McConnell Admits GOP Nothing More than Hostage Takers in Debt Crisis

Gee, haven't we been in a state of chaos for a while now without any leadership from the prez?

The first thing we need to look at is wholesale tax reform. I'm all for eliminating loopholes, exemptions, etc as long as they are replaced with equitable rates for everyone and include a mechanism to tax "off-the-books" income and the underground economy. A solid taxation system will take away a lot of the uncertainty that is scaring businesses. Once the economy is a bit more stable we can begin the hunt for spending reductions & budget savings.

 

A record 82 percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job — the most since The Times first began asking the question in 1977, and even more than after another political stalemate led to a shutdown of the federal government in 1995.
More than four out of five people surveyed said that the recent debt-ceiling debate was more about gaining political advantage than about doing what is best for the country. Nearly three-quarters said that the debate had harmed the image of the United States in the world.
Republicans in Congress shoulder more of the blame for the difficulties in reaching a debt-ceiling agreement than President Obama and the Democrats, the poll found.
The Republicans compromised too little, a majority of those polled said. All told, 72 percent disapproved of the way Republicans in Congress handled the negotiations, while 66 percent disapproved of the way Democrats in Congress handled negotiations.

 

Personally, I believe, that in order to have a tax system that is as free of corruption and influence as we can make it, we need one federal tax system in this country that applies to all people (and corporations are considered people). It needs to be simple enough for an 8th grader to calculate. It needs to be based on income and not wealth. It needs to have no credits or deductions for houses or kids or this or that. It needs to have no extra taxes on fuel and health care plans and this and that. It needs to be progressive. It needs to start at $1 of income and start at a >0% rate. It needs to at least pay for spending. And it needs to have very harsh penalties and fines for unreported income.

It will also never happen because our bloated, corrupt tax system is the best way for our politicians to keep their hands in the cookie jar, stay elected and fool the American people.

 

Very interesting, but there was one word you (and Boehner) missed.

Quoted from your reference. I don't see it. Maybe you can point it out to me. That is an excellent reference show exactly what we have been trying to tell you. Liberals and the media keep saying default, but there is no evidence that we could not pay our debts.

 

The "Default" rhetoric turned out to be nothing more than BO's scare tactics, aimed primarily seniors. He used his office & preyed on the weak in order to eliminate one of the obstacles threatening his re-election bid.

 

And the credit downgrade turned out to be real. I guess the default rhetoric did have an effect after all.

 

Actually, BO claimed we would avoid the downgrade if he got what he wanted. Well, he got what he wanted and we still were downgraded. That's a lie in my book.

 

He wanted a 4 trillion dollar deal balanced on revenue increases and spending cuts including some to entitlements. What part of that did Congress give him?

The Obama administration, in seeking $4 trillion in spending cuts in a debt limit deal, has put major changes to Social Security and Medicare on the table if Republicans agree to increased tax revenues.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-puts-medicare-social-security-cuts-table-031442907.html

Congress, both parties, wanted no part of it.

 

Ah but he realy got what he wanted Stu LOL see even though he did say that he never realy meant it of course he had his fingers crossed behind his back LOL

 

Stu I believe you are insightful enough to know what I'm talking about. You may not want to agree with me publically but you know the only thing BO wanted out of all this was an increase in the debt ceiling and to have the debate for a future increase tabled until after the next elections.

 

Then why didn't he get a clean bill that just increased the debt ceiling?

 

I seem to agree with no one here - from the US anyway - on our financial issues. (Imagine that ). But I do agree with the S&P downgrade and the reason they stated for it.

I think (most) everyone wanted an increase in the debt ceiling and I think the intelligent thing was to not have to go through this same damaging process again soon. We got downgraded and took a huge hit to the market because Congress wimped out like it did. I can't imagine how worse it would have been if they had done even less and imposed an even a shorter time before doing it again.

My belief is rather simple. If we had gone with 4 trillion in overall reduction by using spending cuts (including entitlements) and revenue increases, we would not have been downgraded and our financial position would be much stronger than it is now. That is what Obama proposed and what both parties in Congress rejected.

 

Don't expect David and his 6th grade education to veer away from Fox so called News talking points. But you know what he really means right? Because we all know that you don’t want to agree with David publically but really you do agree with him. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone make that claim here so far. This is interesting and I’m sure you have your opinion but I find it kind of…. Sniveling is the word I think.

 

It of course also now makes any additional borrowing by your Goverment that much more expensive as the cost will have gone up.

 

I may not be perfect but I think one thing can be said about my participation here...I consistently do not care who I agree or disagree with on any issue, regardless of party.

 

I think Obama was the only adult in the room and he wasn't able to overcome the opposition on the Right and Boner was just a coward fearing his own Speaker's position and running scared from the Tea Party elements. That is why we got the deal we got.

 

We will see how this committee goes now. Maybe the Congressional Democrats will surprise me by going along with entitlement cuts and maybe the Congressional Republicans will surprise me and go along with revenue increases.​

 

IMO That is a very Left leaning behavior. Righties want to huddle together to feel like there is support for their opinions which quite often there just isn't. Lefties such as myself could care less who agrees and who doesn't agree with their opinions. I think that you better be careful Stu. Once you get a label from the Righties, they paint a target on you and nip at your toes endlessly. It kind of tickles but is funny at the same time because they are such paper tigers to begin with.

 

Here is a sobering statistic that explains why our government seems to be short of cash all the time and guess what, it has nothing to do with spending.

Average personal tax for people making 1 million or more in 1961
43.1%
Average personal tax for people making 1 million or more today
23%
Average corporate tax paid in 1961
47%
Average corporate tax paid today
11%

So as everything has gotten more expensive in the past 50 years, the government's tax base has dropped substantially. I guess if you keep saying that government is spending too much and say it often enough, nobody pays any attention to the fact that you aren't paying nearly what you used to pay in taxes.

 

Then there is this. I'd read the entire linked article if you want to see where most of the blame should be placed.

S&P Downgrade Caused By Republicans Refusing To Raise Taxes To Pay Debt

Reuters reports: S & P Downgrades U.S. Credit For First Time In History, Repeatedly Cites GOP Intransigence On Taxes. In explaining their decision Standard & Poor’s cites both the decision by Republicans in Congress to turn the debt ceiling into a political football and the Republicans intransigence on tax increases. Some excerpts from the release:

[...]The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy.

[...]It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.

[...]The act contains no measures to raise taxes or otherwise enhance revenues, though the committee could recommend them.

[...]Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.
Standard & Poors indicates that they could improve their rating for the U.S. if “the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for high earners lapse from 2013 onwards, as the Administration is advocating.”

Thom Hartmann points out what you're not hearing in the media about the S&P downgrade:

Have you seen, anywhere, in any media, or even heard reported or repeated on NPR, the following sentence? “We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.”

It’s right there on Page 4 of the official Standard & Poors “Research Update” – the actual report on what they did and why – published on August 5th as the explanation for why they believe Congress – and even the Gang of Twelve – will be unable to actually deal with the US debt crisis.

http://collindemsnews.blogspot.com/2011/08/s-downgrade-caused-by-republicans.html