The extension of the tax rates issue before Congress is heading toward critical mass because Democrats failed to address the issue prior to the election. Now it is up to the Lame Duck Congress to right the ship before tax increases take place next year. The problem is that the Democrats want to extend the rates only to the middle class while raising the tax rates for the wealthy (defined as those making more than $250,000 a year).

This is nothing more than classical class warfare. The Democrats will be the first to tell us that things were rosy when Bill Clinton was in office. Well, when he was in office the tax rates for everyone was higher. If they truly want to get back to what they perceived as a wonderful time then they should let the tax rates expire and raise taxes on everyone. Then the rates that supposedly brought us prosperity will once again be in place and we will have a wonderful life and Democrats can sing Happy Days Are Here Again.

Tax cuts increase revenue to the Treasury because people are able to keep more of what they earned with their blood, sweat and tears. They can keep the fruits of their labor and then spend the money and produce a vibrant economy. No nation has ever taxed itself to prosperity.

The issue here is nothing more than class warfare where Democrats pit the so called wealthy against the middle and lower classes. This is right out of the Democrat playbook and it is how they keep some members of society on their plantation. Stick with us folks and we will give you other people’s stuff. The unfortunate thing is that we have allowed people to grow up with an entitlement mentality. They feel they are entitled to the money of others. They even call the stuff they get entitlements even though they are forced redistribution of wealth.

The plan put forth is bad. It extends the tax rates (no cuts are made) for two years at which time this fight will reemerge. This is a short term and short sighted solution to the problem which will still leave doubt and uncertainty in the minds of the people who drive our economic machine.

To top it off, the deal comes with increased spending which will add to the deficit. Billions of dollars in spending is included in this plan and that is not good.

To further add insult to injury, the estate tax rate will increase by 35%. Currently, the rate is 0% so people who died (or will) this year were able to pass their wealth, wealth they have paid taxes on while it was being accumulated, without their heirs being socked with a huge tax bill. The deal will allow the government to take 35% of any estate over $5 million. This is a crime and should not be tolerated. What right does the government have to the money that a person accumulates for his heirs? NONE!

Smart planners do things before they die to keep this from happening but they should not have to do so. The government should not be taking this money. It was taxed at least once (and more likely several times) as it was accumulated. The government thinks it has the right to rape people after they are dead.

This deal is a bad deal and Republicans should not even be negotiating. They should tell Obama and the Democrats that the tax rates are to be extended permanently and that is the end of the story. Nothing added to the bill, no spending allowed, no add ons, no estate tax increases, no nothing.

If Obama does not like that then he should remember the words he used when he failed to negotiate with or include Republicans in his prior agenda, we won. It was Obama who made it clear that he was doing things the way he wanted because; “I won.” Well now we won and he will just have to deal with it.

Tax rates permanent or not at all. Let him and his Democrats face the public for allowing the rates to increase. They failed to do anything before the election and now they have to face the consequences of the last election and those consequences are, we won.

Remember, it was the Democrats who kept reminding us that elections have consequences so they would do well to remember that now.

As for the tax rates, they all get extended or none of them do.

If they all end up increasing then Democrats can look forward to the happy days they experienced under Bill Clinton. The old rates are his and Democrats think we did great under them so let’s raise them all.

Let us also keep in mind that Democrats always called the Bush tax cuts tax cuts for the rich. They have never acknowledged that the middle class got a tax cut. When they were running for office none of them ever said anything about the middle class. No, these were all tax cuts for the rich.

So let them expire because it will only affect the rich.

Funny though, the Democrats have always harped on how terrible the Bush tax cuts were but now Obama and Clinton (the co-presidents) are saying that this plan is what we need to stimulate the economy.

So once again, all or nothing. Let the rates go up. Obama will be a one term wonder and the country will be in the dumper and America will finally see what a failure Democrat economic policies really are.

Related:
The Hill

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.

Obama, through actions by his regime, has admitted that he was lying but exactly when he lied is a matter of how things are interpreted. Obama either lied when he was campaigning or he lied when he was ramming the health care bill through and the regime is making the case that Obama actually lied BOTH times (which is what I believe).

First some background. During the campaign Barack Obama said he would not increase taxes on the middle class. Those making below a certain amount of money (the exact amount is really unknown because it changed regularly but it is anywhere from $120,000 to $250,000 per year) would not see their taxes increased. That is the first important item to know, Obama promised not to increase taxes (not one dime) on the middle class.

The second thing to know is that during the health care debate Obama vehemently defended the individual mandate and said that any fine levied against those who did not buy insurance was not a tax. Obama was even very condescending to George Stephanopoulos of ABC when George brought up the issue and said it was a tax. Obama chastened him about looking up a word in the dictionary and proclaimed that the individual mandate was absolutely not a tax regardless of what Stephanopoulos or anyone else said.

By God, Barack Obama has decreed it is not a tax now just shut up about it George and move on.

So the health care bill passes and Obama signs it into law and almost immediately a number of lawsuits are filed questioning the Constitutionality of the mandate. The arguments have been made on this point and I will not rehash them here except to say that many scholars believe that Congress overstepped its bounds by claiming it could regulate a person who engaged in NO commerce under the commerce clause.

Evidently, the Obama regime thinks there is something to this argument, which if successful would derail the legislation and the bogus claims of low costs and deficit reduction. The regime is trying to have the case against the health care law dismissed. Now this is nothing unusual because parties try to do that all the time. If it works they do not have to defend the issue but in this case I cannot imagine a judge throwing it out because of the magnitude of the issue.

In any event, the fact that the regime is trying to get it dismissed is not unusual but the grounds they are using for the dismissal are.

The regime is arguing that the law does not allow for suits regarding the assessment or collection of TAXES.

Late last night, the Obama Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the Florida-based lawsuit against the health care law, arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction and that the State of Florida and fellow plaintiffs haven’t presented a claim for which the court can grant relief. To bolster its case, the DOJ cited the Anti-Injunction Act, which restricts courts from interfering with the government’s ability to collect taxes.

The Act, according to a DOJ memo supporting the motion to dismiss, says that “no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed.” The memo goes on to say that it makes no difference whether the disputed payment it is called a “tax” or “penalty,” because either way, it’s “assessed and collected in the same manner” by the Internal Revenue Service. [all emphasis mine] The American Spectator

Uh oh. Looks like there is trouble right here in River City my friends. The Obama regime is now saying that the fine for failing to buy insurance is a TAX even though the almighty Barack Obama scolded George Stephanopoulos and flat out told him that this was not a tax.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama said it was not a tax when he wanted it to pass and he is saying that it is a tax now that it needs to withstand judicial scrutiny. Obama either lied to get it passed or he is lying to keep it out of court. Obama knew that calling it a tax would make members of Congress uneasy in an election year and he now knows that unless he calls it a tax it will have a tough time withstanding the court challenge. He is a liar and he will say or do anything to get what he wants.

Remember, if it is such a good thing they would not need to lie about the costs and they would not need to lie about how it is funded. All of the lies and manipulations clearly show this is a bad piece of legislation.

This is the kind of dishonest person Obama is and the kind of dishonesty that he expects when he is playing politics as usual, another thing he promised he would not do and, as it turns out, another broken promise.

There is one other unusual thing going on here. If Obama succeeds in portraying this as a tax and the court rules in his favor then he will have broken a huge campaign promise. Keep in mind that this mandate will affect the middle class the most. The poor will receive subsidies but the middle class will be forced to buy insurance more than any other and that means Obama will have imposed a huge tax increase on them. If he wins the argument that this is a tax then he will be admitting that he raised taxes on the middle class, something he said he would not do. Or as the cited article puts it:

Put another way, the administration is now arguing in federal court that Obama signed a massive middle-class tax increase, in violation of his campaign pledge.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if Obama’s own words about this not being a tax were used against his regime and the court ruled that Obama said it was not a tax so he can’t call it one now? Wouldn’t it be even more bizarre if he lost that argument, lost the case and still had to answer to the public as to why he deceived them by saying it was not a tax and then argued that it was?

Obama is a liar and a thief. He will steal money from those who make it and give it to those who do not. He leads the party of parasites (tolerant ones at that) and he is more than willing to continue to suck the life-blood out of our country in order to fulfill his dream of making it a Socialist nation.

How much more do people need to see to understand that Obama is a hack, an inexperienced man-child, a person who is automatically the least experienced of any person in a room he enters and that he is more interested in playing golf, partying, spending tax dollars on his parties, and working to bang through a Socialist agenda?

How much more do you people need to see that this guy is an inexperienced poser who can’t lead?

This incident should awaken you. He will say and do anything to get what he wants.

How is that hope and change working for you now?

Never surrender, never submit.

Democrat Bill Owens was elected to the Congress in New York’s 23^rd District last week and he wasted no time breaking four campaign promises. Democrats rushed him in so they could obtain his vote on health care, one he said he would not give. He voted yes when the bill was passed in the dead of the night (once again a bill passed under cover of darkness). It was pointed out that just before the election he said he supported the bill (as it was written at that time) but had opposed the public option, something his constituents also oppose.

The other promises:

The House Health reform bill contains sections that cut Medicare benefits, tax existing health care benefits, and increases taxes on the middle class, yet Mr. Owens stated today that he will now vote in favor of those things contrary to what he had promised the voters of NY’s 23rd Congressional District that he would vote against. The Gouverneur Times

The article points out that the bill will also provide benefits for illegals, a compromise to placate the Hispanic Caucus and in direct opposition to what Obama said in his speech to the Joint session of Congress. The was the speech where Joe Wilson yelled; “You lie!”.

Turns out Wilson was right and Obama will continue to be a liar because there is no way he will veto the bill should the illegal immigrant issue survive the Senate.

Owens was not in office for more than a few days when he broke four campaign promises. Hoffman would have opposed the bill and looked out for constituents. Owens decided he wanted a short lived Congressional career by instead lying to them.

Democrats will say and do anything to get into office. Look at all the promises Obama has broken. He lied and it would appear that, as with Obama, Owens’ promises have a shelf life as well.

Sadly, the people of New York’s 23^rd voted for a pig in a poke. Will people never learn?

And Government Lives High On Us

Barack Obama pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class and vowed that 95% of the people would not see a tax increase. He failed to mention that 40% pay no income taxes and he failed to say how he would keep that pledge when all the money the rich have is not enough to pay the bills. Obama made it clear that he meant ALL taxes though there are a few people who quickly say it was all about income taxes and that the 40% pay taxes because they pay into Social Security and Medicare. It is only fair for them to pay these items because they will benefit from them in the future. It is equally true that they should be paying income taxes because they consume more tax dollars than the wealthy. Everyone needs skin in the game to understand the impact of out of control government spending.

Amazingly, one of the major network anchors asked Obama about his tax pledge (when Obama went on the MSM tour):

CBS: “Now you promised during the campaign (you promised) no tax increase on people who made under 250,000 dollars, no payroll tax, no capital gains, no tax of any kind on Americans. Can you still make that promise to people today?”

Notice that the CBS interviewer says NO TAXES OF ANY KIND.

Obama has raised taxes on tobacco. One can debate the health issues associated with tobacco use but that is not the point. Government claims this is to get people to stop (or never start) but government depends on the taxes from tobacco sales and it knows that very few people will quit, and if they do, government will need to get the money it loses in tobacco tax from someplace…

The middle class will get socked with taxes if the Obama health care takeover plan passes. The bill contains a tax on medical items. This tax was originally on all medical items (including tampons, condoms, and Q-Tips) but the language was changed to only include medical items that cost more than $100. This is one of the ways government will fund health care. The tax will be passed on to consumers of health care via their premiums (or co-pays) and if they pay for items out of pocket they will bear the entire burden of the tax. In the state of Maryland medical items are tax exempt so this will not be a tax increase, it will be an entirely NEW tax and those who buy medical supplies (like diabetics and those on dialysis) will end up paying those taxes.

There are many other problems with the tax because it will apply to medical devices that are manufactured and sold. Pacemakers are expensive now but will cost more when the tax is added (as will tens of thousands of other medical devices). Those costs will be passed on and the middle class will absorb them.

The trick here is that they are hiding it as a tax on devices and it has already been stated that the goal is to make it look like there has been no middle class tax increase. The trickery is designed to hide the fact that the increase will hit the middle class.

Obama promised that there would be no taxes on the middle class and he lied. The taxes have already been increased on tobacco (which affects the lower and middle class the most) and if this health care bill passes the medical devices worth more than $100 will add to the burden.

Seniors, he sold you out to AARP and you youngsters will be forced to get health care insurance or pay a fine. This is a tax on you no matter how you look at it. You will also pay higher premiums than your age would indicate to pay for those who are older than you.

How is that Hope and Change working out for you now?

Matt Burden of Blackfive will run for office in the Illinois House of Representatives. See announcement at end of post.

I have said all along that Obama’s pledge to not raise taxes on 95% of the population was a pipe dream. He already raised them when tobacco taxes were elevated which affected the middle and lower classes. However, there are those who claim he meant income taxes. He said all of our taxes but we can focus on income.

The plan to tax only the wealthy will not work. If the government confiscated ALL of the money the wealthy earn (100% tax) there would not be enough money to pay the bills. This is a mathematical fact.

Therefore, the bills will be paid by raising the taxes on the middle class. This might mean that the 40% of wage earners who pay no tax will start contributing to the cause.

Congressman Jay Rockefeller is concerned about this (a Democrat worried about a tax increase, say it isn’t so) and he stated that the newest iteration of a health care bill will certainly cause an increase on the taxes of the middle class.

The West Virginia Democrat worries, however, that a lot of middle class workers, like the coal miners in his state, will end up facing “a big, big tax” under the Baucus bill because they currently enjoy generous employer-provided health care benefits which they receive tax free.

Referring to Baucus, Rockefeller said, “He should understand that (his proposal) means that virtually every single coal miner is going to have a big, big tax put on them because the tax will be put on the company and the company will immediately pass it down and lower benefits because they are self insured, most of them, because they are larger. They will pass it down, lower benefits, and probably this will mean higher premiums for coal miners who are getting very good health care benefits for a very good reason. That is, like steelworkers and others, they are doing about the most dangerous job that can be done in America.” ABC News

This is not unique to West Virgina coal miners. The plan will cause an increase in the taxes of middle class Americans all over the country and they will end up paying for the health care for others.

The health care bill is not the only thing that will increase the burden to Americans. Recent estimates now show that cap and trade will cost each family $1761 per year. This is in stark contrast to the official claims of $175. The $1761 number came from the Obama people and was kept under wraps. It was obtained under a Freedom of Information request and it shows that despite what they are saying publicly, they knew back in November that the cost would be much higher.

These financial burdens keep adding up. Obama claims that he will have a deficit neutral health care plan but this claim is hollow. Medicare is not deficit neutral and it pays out more than it takes in. It has been a monetary black hole for a very long time and it will continue to be one just as all other government programs are.

As the bills keep piling up Obama will be forced to raise the taxes of everyone and that includes the 95% he vowed not to harm. His only hope is that he can get reelected before he has to raise taxes. Better yet, he would like to leave office and leave the mess to the next person.

In any event, we cannot keep spending like we have unlimited funds and we cannot keep enacting social welfare reform that causes increases in what families have to pay.

Americans are tired of having their money forcefully confiscated in order to fund politicians and their social programs.

Time to take the country back.

It starts at the local level and that leads me to this. Matt Burden of the website Blackfive has announced he will run for state office in Illinois:

September 4, 2009 – 41st District resident, Matthew Burden, announced today his campaign for the Illinois House of Representatives. Matt will fill the position vacated by the retirement of longtime Representative Bob Biggins. Campaign Site

Matt is raising campaign capital in small amounts from average citizens. You can read all of this at Blackfive.

If you can donate it would help Matt and it would be nice to see a man of his integrity hold office.

We can take back America one seat at a time, one office at a time and one district at a time.

The Democrats are working on a health care plan for Obama who wants it done this year. They want this done very quickly because the longer they mess with it the longer the American public has to see what it really involves. Once people start kicking the tires and looking under the hood they will not like what they see.

Republicans have been shut out of the process and Democrats have reported they were told NOT to work with Republicans on this issue.

This is all on the Democrats and what they will do is triple even what Obama wanted to spend and they will raise taxes on everyone. The Democrats are not willing to say this and they are trying to hide it until they can push this through because they know higher taxes are not popular. Like Carlie Rangel said, they want to get the particulars out but not the taxes so people become happy with the plan. Then they will mention the taxes. They don’t want any negative press on it.

The Democrats are looking at a number of ways to tax YOU. They will tax everyone. Here are some things under consideration (this is not all inclusive):

The tax options include:

- Increasing the price of soda and other sugary drinks by 10 cents a can.

- Applying a potential 2 percent income tax increase to single taxpayers earning more than $200,000 a year and households earning more than $250,000.

- A new employer payroll tax could target 3 percent of employers’ health care expenditures.

- Taxing employer-provided health insurance benefits above certain levels – a less likely option but one that still is in the running. My Way News

The second item is specific to people who make certain incomes and that would be about the upper 3%. There are not enough wage earners in this category to pay for the cost of health care.

The other three items involve everyone. If you consume cola or other sugary drinks, you would be affected. If you have employer provided health insurance you might have to pay taxes on 3% of it or on all of it. The government will require it to be reported as income and then tax you. You will pay taxes on your health care benefit in order to pay for someone else’s health care. Incidentally, this will cause many employers to drop health care for their employees and force employees into Obamacare, just like he wants.

Obama said he would not raise taxes on those making under certain levels (that number changed several times) but it looks like his Democrats are working on methods of taxing nearly everyone.

The article discusses the different taxing schemes and the dishonesty of the Democrats. Remember, Rangel said that they did not want to disclose the taxes because they would get negative attention. This article shows they are still intent on keeping quiet about the huge tax increases:

The draft, being released at a news conference of the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction – Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor – was not expected to mention the potentially unpopular tax options. [emphasis mine]

The Democrats are well on their way to outspending the last 8 years and they will do so in record time. In order to do that they need to obtain money so the question they will be asking is; “What’s in your wallet?”

Related:
Who Are The Big Spenders? American Thinker

Charlie Rangel and his Democrat buddies are working on the Obama health care plan. The plan is supposed to provide health care coverage (we all have access) to those who have no health insurance. The actual number of people who have no health insurance is about a quarter of what politicians report because their numbers include people who have access but choose not to have it, are not entitled (illegals), and those who were without for a short period of time (like in between jobs and elected not to take the COBRA extension). The numbers also include those who are eligible for already available assistance but, for whatever reason, have not signed up.

The Democrats want to rush this trough like they did the bogus stimulus package so that people do not have time to react. They want to have this in place quickly before people find out what it costs and what it involves. Democrats will use sleight of hand and trickery to gain acceptance. They will display a grandiose health plan and talk about all the bells and whistles and how wonderful it will be but they will not talk about how it will be paid for. Sure, they will claim it saves money or that we can afford it by taxing the rich or other such nonsense but they will not discuss specifics. Charlie Rangel wants to make people feel real good about it all before he hammers them with the specifics. He must believe that once people are thrilled they will be less likely to oppose any method to pay for it. The only ones who will not oppose are the ones who won’t pay for it anyway.

In other words, they will not be discussing the $600 BILLION in tax increases required to pay for this monster. We cannot get that much money by taxing the rich so taxes will involve a lot of other folks. First they will consider taxing the health benefits that employers provide. Then they will continue to add taxes until they have forced everyone into government care or until the plan has grown into a monster like Medicare which is more expensive than private run insurance (the 2-3% operating costs are lies) and is less efficient. Rangel said he wants to butter people up before hitting them with the tax bill:

Rangel said that while House Democrats will likely release more details about health policy changes in their legislation next week, the package of offsetting tax increases and spending cuts likely will come later. Democrats, he said, want to put forth the more-positive aspects of an overhaul first. Rangel also wants to let lawmakers have time to study and weigh in on proposed offsets.

“We have a problem in not wanting to attract enough negative attention to the bill in terms of the pay-fors,” he said. “Let them get a good feel for the coverage.” Bloomberg

They have a problem in not wanting to attract enough negative attention to the bill in terms of the pay-fors. That means he does not want to put emphasis on how it will be paid for because it will garner negative attention, as it should. Rangel and his buddies, as indicated above, will roll out the plan without specifics regarding costs and then, later, hit us with the particulars on the cost.

They can’t let a crisis go to waste by telling us the truth because we might get negative.

The government does not belong in health care. It cannot run anything efficiently and it cannot run anything effectively. Everything government touches becomes bloated and suffers cost overruns.

Obama wants this rushed through. He and the Democrats are rushing head first into this with little regard to the consequences. They are going for this without long and proper debates reagrding the pros and cons of any government devised system. They are forcing their will on us.

Will it take a revolution before these people understand that they work for us? Will it take a revolution before they understand that we want smaller, limited government?

Anyone who does not pay taxes and ends up getting free health care (paid for by the tax payers) should have to work every weekend cleaning streets, picking up trash, cutting grass and cleaning graffiti.

When I was a kid my dad would make me get a certain kind of haircut. He said if he was paying for it he got to decide on the style. Those of us paying for other’s health care should have a say in just what care they get.

But remember, you will hear a lot about how wonderful it will be but you won’t hear much about cost. Rangel and the rest of the tax cheats will screw us with that later on.

Related:
Hospitals not happy with part of the plan

After signing the largest spending bill in the history of this country accounting for over one trillion dollars that we do not have, Barack Obama said that he intended to slash the deficit by 2/3 using a pay as you go plan. According to The Won, he intends to require a funding source for any spending. This is the same promise the Democrats made prior to the 2006 mid term elections and one they reinforced in December after they had won the majority. They were criticizing George Bush for his spending and promised not to spend money unless there was a funding source. They broke that as soon as they were sworn in and they certainly broke it with the spending bill.

It is convenient that The Won has decided to be fiscally responsible after he spent over a trillion dollars. That is a trillion that did not have a funding source. OK, the source is our grandchildren.

Obama stated that his plan means if they are to spend money then they will need to find something to cut. They will cut NOTHING significant because government never cuts. Obama is saying that he will fix the deficit he inherited. Here is a newsflash, all presidents in the past have inherited a deficit. Clinton had no surplus, that is an urban legend. The reality is the government still had a deficit when he left office.

Now, the amount was not nearly what it is now but spending a trillion more will not make it better.

Here is what is going to happen. Obama will say that he has cut everything that is possible but that they still need to raise revenue. Then he will levy a huge tax increase on taxpayers. He will tax the rich but that will depend on what definition of rich he decides to use. He changed it downward about 5 times.

He will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire which will cause a tax increase for the middle class. The middle class will be hit hard because they were the biggest recipients of Bush’s tax cuts (despite what the left says about tax cuts for the rich). I am willing to bet the marginal tax rate will be above 50% for the wealthier taxpayers. During Carter that 50% was levied on people making about $47,000 a year. The top rate was near 80% and I imagine that Obama will try to push it that high in the next few years.

He will be like Clinton and discuss how hard he tried and mention a number of times that he inherited the mess and that it is worse than he thought and all the other code words used as excuses for raising taxes. Obama will then go into the only leadership style he knows and that is crisis mode. He will tell us that it is a crisis and that we need to act now. He will then raise taxes.

Inflation will go up, unemployment will go up and revenue to the treasury will go down. History tells us this is what happens.

Don’t be fooled by the pay as you go scam. This is the precursor to raising taxes. They have to be able to convince people they did all they could and raising taxes is the last resort.

Source:
My Way News

The question posed in the title is a famous question (in various forms) posed by scam artists to tourists in the last century. I can’t imagine that someone would be stupid enough to actually bite on such a line but, as the saying goes, a sucker is born every minute.

Now Mayor Bloomberg of New York has prepared his list of items he wants Americans to buy for the people of his city. Bloomberg, the billionaire narcissist who went against the will of the people in order to seek a third term, is not alone as many city and state officials line up at the Congressional ATM.

Bloomberg is just the first to put together a list of specific items he wants to use the money for. He wants taxpayers from all over the country to pay for hospitals, schools, high speed internet access for the schools, and a black heritage cultural center. None of these things will benefit taxpayers from the other 49 states or the thousands of cities across the nation but he wants all of us to pay for them. Bloomberg is the modern day scam artist who wants you to pay for his infrastructure without the benefit of ownership.

Of course, no plea for money would be complete without the obligatory “it’s for the children” nonsense.

“We have to make the kind of investments for our future that will give our children a future,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg has tailored his requests to coincide with Obamas plan to create new jobs by rebuilding infrastructure. The story goes that Americans want the infrastructure upgraded and that they are willing to pay up to a 1% tax increase to get it done. Of course, 1% is no where near what the actual increases will be.

It is not the job of the federal government to spend taxpayer money on state projects unless the projects have some federal significance. The highway system is a federal system and the feds collect taxes to maintain the federal roadways. State roads are maintained by the state.

The schools and hospitals in New York are infrastructure items that will benefit the people of New York. There is no reason to spend federal tax dollars on them and the same holds true for all the other states whose officials are standing in line with their hands out.

Out of control spending is the fuel that supplied the fire of the economic problems we face today. We cannot fix the problem of spending beyond our means by spending more money. Even if we could, each state is responsible for its infrastructure projects.

I have long railed against pork projects that come from DC. I am appalled when I see lawmakers attach projects for their states to spending bills. Taxpayers from most other states have little use for the projects and will likely never, ever, use them or benefit from them.

The massive bailout that already passed and the even larger one looming on the horizon are nothing more than huge transfers of wealth. It is what Obama described as spreading the wealth and it will not work. From what I see, the entire mess has been nothing more than a huge pork project from the start.

And even if someone could somehow justify the spending on “the children” they would be at a loss to explain why taxpayer money should be spent on a black cultural center. This is abuse of power, abuse of taxpayer money and it is a fine example of how we got in this mess int he first place.

The politicians in DC and around the country do not, for the most part, have any concept of fiscal responsibility. Democrats, in particular, are poor managers of money. Most of the cities and states in dire financial trouble are run by Democrats and they have huge populations of people receiving social services (read taxpayer money).

The people who voted for Obama voted for change and the way he wants to spend money it is likely that is all they will have left.

Over regulation, poor regulation, greed, and government irresponsibility with our money is how we got in this mess and one thing is certain, more of that will damn sure not get us out of it.

If you believe that it will then I am selling a bridge you might be interested in.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has proposed a plan that would require nearly 70,000 state employees to take up to 5 days off without pay in order to help with budget problems. The furloughs would be graduated with those in the lower salary ranges receiving 2 unpaid days and those in the upper ranges receiving 5. The magnanimous governor will also take 5 days. Those providing emergency and essential services will not be affected.

Last year this governor called a special session to increase taxes in order to cover a budget shortfall. He had already squandered the excess money left by his predecessor and needed more to feed the insatiable appetite the state has for spending. His Democratic super majority passed the largest tax increases in history despite warnings that it was not wise to raise taxes in a tough economy. But Democrats know better.

The result was that revenue (what they call the tax money they confiscate from us) went down. People stopped spending money on unnecessary things and cut way back on the basics. They also took advantage of nearby states with either lower or no taxes. Delaware and Virgina received more business from Marylanders who wanted to pay fewer taxes.

Now they have an even worse problem and the short term fix is to furlough state employees. I imagine that the near future will call for more tax increases which will only make the problem worse. Democrats never learn so they will try to raise fees and taxes on all kinds of things which will result in even further belt tightening. Maryland is a wealthy state but the legislature refuses to cut spending or eliminate unnecessary services and to top it off they always legislate new requirements without a funding source. They require some new program but they have no way to pay for it.

The state’s union employees are not happy and are trying to block the furloughs. The union always backs the Democrat running for governor (and for many of the legislative seats) and it strong arms its members to support the candidates as well. The union backed O’Malley and now their members are getting what they so richly deserve. They backed all the Democrats who tax and spend and now they are suffering the blowback from their choices.

I don’t feel one bit sorry for them and any of their members who voted for Martin O’Malley. He told everyone he was going to raise taxes and now that he has been an ineffective leader and has led us into financial hard times they will have to suffer.

To the state’s union employees I can only say, you backed him and you voted for him. You said he was the best to lead us so you need to quit your whining and do what your leader has decided is best. Besides, you work for the taxpayer who pays your salary and if times are tough for us they need to be tough for you as well.

The only good to come from this is that if it lasts long enough O’Malley might be a one term wonder though I would not hold my breath. The people of Maryland have short memories and they always vote for Democrats who promise them something for nothing (nothing meaning paid for with other people’s money).

There is no doubt the union will back him when he runs for reelection.

Yep, people get the government they deserve.

Source:
Baltimore Sun