GMOZ! Obama is raising taxes!

[Jimmy Neutron]

$15.38 every two weeks is easy to miss.

[driveby]

Go look at a Jan 2009 paystub and then a March or April 2009 paystub, dumbass. You're clearly not teaching math.

Obama tax cut

Military intelligence

unbiased opinion

jumbo shrimp

[driveby]

Citizens for Tax Justice, founded in 1979, is a 501 ©(4) public interest research and advocacy organization focusing on federal, state and local tax policies and their impact upon our nation. CTJ's mission is to give ordinary people a greater voice in the development of tax laws. Against the armies of special interest lobbyists for corporations and the wealthy, CTJ fights for:

 

Fair taxes for middle and low-income families

Requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share

Closing corporate tax loopholes

Adequately funding important government services

Reducing the federal debt

Taxation that minimizes distortion of economic markets

 

History

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan had an epiphany. His Treasury Secretary informed him that Reagan’s former employer, General Electric, and dozens of other major American corporations did not “pay a penny in taxes to the United States government.” In fact, the Treasury Secretary added, “your secretary paid more federal taxes last year than all of those giant companies put together.”

 

That information, not to mention the exact phrasing, came straight from Citizens for Tax Justice. Upon hearing it, Reagan ordered his Treasury Secretary to “go full steam ahead” with what became the Tax Reform Act of 1986. That law repudiated Reagan’s earlier loophole-crazed tax policies and swept away most of the tax-shelter schemes and loopholes that cluttered the tax code.

 

CTJ's studies on corporate tax avoidance, including 130 Reasons Why We Need Tax Reform (1986), Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Freeloaders (1985) and Money for Nothing: The Failure of Corporate Tax Incentives, 1981-1984 (1986) have been widely cited for their key role in the enactment of this tax reform legislation in 1986. Indeed, The Washington Post called CTJ's reports a "key turning point" in the tax reform debate that "had the effect of touching a spark to kindling" and "helped to raise public ire against corporate tax evaders." The Wall Street Journal said that CTJ "helped propel the tax-overhaul effort," and the Associated Press reported that CTJ's studies "assured that something would be done . . . to make profitable companies pay their share." And in the wake of CTJ's agenda-setting role in the 1986 tax reform debate, the Washington Monthly ranked CTJ at the top of its list of America's "best public interest groups."

 

In 1991, CTJ's Inequality and the Federal Budget Deficit examined the linkage between tax cuts for the wealthy and the mounting federal deficit. This attention helped set the stage for President Clinton's 1993 budget act, which took back some of the tax cuts previously granted to the wealthiest Americans by the supply-side tax plan of 1981. In the mid-1990s, CTJ demonstrated to lawmakers and the public that the tax cuts pushed by Newt Gingrich and his allies were both unaffordable and hugely tilted toward the rich.

 

During George W. Bush’s presidency, CTJ’s work showed that the Bush tax cuts were even more unfair and unaffordable. With both the Treasury Department and the Joint Committee on Taxation refusing to publish data showing the estimated distribution of Bush’s proposed cuts, CTJ’s analyses were the primary source of information on which Congress, the media, and the public relied. The New York Times described CTJ as having “no doubt … exerted more influence on the tax debate this year than any lobbyist in town.” In a similar vein, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota said “I don’t know what we’d do without CTJ. The agencies of government that are supposed to provide this information don’t, and the only way we can get it is from CTJ.”

 

Former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri recently appluaded CTJ for being committed to "what's fair for ordinary Americans who don't have much of a voice in our country and in our capitol, certainly on tax matters, which are usually esoteric, complicated issues that nobody quite understands."

 

Recently, CTJ has provided lawmakers with information to help them make the right decisions on several issues that impact the lives of ordinary Americans, including:

 

the economic recovery act and how it affects working families,

the progressive tax provisions in President Obama's first budget and in Congress's budget resolution,

the President's proposals to stop corporations from shifting their profits offshore,

the federal tax on the estates of millionaires,

progressive options to pay for health care reform, and how to separate myth from facts during the health care debate.

Each year, CTJ continues to release more valuable and insightful analyses of legislative proposals, and works closely with lawmakers and other organizations in support of fairness and simplicity in tax policy. CTJ staff hold briefings with lawmakers, testify before legislative committees, and explain their work and the implications of tax policy issues directly to policymakers and policy advocates across the nation. Recently, Senator I'M A TOOL Levin of Michigan called this work "indispensible" and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon praised CTJ for being "on the side of the typical working person, the person without the lobbyist" in the debate over tax fairness.

 

CTJ’s work is frequently featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications – big and small – across the country. Through press, television and radio coverage, CTJ's message gets out – to the public and policymakers alike.

 

Working with a growing network of labor, community, and church groups from every part of the country, CTJ's goal is to make taxes a better deal for middle- and low-income American families.

 

non-partisan

[driveby]

wait for it.....

 

 

Board of Directors

Officers

 

 

President

Wayne Cox

Minnesota CTJ

 

Vice President

Gerald McEntee, President

AFSCME

 

Secretary-Treasurer

Michael J. Sullivan, General President

Sheet Metal Workers Int’l Association

 

Board Members

 

 

John Sweeney, President

AFL-CIO

 

Carmen Berkley, President

United States Student Association

 

Larry Cohen, President

Communications Workers of America

 

Ron Gettelfinger, President, UAW

 

Steve Brobeck

Consumer Federation of America

 

Mary Wilson, President

League of Women Voters

 

Joan Claybrook

Public Citizen

 

Christopher St. John

Maine Center for Economic Policy

 

Joseph T. Hansen, President

United Food & Commercial Workers

 

Lenny Goldberg

California Tax Reform Association

 

Blair Horner

New York Public Interest Research Group

 

Maude Hurd

ACORN

 

Frank Hurt, President

BCT&GM International Union

 

R. Thomas Buffenbarger, President

International Association of Machinists

 

Lorretta Johnson, Executive Vice President

American Federation of Teachers

 

John Gage, National President

AFGE

 

Colleen Kelly, President

National Treasury Employees Union

 

Edie Rasell, United Church of Christ

 

 

You guys are killing me.

[Ursa Majoris]

I can't believe this. It's actually been demonstrated in black and white and yet the denial is still strong in these fools.

 

Here

 

If you pay less tax, you have had a tax cut. Period. You have all gone insane.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Ursa Majoris

[driveby]

Go look at a Jan 2009 paystub and then a March or April 2009 paystub, dumbass. You're clearly not teaching math.

"Bash Perch" rule # 7 prohibits ancedotal evidence.

[Perchoutofwater]

My only question is, are the spending programs signed into law by Obama (stimulus, obamacare, cash for clunkers, etc..) going to necessitate a tax increase in order to pay for them at some time in the future?

[Ursa Majoris]

My only question is, are the spending programs signed into law by Obama (stimulus, obamacare, cash for clunkers, etc..) going to necessitate a tax increase in order to pay for them at some time in the future?

Don't know. Probably. Maybe spending cuts or changes to SS will do the trick (though I doubt it). The point at hand here though is whether or not take home pay rose in 2010 and it demonstrably did.

[driveby]

I can't believe this. It's actually been demonstrated in black and white and yet the denial is still strong in these fools.

 

Here

 

If you pay less tax, you have had a tax cut. Period. You have all gone insane.

I see what's happening now.

 

The tax cut memo must have gone out this week to gin up some last minute momentum. I've noticed more than a few recent "news" stories and opinion pieces that echo precisely this talking point.

 

Here's one here.

[driveby]

I can't believe this. It's actually been demonstrated in black and white and yet the denial is still strong in these fools.

 

Here

 

If you pay less tax, you have had a tax cut. Period. You have all gone insane.

And while we're at it, lets dismiss Politifact as the non-partisan arbiter of all things truthful.

 

It's run by a bunch of St Petersburg Times reporters and editors.

 

here is the latest from their editorial page;

Republicans demonize the stimulus

 

and here is their election recommendation page.

 

Not surprisingly they recommend Charlie Crist for the US Senate seat, a democrat for governor, and glowingly recommend democrats for most other seats (they do recommend a few republicans, grudgingly)

But Bilirakis remains too willing to consider additional drilling in the gulf even after the BP oil spill. He loyally follows the Republican leadership and voted against health care reform, the stimulus package and financial regulatory reform. He wants to repeal the health care law and extend all of the Bush-era tax cuts.

 

Unfortunately, there is not a reasonable alternative in District 9,

and

While not particularly partisan, the Indian Shores Republican unfortunately stuck to the party line and voted against health care reform, increased financial regulation and the federal stimulus package. But if Republicans regain control of the House, he could be a moderating influence with an invaluable perspective in cutting defense spending and overhauling Social Security.

 

and this snippet from their editorial editor;

 

• Why does the Times recommend only Democrats?

 

That is a common misconception.[Gee, I wonder why? ] For general elections, we have often recommended Republicans for the U.S. House, the Legislature, county commissions and other local offices. We also have previously recommended Republicans for the state Cabinet and for U.S. Senate.

 

The Times has not recommended a Republican for president or for governor — but that day is coming.

[Pope Flick]

"cryveby" rule # 1 prohibits acknowledgment of facts.

[detlef]

My only question is, are the spending programs signed into law by Obama (stimulus, obamacare, cash for clunkers, etc..) going to necessitate a tax increase in order to pay for them at some time in the future?

That isn't the point. According to the OP, the issue is that people are already under the impression that Obama has already raised their taxes and the simply fact is that he has not. Imagine how pissed they're going to be with him if he actually does! That some here are either denying the fact that he's actually lowered them for most or poopooing the amount to which he has doesn't change the fact that right-based propaganda has managed to convince people that he has already raised taxes. Something that isn't true.

[driveby]

cryveby" rule # 1 prohibits acknowledgment of facts.

 

I defer to the expert on such matters.

[Ursa Majoris]

That isn't the point. According to the OP, the issue is that people are already under the impression that Obama has already raised their taxes and the simply fact is that he has not. Imagine how pissed they're going to be with him if he actually does! That some here are either denying the fact that he's actually lowered them for most or poopooing the amount to which he has doesn't change the fact that right-based propaganda has managed to convince people that he has already raised taxes. Something that isn't true.

Exactly. Driveby's entire post above doesn't change the fact that there has been a tax cut. Opinion to the contrary is wrong. Statements to the contrary are lies.

[gbpfan1231]

That isn't the point. According to the OP, the issue is that people are already under the impression that Obama has already raised their taxes and the simply fact is that he has not. Imagine how pissed they're going to be with him if he actually does! That some here are either denying the fact that he's actually lowered them for most or poopooing the amount to which he has doesn't change the fact that right-based propaganda has managed to convince people that he has already raised taxes. Something that isn't true.

+1000

 

When something is done that is good you have to give the dude credit. I don't get why people can't admit that we are for the most part taking home more money.

[redrumjuice]

he has already raised taxes.

 

Cigs and tanning are two off the top of my head. Shall we list more or is that enough to say you lied?

[bpwallace49]

+1000

 

When something is done that is good you have to give the dude credit. I don't get why people can't admit that we are for the most part taking home more money.

 

Because nothing good can come out of the kenyan communist m00slim according to some people?

 

I have said it a thousand times here . . there are PLENTLY of legitimate, real things to be critical about with Obama's presidency. Why stick to stupid falsehoods? Why do an exercise in futility by trying to argue the point that a tax cut occured? "b-b-b-b-b-b-but what about in the future? What about taxes THEN?" doesnt apply to what has already happened.

 

Big props to you gbpfan for acknowledging that a tax cut did happen. You have made your personal dislike of Obama known, so props for admitting when something was done right.

[gbpfan1231]

Because nothing good can come out of the kenyan communist m00slim according to some people?

 

I have said it a thousand times here . . there are PLENTLY of legitimate, real things to be critical about with Obama's presidency. Why stick to stupid falsehoods? Why do an exercise in futility by trying to argue the point that a tax cut occured? "b-b-b-b-b-b-but what about in the future? What about taxes THEN?" doesnt apply to what has already happened.

 

Big props to you gbpfan for acknowledging that a tax cut did happen. You have made your personal dislike of Obama known, so props for admitting when something was done right.

I will always try to give props when props are due - in this case I think they are due - I also gave props when he OK'd the additional troops.

 

Like you said - there are PLENTY of legitimate/real things to be critical about - people should stick to those but if the guy does something good give the guy credit.

 

The whole crazy mooslim talk is utter nonsense.

 

ETA: I still think Obama is an arrogant prick.

Edited October 20, 2010 by gbpfan1231

[The Mucca]

Exactly. Driveby's entire post above doesn't change the fact that there has been a tax cut. Opinion to the contrary is wrong. Statements to the contrary are lies.

 

I don't know if there was a tax cut or not, all I know is that my checks were fifteen bucks and change more a week, however, when it

came tax filing time, I got back well over a thousand less than what I usually get.

[bushwacked]

I don't know if there was a tax cut or not, all I know is that my checks were fifteen bucks and change more a week, however, when it

came tax filing time, I got back well over a thousand less than what I usually get.

 

It's because of Zobama.

[The Mucca]

It's because of Zobama.

 

Thanks, that what I thought.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

I don't know if there was a tax cut or not, all I know is that my checks were fifteen bucks and change more a week, however, when it

came tax filing time, I got back well over a thousand less than what I usually get.

 

Probably a combination ofthings...

 

1 - when the making work pay credit was passed the withholding rates were actually reduced more than the $400 total yearly credit. I remember noticing this right away and adjusted my withholding to account for it. You took home more than the $400 throughout the year and made up for it at year-end.

 

2 - your state taxes went up.

 

3 - you made more money and therefore had more income taxed at a higher marginal rate.

 

4 - turbo tax fail

Edited October 22, 2010 by CaP'N GRuNGe

[WaterMan]

One hurdle for people who want to find something to criticize about Obama is to make your own conclusions and research. Quit relying on the news to scare you about something that isn't real. Have they finished building those gas chambers for the death panels yet?

[gbpfan1231]

One hurdle for people who want to find something to criticize about Obama is to make your own conclusions and research. Quit relying on the news to scare you about something that isn't real. Have they finished building those gas chambers for the death panels yet?

Yes - they were finished 4 weeks prior to Obama winning the election - the Obama admin has counted the 2,000 jobs created to build them as a result of the stimulus.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Yes - they were finished 4 weeks prior to Obama winning the election - the Obama admin has counted the 2,000 jobs created to build them as a result of the stimulus.

good now those 2000 can be used to round up all the guns and melt them down for peace signs