Big Dogs House

Whose Money Is It?

Nov 20, 2010 Political

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire and when they do taxes for everyone will go up. The Democrats failed to do anything about the issue prior to the election because they were worried that they might offend voters, not that it made any difference. Now it is up to the lame duck session of Congress to fix this problem before it goes into recess for the year. Taxes will already rise on 1 January because the information needed to accurately withhold taxes must be in early or pay systems can’t make the necessary changes.

So the Congress is supposedly working furiously to get this done. There is a sticking point. Obama and his leaders in Congress only want to extend the cuts for individuals making under $200,000 and joint filers under $250,000. Republicans (and some less senior Democrats) want to extend the cuts for everyone. Barack Obama is not on board with this idea:

Obama favors renewing the tax cuts only for those at or below those level, saying the nation cannot afford to renew them for wealthier Americans. al-Reuters

The nation cannot afford to renew them for the wealthier Americans? Whose money is it? Obama acts like the benevolent government was gracious and allowed people to keep more of what they make but now it is owed back. The reality is that the government takes our money regardless of what tax rate is used. IT TAKES OUR MONEY.

What does he mean we can’t afford it? Renewing the tax cuts will not add one dime of debt to the government because the rate will stay the same as it has been since the cuts took place. What Obama means is that government wants more money and allowing the cuts on the wealthy to expire will allow government to confiscate more.

The problem is not the amount of money the government gets in taxes. It gets plenty. The problem is that government keeps spending too much. It mismanages everything. Look at Social Security. Workers have paid into that system and the money was put into the general fund and spent. Now they want to raise SS taxes and increase the cap in order to afford the bill. In effect, we are paying for SS twice. We paid for it when the money was withheld and we now have to pay to make up for the misappropriation of what we paid in. If it had been put away we would have plenty to pay the bills.

No, Obama is a big government liberal and he wants more money and he will raise taxes on the wealthy to get it.

Perhaps he should learn what a balanced budget is and learn how to live within the government’s means.

We are not an ATM for the government.

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.

Tags: lies, Obama, taxes, wealthy

The Crisis Will Hatch Universal Health Care Next

Jun 8, 2009 Political

Never let a good crisis go to waste. So far the Obama administration has not let this sentiment go to waste because it has pushed a number of things through at break neck speed all under the blanket of the crisis. The stimulus, the omnibus, the bailout of auto companies (and subsequent loss of taxpayer money in bankruptcy) are all the result of the crisis, emergencies that cannot wait. The time is now.

We have not spent very much of the allocated stimulus and things are starting to improve though we will have a way to go. We should rescind the rest of the spending and let things work themselves out.

No, we will spend that money (unwisely) and the Obama folks will continue. Next up on the plate is universal health care. The Democrats want every person in the country covered and they have a number of ways of doing it. All of them will mean tax increases and those increases will affect everyone.

Obama wants to tax the wealthy. He is pushing for a cap on tax deductions (and an increase in the marginal tax rate) for the wealthiest of taxpayers so that they will pay more into the government. That money will be redistributed to pay for health care. The cost will be staggering, the quality of care will decrease and everyone will be affected by the tax on the wealthy. Plus, there is no guarantee they government will spend the money on health care. Look at how the government has raped Social Security.

One plan on the table is to require all employers to provide health care coverage or pay part of the costs. This will only result in an increase in the price of goods. Employers ALWAYS pass costs on to consumers so everyone will end up paying. The plan also mandates insurance. People will be required to get health care coverage. You can be a billionaire and able to afford health expenses out of pocket but you will be required to get coverage.

I want to know where in the Constitution it says I HAVE to have health care coverage. Where is that mandate located?

Universal health care is socialized medicine where bean counters get to decide what treatment is best or if you should receive it. Despite the claims, other countries that have socialized medicine are not in good shape. Would you want to get sick in Cuba? Would you want to wait for bypass surgery in England or Canada? Some people might like the system but those who do are the people who are not responsible enough to take care of themselves.

We have socialized medicine in this country. Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA (as well as military health system) are all government run. The VA and military are items provided as part of the work contract but they are overburdened with administrative red tape and administrators. The health care provided to our troops is top notch and many of the innovations are later used in the civilian world but the red tape is a nightmare.

Liberals went nuts over problems at Walter Reed (a political stunt to embarrass George Bush) but this is the same system they want to give to you.

We cannot afford the cost. If you think health care is expensive now just wait until it is free. We need to revamp the way things are done in the open market and make it a more competitive atmosphere. We need to remove some of the restrictions placed on companies and we need to allow individuals and small business to pool resources in order to get group rates.

What we do not need is government running health care. The federal government could not organize a child’s birthday party and if it did the cost would be three times required and taxes would be raised to pay for it.

The same government that wants all your records electronic and wants to administer health care is the one that published our nuclear secrets.

If we want well run health care perhaps we should have Wal Mart take it over. The Wal Mart people actually know how to run a business and keep costs down.

Related items:
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Heritage Foundation

Tags: crisis, health care, taxes, waste, wealthy