tagged w/ Buffett Rule
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Will the presidential campaign strategy on income inequality backfire? Or just misfire here and there?Will the presidential campaign strategy on income inequality backfire? Or just misfire... more
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By David Ferguson
Saturday, April 21, 2012 14:21 EDT
And now, Gentle Readers, it’s time for another edition of Tea Party Republicans Say the Darnedest Things. On Thursday, April 19 at a Tea Party rally in Lamoni, Iowa, Think Progress reports that Republican Congressional candidate Dan Dolan declared that President Obama’s support of the so-called “Buffett Rule” is proof that he “does not love” the United States of America.
It is Dolan’s contention, apparently, that the president is using public support of the Buffett Rule, named for billionaire Warren Buffett, an adjustment designed to bring tax rates on millionaires in line with the rates normal citizens pay, as a wedge issue to divide the country against itself.
Dolan said, “I have a hard time thinking that he loves this country if he’s willing to turn them against themselves for his own advancement.”
Public opinion polling shows that the Buffett Rule enjoys a wide margin of support among American citizens, with 72 percent in favor, including 53 percent of Republicans.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/21/iowa-republican-buffet-rule-proof-obama-doesnt-love-this-country/
Watch video of Dolan’s statement, embedded via YouTube...
"I wonder how this Guy and others will feel when BO is reelected and lets the Bush Tax Cuts expire, Oh I am gonna LMFAO!!!" =)By David Ferguson
Saturday, April 21, 2012 14:21 EDT
And now, Gentle Readers,... more
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KB723
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1 month ago
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Over the past week, President Obama spent time promoting the Buffett Rule surtax on millionaires and paid a visit to Colombia in which he reiterated his opposition to legalizing drugs. Though the two issues were unrelated, it's worth remarking that legalizing drugs would actually do more to reduce deficits than implementing the Buffett Rule.
The Buffett tax, which failed to advance in the Senate last night, would have raised $5.1 billion in 2013 (theoretically its first full year of implementation), according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Yet a 2010 study by the libertarian Cato Institute found that legalizing marijuana alone would save the federal government $3.3 billion in reduced enforcement expenditures per year and raise an additional $5.8 billion in revenue assuming it would be taxed. If all drugs were legalized, the study estimated it would save the federal government $15.6 billion a year and raise an additional $31.2 billion in revenue -- for a total of $46.8 billion. That's slightly higher than the $46.7 billion the Buffett Rule tax is projected to raise over the full decade.
These numbers only pertain to the federal government, but the majority of the cost of the drug war is imposed on state and local governments. If governments at all levels are included, the Cato study projected that full drug legalization would reduce total budgets by $88 billion when one includes enforcement savings and new tax collections.
To be sure, the issue of drug legalization is less about the budget and more about personal liberty. Those who oppose prohibition believe that individuals should be allowed to do whatever they want and risk the consequences as long as their actions don't harm others in the process. But it's also interesting to put the costs of the drug war in perspective.
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/legalizing-pot-would-raise-more-buffett-rule/485101
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Not to mention take a significant revenue stream away from gangs/cartels and keep millions of nonviolent users out of the private prison machine!Over the past week, President Obama spent time promoting the Buffett Rule surtax on... more
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Today, the United States Senate voted on the “Buffett Rule”, the vote was a cloture vote, which means if it were passed, which requires 60 votes, the Senate would then allow the Bill to actually be debated and eventually voted on. The final vote for cloture was 51-45.
But as expected the republicans had enough votes to reject the Democrats' attempt to bring up the proposal to the Senate floor for debate. The Senate Democrats fell nine votes short.
The “Buffet Rule” would impose a minimum 30 percent effective federal tax rate on those with an adjusted gross income above $1 million.
As you may already know, those who make millions on investment income only pay a tax rate of 15 percent, while the average working Joe pays twice as much.
But because Republicans have signed an anti-tax pledge with Grover Norquist out of fear that they would be replaced in their next election by someone who would adhere to the anti-tax pledge, Republicans vote no on any new tax increases on the richest 1 percent (Norquist has given them permission to vote to raise taxes on the 99 percent) and they are told they must vote no to close any tax loopholes for the 1 percent.
Full Story with Links:
http://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-las-vegas/republicans-kill-buffett-rule-with-another-filibusterToday, the United States Senate voted on the “Buffett Rule”, the vote was... more
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This week, Democrats in Washington are taking up the fight for tax fairness, pressuring Republicans on the "Buffett Rule" to make sure millionaires and billionaires don't pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us.
It's a great start, but progressives need to use this opportunity to pressure Democratic leadership to deal with the whole problem. In addition to the Buffett Rule, Democratic leaders need to pledge to allow the disastrous Bush tax cuts that only benefit the wealthiest to expire and commit to reforming the corporate tax code -- so that corporations making billions are forced to pay their taxes like everyone else.
I just signed a petition asking the Democratic leadership to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and make corporations pay their fair share. Join the cause today by clicking the link below.
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We're working with our allies at Progressives United, an important new group led by Senator Russ Feingold, to make sure that Democrats get the message loud and clear that we can address our revenue needs by ending the Bush tax cuts and making corporations pay their fair share. In the coming days -- leading up to tax day -- the President and his Democratic allies in Congress will rally around the "Buffett Rule," tax legislation that aims to get the billionaires and millionaires to more in taxes.4
If the Democrats want to show a genuine commitment to enacting progressive tax policies that will help address the economic injustice in this country, they need to not just pass the Buffett Rule, but also make sure to end the Bush tax cuts and make corporations pay their fair share.
Tell Democratic Leadership: Pass the Buffett Rule, and then end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and make corporations pay their fair share too.
Had President Obama decided not to cut a deal with the Republican leadership and extend the low Bush tax rates in December of 2010, additional revenue would already be "flowing into the U.S. Treasury" at a rate of "$11.6 million every hour of every day."5 Generating those revenues by requiring the top 1 percent to pay their fair share as they were doing prior to Bush tax cuts, would have neutralized the beltway clamor for brutal cuts to programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the name of reform.
Focusing on the Bush tax cuts isn't only just, it's also smart politics. We don't have to pass a bill through the Republican-controlled House -- all we need to do is ensure that Congress doesn't pass a bill that extends the Bush tax cuts past 2012.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/end_bush_taxcuts/?r_by=38476-2455059-WGS9%3Dcx&rc=paste1This week, Democrats in Washington are taking up the fight for tax fairness,... more
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The Buffett Rule, named after the multi-billionaire, is set for a vote on Monday.
WATCH this video of Reagan speaking in 1985 about a letter he received from a prominent executive. If you feel a sense of déjà vu, you’re not alone...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=33758The Buffett Rule, named after the multi-billionaire, is set for a vote on Monday.... more
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In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to pass the Buffett Rule, a principle of fairness that says if you make more than $1 million a year, you should pay at least the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle class families.In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to pass the Buffett Rule,... more
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By David Ferguson
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 16:06 EDT
President Obama made the case today for the so-called “Buffet Rule,” which would mandate that the wealthy pay the same percentage of their income in taxes as middle class families.
He described for the audience the actions of one of his predecessors in the Oval Office, a president who “gave a speech where he talked about a letter he had received from a wealthy executive who paid lower tax rates than his secretary, and wanted to come to Washington and tell Congress why that was wrong. So this president gave another speech where he said it was ‘crazy’—that’s a quote—that certain tax loopholes make it possible for multimillionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary.”
“That wild-eyed, socialist, tax-hiking class warrior,” he said, “was Ronald Reagan.”
Reagan, said the president, believed that everyone in the U.S. should pay their fair share, a position that would “disqualify him from the Republican primaries these days.” He even suggested changing the name from the “Buffet Rule” to the “Reagan Rule” if that would make it a little easier for Republicans to bear.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/11/obama-calls-ronald-reagan-a-wild-eyed-socialist-tax-hiking-class-warrior/
Watch this video of President Obama’s remarks, embedded via CBS news:
"Holy Makerel!!! Them's Fightin' Words!!!" =)
Please click link to view entire video... =)By David Ferguson
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 16:06 EDT
President Obama made the... more
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KB723
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a vote on the “Buffet Rule” legislation for April 16, 2012, the day before tax fillings for 2012 are due.
The ‘Buffett Rule” legislation that was proposed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), would require millionaires to pay at least a 30 percent rate.
The disparity in tax requirements is enormous, a good example to highlight this disparity comes from Mitt Romney, who released his tax forms for 2010 that showed he only paid 15 percent on the $20 million he made because the vast majority of his income comes from investments, not actual work as most Americans do and what most Americans pay taxes on.
http://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-las-vegas/u-s-senate-to-vote-on-buffett-rule-when-they-return-from-spring-breakSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a vote on the “Buffet... more
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How do fat-cat Republicans get average citizens to vote for them? -- it’s actually not that difficult. You tell an uber-christian, homophobic, slightly more racist cross-section of the American populous that their president is a Muslim socialist and they will be considerably open to the idea. Tell those same voters that our president wants to kill God’s embryonic children, marry queers and give all your hard-earned money to pay for food stamps and welfare for minority crackheads and you will succeed in chalking up one more vote for the GOP…
http://veracitystew.com/2012/02/06/the-gop-and-the-1-soulmates/How do fat-cat Republicans get average citizens to vote for them? -- it’s... more
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http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/04/senate-democrats-introduce-the-buffet-rule-as-a-bill-to-require-the-wealthiest-americans-to-pay-their-fare-share-what-tactics-will-the-gop-use-to-stop-it/
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is going to introduce legislation to make the Buffet Rule law. The legislation will change income taxes for the top 1% to pay a 30% tax rate on all income if it exceeds $1 million. "It would do this by requiring millionaires to calculate their overall effective tax rate under the regular system — by taking into account all their sources of income and the various rates they are taxed at."
Rather than trying to dismantle all of the deductions and rewrite them for other tax brackets, it just amends what you have to pay in taxes if you make over that $1 million mark from all sources including capital gains. Sen Whitehouse should introduce the same type of legislation for corporations as well.http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/04/senate-democrats-introduce-the-buffet-rule-as-a... more
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kvb1
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4 months ago
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This should cause more than a few 'Bagger heads to explode. The idea that their conservative gold standard, the great Ronald Reagan, would have supported President Obama's attempts to close tax loopholes and adjust millionaire tax rates more in line with the what the working class pays is more than today's Teapublican can handle...
http://veracitystew.com/2011/10/03/ronald-reagan-would-have-supported-the-buffett-rule-video/This should cause more than a few 'Bagger heads to explode. The idea that their... more
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As part of his deficit reduction plan, President Obama has proposed some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans, which would come via allowing the Bush tax cuts for the two highest tax brackets to expire and implementing the “Buffett rule,” which stipulates that millionaires and billionaires shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than middle-class Americans.
Republicans have predictably, blown their collective top over the Buffett rule. And today, they were aided by a bizarre Associated Press “fact-check,” which purported to reveal something disingenuous about Obama’s plan. “President Barack Obama says he wants to make sure millionaires are taxed at higher rates than their secretaries. The data say they already are,” the AP wrote, noting that the average tax rate for those in the highest tax brackets is, of course, higher than the average rate for middle-class or low-income Americans.
This is not surprising, and it certainly doesn’t make the Buffett rule any less relevant. After all, as Center for American Progress Action Fund Director of Fiscal Reform Seth Hanlon wrote, “tons of data — including data cited in the AP article itself — confirm the compelling need for a Buffett rule because large numbers of super-rich individuals are indeed paying lower taxes than middle-class families“:
– 1,470 households reported income of more than $1 million in 2009 but paid zero federal income tax on it.
– The average federal income tax rate of the richest 400 people in the country in 2008 was 18.11 percent. In 2007 it was 16.62 percent. [...] The tax rates paid by the “Fortunate 400” have plummeted since the mid-1990s, when their average effective rates were about 30 percent. [...]
– Due to the so-called carried interest loophole, managers of hedge funds and private equity funds pay 15 percent capital gains rates, and no payroll taxes, on their profits from managing other people’s money. That’s less than what middle-class families pay just in payroll taxes on their wages — let alone what they pay in income taxes.
As Hanlon noted, “AP’s ‘fact check’ misses the point of the Buffett rule. The point is not to ensure that rich people on average pay higher taxes than middle-class people on average,” but “to ensure that all households with incomes above $1 million pay at least what middle-class families are paying.”
This is not the first time this month that the AP’s “fact-checkers” have bungled the facts regarding Obama’s economic plans. At this rate, they should think about opening a new division to fact-check the fact-checkers.As part of his deficit reduction plan, President Obama has proposed some tax increases... more
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Congressman John Fleming (R-LA) owns a few Subway sandwich shops and UPS stores, and they provided him with a substantial income of $6.3 million in 2010, which amounted to what he calls a “mere” net income of $600,000 for his family to survive on. Yet, Rep. Fleming claims that President Obama’s new “Buffett Rule” proposal to raise taxes on millionaires is “class warfare” and that he can’t afford an increase in his taxes.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/09/20/boo-hoo-millionaire-teapublican-cries-over-buffett-rule-video/Congressman John Fleming (R-LA) owns a few Subway sandwich shops and UPS stores, and... more
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1 in 6, or roughly 15 percent of Americans now live in poverty, the highest of any other industrialized nation in the world. Income inequality, failed economic policies and an increasing shift of wealth in America over the past decade has given birth to the new working poor.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/09/19/the-new-faces-of-the-working-poor-video/1 in 6, or roughly 15 percent of Americans now live in poverty, the highest of any... more
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