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A Further Perspective
Not a Single Dime?
In Obamaland, we’re Bunnies at the Playboy Mansion and Hef is picking up the tab.
Obama’s big promise is that the vast majority of the U.S. population can get tons of free stuff from the government and it won’t cost them a single dime. They can just force “the rich” to fork over their money to pay for it.
It’s sort of like sticking up the opera fans from the wealthy suburbs when they come downtown for a show, except that there’s no risk of jail time in this form of forced redistribution, other than for the well-heeled who might refuse to be sufficiently demonized and soaked.
What’s promised is more forgiveness of tuition loans, lower mortgage payments, free and better health care, receding oceans and wider beaches, and here’s how President Obama said it will be paid for in his February 2009 State of the Union Speech: “If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased by a single dime. I repeat — not one single dime.”
Only 2 percent of American households earn $250,000 or more per year, so what Obama is saying is that the other 98 percent can party like there’s no tomorrow while the overly rich and too privileged with the big carbon foot prints will be required to pay the freight for the whole gang.
It’s a promise of freebies, like we’re Bunnies at the Playboy Mansion and Hef is picking up the tab.
And it’s not like those making over $250,000 haven’t been paying more than their fair share all along for all the tanks and stimulating bridges-to-nowhere that the federal government purchases. A recent study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania estimated that over-$250,000 households earn 24.1 percent of all U.S. income and pay 43.6 percent of all personal federal income taxes.
So this tiny sliver of the American population pays nearly half of all federal income taxes — pays a disproportionate share of the $1 million in stimulus money that’s being spent to study the division of labor among ants, pays a disproportionate share of the $700,000 that’s going to help crab fishermen in Oregon recover their lost crab pots, and pays more than their fair share of the $977,346 that’s going to provide free BlackBerrys to smokers in D.C. so they’ll be allegedly stimulated to kick the habit.
And on they’ll go, giving free medical school tuition if the potential doctor agrees to practice in Kenya or Haiti, giving free research money to scholars who agree to play with the data so that it looks like America’s cheeseburgers are killing polar bears, all while we’re being told that none of this will take a dime out of the pockets of the 98 percent.
As the theory of Obamanomics goes, we can best create jobs by taking $390,000 in taxes from the nation’s investors and job creators and sending it to the State University of New York at Buffalo to study the impact of malt liquor and pot on young adults.
Instead of getting off the backs of the nation’s producers, the Obama strategy for economic stimulation calls for more taxes and mandates on businesses and more money to the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University to study, respectively, the “mating decisions” of cactus bugs and how cheap booze affects the “motor functions” of plastered mice. My guess: Their little eyes will blur, their tiny legs will buckle, and then they’ll fall over in a stupor.
Plus there’s Obamacare and the threat that we can be jailed and fined up to $250,000 for not buying in, while Bloomberg reports that the new health care charges may cut as much as $14 billion from U.S. corporate profits.
All told, Obama’s agenda of redistributive “justice” is calling for an additional $1.2 trillion to be confiscated from “the rich” over the next 10 years by way of hikes in the top two income tax rates, the phasing out of deductions and tax exemptions, and higher taxes on dividends, rental income and capital gains
And none of that is going to cost any of the 98 percent “a single dime”? Not a dime in higher taxes, higher prices, lost wages or lost jobs? Impossible.
About the Author
Ralph R. Reiland is the B. Kenneth Simon professor of free enterprise and an associate professor of economics at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (34) | Leave a comment
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Brian Mc| 4.7.10 @ 7:34AM
My wife and I took a vacation, once. When we had returned from Wisconsin we were shocked to find the toilet clogged, the flag post ripped down and Old Glory gone, our Klipsche speakers missing, and something stuck in the sinkeraetor.
I foresee simliar results, only in a bigger way, coming down the pike for us...as a nation.
It's time to lock the doors and kick the kids out before they invite their 30 million friends over for the weekend.
Alan Brooks| 4.7.10 @ 5:24PM
The question has to be asked repeatedly: why does the opposition keep running mediocre candidates? Because since the Cold War ended the opposition has been clueless.
Alan Brooks| 4.7.10 @ 8:06PM
You peole are so hooked on returning to your own vomit, that you might run Jeb Bush in '12; it is v. unlikely, but who have guessed 15 years ago that in 2000 Dubya would win?
Alan Brooks| 4.7.10 @ 8:09PM
people, not "peole".
But you make the same mistakes over and over expecting different results. In '96 you ran a superannuated war hero and he lost. In '08 the same exact mistake. Never underestimate the ability of the GOP to shoot itself in the foot.
And you want the electorate to respect you??
martin j smith| 4.7.10 @ 7:49AM
Its tiime to make sure that you and everyone you know that is angry at what is happening gets the heck to the polls and votes. The election of 2010 and 2012 are the most momentus now in my life time. It may well seal the fate of our nation for better or wose. I think it is time focus more on strategizing than on reguritating the same old stuff that we know.
The other thing is that there are people who really believe they will get something for nothing--especially in the so called " middle class". They must be helped to understand that they too will pay a very heavy price.
Remeber: If something is too good to be true, it is.
Alan Brooks| 4.7.10 @ 5:29PM
Then you need a 3rd party that attempts to conserve something, rather than merely solicit donations for GOP candidates. Three unsatisfactory Bush administrations-- and two war-hero wannabes-- have undermined trust in the GOP. If America were not so conservative, there would be no trust at all.
Lullaby's, Legends and Lies| 4.7.10 @ 8:09AM
What about this value added tax, that's the new talk of the town, down in D.C.? That's not going to be a tax hike to everybody? Yeah right!! I guess if you never buy anything, like food or gas, you won't have to pay it. All those Ted Kaczynski's out there in their shacks, deep in the middle of the woods, must be happy about this right now. So they're trying to make it sound, like this is not really going to be a new tax (hike)? Okay!! But I like to live here on Earth, in a place called reality, and this VAT is just another tax for the middle class, and for the "Evil" rich people, and it'll also be a tax for the poor too (Oh-No, not the poor!!).
They're only going to raise taxes on the rich? What a joke!! What a lie!! And we're falling for it?
But speaking of the 2% who pay most of the income taxes today, there's an old Irish saying, and I paraphrase it, "No matter how many times the bucket goes to the well, it's broken in the end". Meaning, if you keep stealing more and more money from the same 2%, one day, they won't be rich anymore, and won't be able to pay anymore, because they'll be "broke" in the end too. So let's just keep beating them to death with more taxes, because it's fun, and they're "Evil" anyway!!
Now I'm all for this Fair (flat) tax, but I want it applied to everyone equally, if you rich, you pay X%, if you're on welfare, you pay the same X%. Don't think it's fair? Too bad!! Everybody needs to bear the same burden, not the same 2%, over and over again. Plus, as an extra bonus, we could basically do away with the IRS, because everybody pays the same anyway, and who's going to need them anymore? So where's the down side to that?
So you want a nice home, a new car, a college education, a fancy new computer, or maybe you just want to go on a nice vacation each year? Good for you, who doesn't want all of that? Then pay attention in School, get good grades, make friends with smart driven people, get a job after you graduate (maybe a second job too), but don't be late to your job(s), work real hard, save all your money, don't buy frivolous crap, and one day, you can start to have all those things. It's called earning it the hard way. Which is the only way, that most people ever come to appreciate what they have anyway. Don't want to do all those things? Well then, look for a nice refrigerator box at the dump, so you can live in it, because you'll have exactly, what you have earned!! Which is nothing!! Too harsh? Too bad!!
dianne| 4.7.10 @ 1:13PM
You got that right. Why should anybody be exempted from paying taxes unless they are totally disabled? I say eliminate the Bush tax cuts for everybody and get back to where we were before them. Things were wonderful, right?
SpiralArchitect | 4.7.10 @ 4:30PM
Value added tax (VAT) is nice. If done correctly then no one escapes taxation. Create a flat tax that is reasonable then a VAT. This would fix a lot of issues and eliminate the need for more beurocracies ( read: IRS et al ).
-SA
For some reason I want to relate that to taxation and representation... something currently lacking in this nation.
Larry in Iowa| 4.7.10 @ 8:14PM
The VAT is simply a hidden sales tax. Ask the Brits about it. We get to buy their stuff much cheaper than they can. It takes an army to administer since it is assessed at every level. If Obama and his ilk were honest (yeah, right) they would simply propose a point of sale sales tax that everyone sees. But they assume that we are all too stupid to notice a stealth sales tax and will blame the suddenly higher prices on merchants and manufacturers.
raplh| 4.7.10 @ 8:34AM
We have allowed the goverment to get way to much power and control. I fear looking at history this will not end well!
Andrew B| 4.7.10 @ 8:59AM
Some of my liberal friends have tried this line of "reasoning" on me before. Since I am not in the magic category of $250,000 and over, they say, I should just shut up and rake in the goodies.
First, they are idiots. No freebies are coming to me or to anyone like me. Secondly, even if they were correct, it would still be grossly immoral. Letting 98% of citizens, who are supposed to be equal in the eyes of both God and the government, feed off the remaining 2% is unjust, unwise and unworkable.
I look forward with trepidation to the day when the President looks out and realizes that "the rich" have expanded magically to include...me!
Dustoff| 4.7.10 @ 9:42AM
Brian
Klipsche speakers
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Damn.. sorry to hear of your lost. Them are some NICE speakers. (-:
Brian Mc| 4.7.10 @ 6:42PM
...yes, they were...and since it was our daughter's party, we were unable to pursue replacement through the insurance company. We have yet to find the funds to replace the set we would never have been able to afford without a surprise windfall. I curse the brats that stoled them and hope they rot...now that that is off my chest. How does one forgive someone devious enough to invade the sanctity of someone's home. If they came to me at some point and asked for it, I would offer it wholeheartedly...but, not knowing whom the culprit(s) was, I often wonder on it and continue to grind my teeth.
Howard| 4.7.10 @ 9:56AM
Anyone who thinks that tax increases will be limited to the $250,000 and up crowd is insane. Obama has grown the government so much, that his 2008 campaign jive is obsolete. There will be all kinds of direct and indirect proposals to increase revenue. Hey, but that is what Americans obviously wanted when they voted in Obama, Reid, Pelosi and company.
martin j smith| 4.7.10 @ 10:46AM
This is in hindsight but for whatever its worth: Once BHO uttered the figure $ 250,000 suspcion should been raised. How did he get that number ? Why not $175,000 ? Why not any particular number. This utterence was itself a key to class warfare. And some one should have called him out on it. But it was not John MacC was it ?
Ken| 4.7.10 @ 1:49PM
If you parse the statement that candidate Obama made, you will realize that that is one promise he's kept. Many years ago, there was a Lays potato chip commercial where someone would be taunted that he couldn't eat just "one" potato chip, and sure enough, once the person ate one, he ended up eating more, and the person would state "I told you he couldn't eat just one". Obama promised that taxes wouldn't be raised by a single dime. You know, he's right. They're going to be raised by a multitude of dimes.
MTB| 4.7.10 @ 1:54PM
In one of the places that I lived a few years back, the utility company started a campaign to get people to cut back on power and water usage, which we did. In fact, we were so successful, that the utility company wanted to raise rates because they weren't making enough money. How is Obama going to fund these projects for the poor people when the rich eventually become poorer? Well, he (or his Progressive replacement if the American people are stupid enough to put another one into office) will simply lower the threshold of what is considered wealthy from $250K to $100K. His aim is to make all of us equal. Didn't a few other countries try this at one time?
Pingback| 4.7.10 @ 2:16PM
Crikey… Obama Rambles & Drones on for 17 Minutes in North Carolina on “We Are Overta links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Tim| 4.7.10 @ 3:47PM
"Let them eat (somebody elses) cake"
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Marc Jeric| 4.8.10 @ 2:49AM
When I lived and worked in Europe, they called VAT in France 16%; say, something cost 100 franks they added 20 for a total 0f 120. That for me was 20%, not 16%; but the French calculated it as 20/120 - imagine! In Germany it was 20%, nominally. When someting cost 100 marks, you paid 125 marks; however, since I am a mathematician, that was not 20% but 25%. Well, it is the new socialist/marxist math.
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