of confrontation to Republicans.
"I guess I have to wonder — and I think the American people have to wonder — whether the president really wants this issue resolved, or is it to his short-term political benefit to go over the cliff?"
The president’s remarks would "clearly antagonize" House Republicans, McCain said. The GOP controls the House.
"What he was saying is … take it or leave it," McCain said. "That's not the way presidents should lead."
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Corker-Obama-pep-rally/2012/12/31/id/469585#ixzz2GgJU82PJ
Sunday, December 30, 2012
$1 Trillion Obamacare Tax Hike Hitting on Jan. 1 Read more: http://atr.org/trillion-obamacare-tax-hike-hitting-jan-a7393#ixzz2GaklwjTD Follow us: @taxreformer on Twitter
On January 1, regardless of the outcome of fiscal cliff negotiations, Americans will be hit with a $1 trillion Obamacare tax hike.
Obamacare contains twenty new or higher taxes. Five of the taxes hit for the first time on January 1. In total, Americans face a net $1 trillion tax hike for the years 2013-2022, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The five major Obamacare taxes taking effect on January 1 are as follows:
The Obamacare Medical Device Tax: Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. Obamacare imposes a new 2.3 percent excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit in a given year. In addition to killing small business jobs and impacting research and development budgets, this will increase the cost of your health care – making everything from pacemakers to artificial hips more expensive.
The Obamacare Flex Account Tax: The 30-35 million Americans who use a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs will face a new government cap of $2500. This will squeeze $13 billion of tax money from Americans over the next ten years. (Currently, the accounts are unlimited under federal law, though employers are allowed to set a cap.)
There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are several million families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. This Obamacare tax provision will limit the options available to these families.
The Obamacare Surtax on Investment Income: This is a new, 3.8 percentage point surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income:
Capital Gains
|
Dividends
|
Other*
| |
2012
|
15%
|
15%
|
35%
|
2013+ (current law)
|
23.8%
|
43.4%
|
43.4%
|
The table above also incorporates the scheduled hike in the capital gains rate from 15 to 20 percent, and the scheduled hike in dividends rate from 15 to 39.6 percent.
The Obamacare “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deductions: Currently, those Americans facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). This tax increase imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. By limiting this deduction, Obamacare widens the net of taxable income for the sickest Americans. This tax provision will most harm near retirees and those with modest incomes but high medical bills.
The Obamacare Medicare Payroll Tax Hike: The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9 percent on all wages and self-employment profits. Under this tax hike, wages and profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8 percent rate instead. This is a direct marginal income tax hike on small business owners, who are liable for self-employment tax in most cases. The table below compares current law vs. the Obamacare Medicare Payroll Tax Hike:
First $200,000
($250,000 Married) Employer/Employee |
All Remaining Wages
Employer/Employee | |
Current Law
|
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed |
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed |
Obamacare Tax Hike
|
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed |
1.45%/2.35%
3.8% self-employed |
Read more: http://atr.org/trillion-obamacare-tax-hike-hitting-jan-a7393#ixzz2GaksJgCy
Follow us: @taxreformer on Twitter
Lawyer Sues State Of Connecticut For $100 Million Over Sandy Hook Massacre
What Load of Crap!! It would have taken more than an Intercom to protect the Kids from a Determined Psycho!
Someone is looking for money............what cold hearted bastards
Someone is looking for money............what cold hearted bastards
New Haven attorney Irving Pinsky is suing the state of Connecticut for $100 million following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The suit is on behalf of a 6-year-old Newtown resident who was “traumatized” by screams and gunshots he heard over the school’s intercom system.
Pinsky says the suit is about improving school security, not about money. “It’s about living in a world that’s safe,” he told The Associated PressSaturday.
The suit requires permission from the state, because Connecticut has immunity against most claims unless it specifically allows a party to go forward. As yet, Pinsky has received no response for his request.
The client is named as “Jill Doe” and the suit alleges she sustained “emotional and psychological trauma and injury” following the Newtown shooting. She heard “conversations, gunfire and screaming” over the school’s intercom after someone in the office switched it on. According to the complaint, the Board of Education, Department of Education and state Education Commissioner are at fault for failing to protect the child “from foreseeable harm” by not providing a safe school setting.
The suit also alleges each of the responsible parties did not review annual school profile reports as well as “other submissions with respect to student safety and emergency response planning and protocol.” It claims the parties did not require the school and local Board of Education to implement an effective emergency response plan.
Pinsky said he does not want to reveal more information about his client because of his privacy concerns.
Time notes that it’s unclear whether the intercom was switched on deliberately, but doing so may have given teachers the notice they needed to protect themselves and their students from the shooter.
So what is this idiot Lawyers solution??? Armed security?
http://www.mediaite.com/online/lawyer-sues-state-of-connecticut-for-100-million-over-sandy-hook-massacre/
OBAMA TO DEBT-STRICKEN, MURDER-RIDDEN ILLINOIS: 'LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE!'
Illinois has all other problems, and he has the nerve to bring this Crap up! I say there is more pressing issues affecting Illinois right now!
President Barack Obama is encouraging legislators in his home state of Illinois to legalize gay marriage this week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The state only just established civil unions earlier in this legislative term.
"While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday."As he has said, his personal view is that it's wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally," Inouye said.
Obama never advocated for civil unions or gay marriage during his eight years as a state senator (1997-2005).
The urgency with which the state's Democrat-dominated legislature has taken up the issue of gay marriage over the past two years contrasts sharply with its refusal to tackle the pressing problem of state debt. Illinois has the lowest debt rating of any state, according tosome ratings agencies, and has the nation's worst public pension crisis, with unfunded liabilities approaching $100 billion. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) raised income taxes 66% two years ago, which barely made a dent in the state's deficits but was quickly followed by the nation's worst job losses.
Obama has not urged the state to deal with its deficits, debts, and pensions, nor did he do so as a state senator.
In addition, Obama's adopted home town of Chicago has now logged 500 homicides for 2012. The killings have continued despite the fact that Chicago gun control laws are among the toughest in the nation. Local leaders have grumbled for four years that Obama has done nothing to help stop the violence--neither signing laws nor using the bully pulpit of the presidency. Obama's former chief of staff, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has been reduced topleading with gangsters not to target small children, appealing to their shared "values."
Obama famously missed a key gun control vote in December 1999, when he was on vacation in Hawaii instead of working in Springfield, the state capital. The Safe Neighborhoods Act failed by just a few votes, and the ensuing furor may have cost him his primary race for U.S. Congress against incumbent Rep. Bobby Rush.
Yet Obama has never made amends as President by addressing the ongoing violence in Chicago.
In sum: Obama, who cannot be bothered to address his home state's fiscal, economic and social crises, who did nothing about these issues or about gay marriage when he was a state legislator, and who only recently "evolved" to accept gay marriage, now demands that Illinois pass its second gay marriage bill this term.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/30/Obama-to-Debt-Stricken-Murder-Ridden-Illinois-Legalize-Gay-Marriage
Obama on Meet the Press.......
David Gregory Probably had a Bib on his lap to keep his pants dry from his own drooling!
Here is some Links of Obama with Gregory Kissing his Ass again with stupid questions that a third grader could answer.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/12/30/David-Gregory-on-Obama-The-President-Did-Not-Strike-Me-as-Overly-Worried-About-Going-Over-the-Cliff
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/12/30/Obama-On-Benghazi-3-Months-Later-Sloppiness-But-We-Have-Some-Very-Good-Leads
Obama is No Lincoln!!
Here is some Links of Obama with Gregory Kissing his Ass again with stupid questions that a third grader could answer.
DAVID GREGORY ON OBAMA INTERVIEW: ‘THE PRESIDENT DID NOT STRIKE ME AS OVERLY WORRIED ABOUT GOING OVER THE CLIFF
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/12/30/David-Gregory-on-Obama-The-President-Did-Not-Strike-Me-as-Overly-Worried-About-Going-Over-the-Cliff
OBAMA ON BENGHAZI 3 MONTHS LATER: 'SLOPPINESS' BUT 'WE HAVE SOME VERY GOOD LEADS'
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/12/30/Obama-On-Benghazi-3-Months-Later-Sloppiness-But-We-Have-Some-Very-Good-Leads
OBAMA ON GUN CONTROL: 'THERE WILL BE RESISTANCE'
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/30/Obama-On-Gun-Control-There-Will-Be-Resistance
DAVID GREGORY FAWNS OVER OBAMA'S 'LINCOLN MOMENT'
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/12/30/David-Gregory-Fawns-Over-Obama-s-Lincoln-Moment
Obama is No Lincoln!!
The 10 most embarrassing examples of media coverage in 2012 Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/12/29/10-most-embarrassing-examples-media-coverage-in-2012/#ixzz2GaTx0rBu
The year is coming to a close. Thank goodness.
Maybe in 2013 we won’t have to worry about Honey Boo Boo, Gangnam Style, Kony 2012 and Mayans. Those topics and more were the ephemera of the year. While Democrats and Republicans were fighting to see which party could run America, the traditional media were trying to run it into the ground by consistently taking a one-sided approach to coverage.
On every major news story of the year – abortion, gay marriage, the economy, the fiscal cliff and guns – major media outlets consistently and openly sided with the left. Gone was any pretense of neutrality. From the media’s campaign against Mitt Romney to their campaign for gun control, the bias of the press was never worse.
Picking out bad media moments is like looking for egos in Washington or corruption in Congress. Here are the year’s lowlights:
10. The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife: Journalists love anything that tears down Christianity. Give them a spicy tale of Jesus’s wife and they treat it like it’s, well, gospel. The New York Times front-paged a story about a cell phone-sized scrap of papyrus that included the phrase: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife…’” CBS reporter Allen Pizzey claimed
it “challenges the very foundation of Christian thinking.” When the Smithsonianpulled a planned documentary and experts said they thought the papyrus was bogus, journalists were reluctant to report that news.
it “challenges the very foundation of Christian thinking.” When the Smithsonianpulled a planned documentary and experts said they thought the papyrus was bogus, journalists were reluctant to report that news.
9. $1.2 Billion Reasons to Complain About ABC: Jim Avila’s crusade against a meat company led to at least 2,000 lost jobs and more than half a billion dollars in economic damage. After that, we know where the beef is – in court. Beef Products Inc. is suing ABC for $1.2 billion for reporting that took a popular form of lean beef and rebranded it as “pink slime.” ABC’s agenda-based reporting gets dragged into the light for all to see. BPI’s operation is clean and professional. Can ABC say the same?
for reporting that took a popular form of lean beef and rebranded it as “pink slime.” ABC’s agenda-based reporting gets dragged into the light for all to see. BPI’s operation is clean and professional. Can ABC say the same?
8. It’s All Racism: From MSNBC’s Touré to ESPN’s Rob Parker everything in post-racial America is still racial. Maybe they should focus more on the human race.
everything in post-racial America is still racial. Maybe they should focus more on the human race.
7. Occupying The Media: The Occupy Wall Street revolutionaries might not be in the news as much as they once were, but they still occupy the hearts of many journalists. That includes the riots, arson, violence, a bomb plot, intimidation of police and arrests (7,719 at last count). Journalists said it was America’s “Arab Spring” and despite constant coverage, paid little attention to the movement’s thuggery.
, intimidation of police and arrests (7,719 at last count). Journalists said it was America’s “Arab Spring” and despite constant coverage, paid little attention to the movement’s thuggery.
6. Guns Are Evil, Except When Team Obama Ships Them to Mexico: Shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut, were awful tragedies made far worse by agenda-oriented reporting, especially by CNN. Yet when the “fast and furious” scandal killed up to 300 Mexicans with Obama admin-approved guns, few in the media cared.
5. The War on Women: The media’s war on women has become a self-defining fantasy where any support for traditional marriage, the life of babies or more is anti-womyn. Yet, when New York Times writer Jeré Longman attacks Olympian Lolo Jones just before her big race, he’s being a good custodian of the 1st Amendment.
4. The Deadly Islam Video: The murder of our ambassador to Libya and three others was a great example of how the media cover for the president. CNN’s Candy Crowley actually intervened in the presidential debate to side with Obama and derail discussion of Libya. Journalists followed the president’s lead and blamed a video for murderous protests and even the initial attack, instead of defending free speech.
and even the initial attack, instead of defending free speech.
3. Media Support for Gay Marriage: Newsies looked like an aging cast of “Glee,” with almost every major news organization showing its support for gay marriage. CNN’s Anderson Cooper came out; ABC weather guy Sam Champion even married his boyfriend. But coverage isn’t just about rights, it’s about wrongs – “journalistic” attacks on Chick-fil-A, a shooting against a conservative organization that opposes gay marriage and more.
2. We’re Not Dems, We Just Play Them On TV, and Everywhere Else: Democrats, er, journalists who love Sen. John Kerry, despite his wealth, attacked Mitt Romney for far less wealth on everything even his wife’s rehab horses, as well as his faith. Most media election coverage was more electioneering for Obama than journalism. We finally have a three-party system: Republicans, Democrats and The Media.
1. Let’s Pretend You’re Racist: The Trayvon Martin shooting was a tragedy. NBC’s awful reporting made it worse. Lawyers for George Zimmerman sued NBC after that network’s editing made the man look like a racist. NBC fired three employees but still maintains the video was doctored in an “error” network execs “deeply regret.” They better hope their jury pool won’t be as tainted as the Zimmerman trial.
employees but still maintains the video was doctored in an “error” network execs “deeply regret.” They better hope their jury pool won’t be as tainted as the Zimmerman trial.
Sadly, 2013 will likely be worse.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/12/29/10-most-embarrassing-examples-media-coverage-in-2012/#ixzz2GaU2BV1M
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