TAXES (scared yet?)

by muon

Republicans love the word "TAXES."  They can scare people with it.

The other day, President Obama gave a speech putting forth his proposal for budget cuts.  He broke down the current government spending this way:

66.6% -- spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, national security.
20% -- unemployment insurance, student loans, veterans’ benefits, tax credits for working families
12% -- education, clean energy, medical research, transportation, food safety, keeping our air and water clean.
rest -- interest on the debt

The Republican plan for budget cuts includes a 70% cut to clean energy, a 25% cut in education, a 30% cut in transportation, and cuts in college Pell Grants.  These cuts sound big, but as you can see from above, they'll effect less than 12% of the entire budget.

The Republican plan would also do away with Medicare and Medicaid as we know them, so that only the rich would be able to afford to grow old or become disabled.  I took care of elderly parents.  Without Medicare, they would have lost their house and most, if not all, of their savings.  In trying to punish the very people responsible for America surviving every crisis from WWII on, the GOP comes across as bullies picking on the old and infirm.  I'm guessing their own parents and grandparents might like to disown them about now.

The Obama plan calls for cuts in redundant and bloated defense spending.  The Republicans say defense can't be cut.  They puff their chests out and claim they'll protect America with a strong national security.  Yet on April 3rd, the New York Times reported that an audit of Pentagon spending found $70 billion in waste.   The Chiefs of Staff themselves are saying Pentagon spending cuts are necessary.  If President Eisenhower (a Republican) were alive today, he'd be the first to point out that putting money into transportation is more important to the country's security than all the wasteful defense spending in Washington.  National security is the reason we have interstate highways.

However, the biggest Republicans objection to Obama's plan was, as they put it, raising taxes on the American people.  They called this a "non-starter."  What you won't hear any of them mention is what Obama actually said.  Here it is:

"...[itemized deductions in the tax code] provide millionaires an average tax break of $75,000 while doing nothing for the typical middle-class family that doesn’t itemize.  My budget calls for limiting itemized deductions for the wealthiest 2% of Americans – a reform that would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over ten years.  But to reduce the deficit, I believe we should go further.  That’s why I’m calling on Congress to reform our individual tax code so that it is fair and simple – so that the amount of taxes you pay isn’t determined by what kind of accountant you can afford."

The president's plan wouldn't effect 98% of American taxpayers, or in making the tax code simpler, would BENEFIT 98% of American taxpayers.  That's not just Democrats or just Republicans.  It's not even just poor people.  It's 30% more than the number of Americans who voted in the 2008.  98%.   That's almost everyone.

If the GOP balks at that, it can simply mean that they're representing only 2% of Americans.  Perhaps the number of seats they hold in Congress ought to reflect this.  I'm guessing that's what they're afraid of when they loudly imply that all taxes will go up under the Obama plan, and leave out the real details.

muon