tagged w/ Obama Tax Plan
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Bill Clinton undercuts Obama’s economic message about raising the taxes of the wealthiest Americans, telling a conservative magazine the economy must get off the ground first. Just when it seemed President Obama was rallying his Democratic base anew, he still can’t escape the long shadow of his most recent Democratic predecessor.
In an extensive interview with the leading conservative news website Newsmax, former President Bill Clinton undercut Obama’s leading economic message about raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
“I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground,” Clinton said. In just 23 words, Clinton undercut his party’s current standard-bearer—and Obama’s current negotiating chit with Republicans. And to add injury to insult, the silver-tongued, silver-haired 42nd president with the Arkansas drawl did it in a magazine favored by conservative critics of the current president.
And Clinton didn’t stop there. Seizing upon the political paralysis between the White House and Republicans in Congress, Clinton lectured Obama and Republican Speaker John Boehner, calling for them to put aside their differences.
“What I would like to say to the president and Speaker Boehner is, OK, you both have your deal. Go work it out. Meanwhile, focus on putting Americans back to work because it just confused Americans. Americans lost the fact that whatever you feel about this millionaire surcharge, it won’t solve the problem.”
The White House declined to comment on the record regarding the remarks, but a senior spokesman conceded privately Wednesday night to being surprised and displeased. It certainly wasn’t the first time the elder statesman of the Democratic Party brushed up against Obama, publicly body-checking his successor without offering advanced warning to senior White House staff, as tends to be customary in high-level politics, especially among members of the same party.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/21/bill-clinton-snubs-obama-s-millionaire-tax-undercuts-his-economic-message.htmlBill Clinton undercuts Obama’s economic message about raising the taxes of the... more
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Barack Obama has revealed his tax plan and it is a doozy. It would raise taxes by 1.5 trillion dollars over the next decade. Most of these tax increases would hit the wealthy, and Obama keeps insisting that it is time for them "to pay their fair share". Of course Obama knows that the Republicans will never go for this. You see, what is going on is that Obama is laying a trap. First, he laid out a 447 billion dollar "jobs plan" that contained all kinds of goodies for the poor and the middle class. Now he has introduced a massive tax plan which specifically targets millionaires in order to pay for it. The Republicans are falling right into the trap, because instead of introducing fundamental reforms to our tax system, the Republicans have chosen to defend the status quo. Right now our current tax system allows big corporations and the ultra-wealthy to get away with bloody murder, and the Republicans have put themselves into the position of having to defend that. This is exactly what Barack Obama wants. Obama is plotting to use class warfare as a tool to divide Americans and win the 2012 election. There is no way in the world that his current plan is going to get through Congress. What he is doing now is "setting the table" for the 2012 campaign season.Barack Obama has revealed his tax plan and it is a doozy. It would raise taxes by 1.5... more
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“Joe the plumber,” the new face of middle-class America after Sen. John McCain made him famous in Wednesday night’s presidential debate, isn’t technically a plumber, and he probably wouldn’t be adversely affected by Sen. Barack Obama’s tax plan. But the issues he raises are important and worth examining for their impact on small businesses.
Joe the plumber — Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, 34, of suburban Toledo, Ohio — is the first to say that he’s not the story and that no one should listen to him when it comes to tax policy.
“I just hope I’m not making too much of a fool of myself and can get some type of message out there as far as, you know, really watch actions and learn for yourself,” Wurzelbacher said Thursday outside his home. “Don’t take other people’s opinions.”
Wurzelbacher first came to attention over the weekend, when he engaged Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, in a six-minute discussion of tax policy at a rally in Holland, Ohio. He told Obama that he was a plumber and was hoping to buy his boss’s business, which he said made $250,000 to $280,000 a year. He was concerned, he said, that Obama’s economic proposals would mean he’d be kicked into a higher tax bracket.
Wednesday night, McCain adopted Wurzelbacher as the representative of struggling middle-class Americans, addressing many of his comments directly to “Joe the plumber,” whom he misidentified as “Joe Wurzelburger.”
“The real winner last night was Joe the plumber. Joe’s the man,” McCain said Thursday at a campaign rally in Downington, Pa. “He won, and small businesses won across America. They won because Americans are not going to let Senator Obama raise taxes in a tough economy.”
Legally speaking, Wurzelbacher isn’t a plumber, because he isn’t licensed by Toledo, Lucas County or the state of Ohio. A representative of the Toledo Building Inspection Division said a plumber must be registered with the state and only then can apply for a city plumbing contractor’s license.
Wurzelbacher said he worked under the license held by his boss, Al Newell of Newell Plumbing and Heating Co. of Toledo. Newell is a licensed plumbing contractor in Toledo, records show. But anyone working under Newell should have a journeyman’s plumbing license or an apprenticeship license, officials said.
Building Inspection officials said Newell was responsible for making sure that anyone working under him was licensed. The Toledo Plumbing Board of Control may consider sanctions against Wurzelbacher or Newell, officials told NBC affiliate WNWO of Toledo.
“There’s a lot I’ve got to learn” about the plumbing business, Wurzelbacher said Thursday.
Wurzelbacher also acknowledged that he had no specific plans for buying Newell’s business, saying he and Newell had simply talked about the idea from time to time. He might have difficulty making the purchase: Court records from his divorce show that Wurzelbacher made $40,000 in 2006.
Even if he did buy Newell Plumbing and Heating, Obama’s tax plan wouldn’t affect him. While Wurzelbacher told Obama that he would be taxed at a higher rate because the company grossed more than $250,000 a year, Ohio business records show the company’s estimated total annual revenue as only $100,000. Actual taxable income would be even less than that.
In any event, Obama’s tax plan specifies that the higher rate would apply only to income above the $250,000 threshold. Assuming Wurzelbacher’s income as owner somehow hit $280,000 — the top end of his supposition of the company’s revenue — only the extra $30,000 would be taxed at a higher rate. “Joe the plumber,” the new face of middle-class America after Sen. John... more
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McCain has entrepreneurs spooked about tax hikes, but fewer than 2% of small business owners would pay more under Obama's plan.
In speech after speech, presidential candidate John McCain hammers on the claim that his rival Barack Obama will raise taxes on many small businesses.
At the debate on Wednesday night, McCain said, "The small businesses that we're talking about would receive an increase in their taxes right now." McCain has entrepreneurs spooked about tax hikes, but fewer than 2% of small business... more
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