Taxes

Jon Huntsman: Still A RARE Sane Voice In The Republican Party, And A “Might Have Been” President In 2013!

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Former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, seen rightfully by the Obama campaign as a real potential threat to a second term, is still, in the aftermath of the Republican defeat, coming across as a rare sane voice in the Republican Party!

Huntsman accepts that taxes must go up on the wealthy: that we need immigration reform: that science must win out over religion regarding global warming and climate change; that neoconservatives wishing to invade everywhere must be ignored; and that gay rights and other social issues should not be the center of party debate.

This is all very reasonable and rational, and if the GOP is to have a future, they must turn to intelligent, knowledgeable leaders such as Jon Huntsman.

But don’t bet on it, as more likely, it will be KNOW NOTHINGS such as Rick Santorum; ideologues such as Paul Ryan; loony libertarians such as Rand Paul; or other right wing extremists, who will most likely continue to dominate the party leadership, to their detriment!

Grover Norquist Is Being “Divorced” By Republican Office Holders Rapidly!

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Grover Norquist, the powerful head of Americans For Tax Reform, has been able to dominate Republican thinking for a generation, with the goal of NEVER raising taxes EVER again!

But suddenly, after Republican defeats in the recent election in both the House and the Senate, we are seeing the beginnings of “divorce” proceedings by such Republican luminaries as:

Senator John McCain of Arizona
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee
Congressman Peter King of New York
Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Majority Leader

The difference from the Presidential campaign, when all of the GOP candidates refused to accept a deal of one dollar in tax increases for ten dollars of budget cuts, is long gone, a part of distant history, as the Republicans understand the concept that taxes must go up, and that the wealthy cannot have the same advantages they had for ten years under the Bush tax cuts.

This is a good beginning step, but it is a long way from ‘divorce” in theory to actual vote for tax increases.

So we shall see how far this goes!

What Barack Obama’s Election To A Second Term As President Means

Ronald 3 Comments

The second term victory of Barack Obama has many meanings, including:

ObamaCare is here to stay, although there will be tinkering and fine tuning of the program. Who would have thought that Chief Justice John Roberts would save it, and that the ability of the Republican Party to smash it would be a total failure?

The Supreme Court is safe from a right wing tilt, as it is now Barack Obama and a stronger Democratic Senate who will have control over future Court appointments, and lower court nominees as well, and therefore, Obama’s effect on constitutional law will be massive.

The advance of gay rights and gay marriage is now guaranteed, and expect that the Supreme Court will rule on it soon, very likely favorably, and that never again will any state or any religious group be able to deny a basic human right to anyone, the right to marry a person you love.

The environment will be advanced greatly, and likely, often by executive order. Expect that Barack Obama will accomplish enough reform, that he will rank with Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter as an environmentalist.

The labor movement, in deep trouble for a long time, will now have a champion who will help to revive it, and gain the respect of the American people for the importance of unions.

There will be attempts to deal with the problem of poverty, and expect that Obama will attempt to do what Al Gore planned, had he been inaugurated as President in 2001— a War on Poverty.

Wall Street knows it will have a President who intends to fight them on the subject of regulation, as the voters made clear they wanted government oversight of the financial industry in the public interest.

The right of women to control their reproductive lives, and to have equal pay and respect, will be championed by Barack Obama. No more disrespect for women will become part of the agenda.

The ability to help Latinos and Hispanics achieve advancement in America will be promoted, as they made a dramatic difference in this election, and a plan for immigration reform will move forward, as even sane people in the Republican Party, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, know it is essential for political survival, as well as being what is moral and ethical.

Taxes will go up to make up for past irresponsibility on paying for two wars, and is essential to make budget cuts less onerous, and the rich will go back to paying the rates they paid under Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and they will simply have to understand we are all going to have to sacrifice for the good of the nation and its future.

The possibility of engagement in foreign wars, including against Iran, will be lessened dramatically, although there can never be a certainty that America can avoid foreign conflict, but at least we have a President who will make every effort to avert it.

America will have a President who does not dismiss any percentage of the population, but instead a President who is sincere, genuine, caring, decent, and will work as hard as he can for our advancement. And if he makes mistakes, he will be accountable for them, and will always come across as someone who dedicates every waking moment to our success as a nation.

Barack Obama will have our back, and we will come to appreciate him in the long run of history!

The Nerve And Gall Of Mitt Romney: Against The Principles Of The Declaration Of Independence!

Ronald 1 Comment

It has been a few days since Mitt Romney’s comments at a Boca Raton mansion leaked out, and the more one thinks about it, it makes one simmer and boil with rage!

Here is a man, and all of the wealthy “prima donnas” who gave $50,000 campaign contributions to hear him speak and answer questions, and what does Mitt Romney say?

That 47 percent of the population feels they are “entitled to food, housing and health care and whatever.”

The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, declared that there were certain basic natural rights of man–including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

So EVERY person in America, supposedly the most advanced nation in the world and a democracy, should be entitled to:

Food
Clothing
Shelter
Health Care
Some Joy and Contentment in their lives on a daily basis, and particularly when older

With all of the 47 percent paying some kind of taxes, and many of them being senior citizens, who have contributed to Social Security and Medicare all of their working lives; and many being veterans who have fought for their country; and with single mothers contributing children who will later be taxpayers; and with college students being educated to contribute taxes with their employment in the future—with all these realities—NO POLITICIAN and NO PARTY should tell the American people that they are not entitled to food, clothing, shelter, health care, and the ability to have some joy and contentment in their lives, at all times, but particularly when older!

The answer is for the American people to repudiate Romney and his Republican party, and stop allowing wealthy people to divide us by bringing up issues of race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation to divide us—and also—keep religion out of government, and promote separation of church and state!

This is supposed to be a government OF, BY, and FOR the people, so let’s get to work!

The Condoleezza Rice Boomlet: An Attempt To Take Attention Off Mitt Romney’s Problems With Bain Capital And Tax Issues!

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This author has written before about the speculation that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be chosen by Mitt Romney to be his Vice Presidential running mate.

While Rice is a fascinating, intelligent, and super qualified candidate to be Vice President, and in theory, President of the United States, one would have to be drunk to believe she will be the nominee of the Republican Party for Vice President.

Rice has great foreign policy expertise, but would constantly be associated with the Iraq War, which was based on false information, and any connection with President George W. Bush right now would be toxic.

But also, it is certain that former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom often had major internal battles with her and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, would bitterly oppose her, were she on the short list for Vice President. There would be an internal battle within the party, since neoconservatives would be against her, while former President George H. W. Bush would strongly back her, but is pretty much ignored within the party apparatus, while gaining more and more respect and appreciation from the American people as he and his wife, Barbara, near 20 years since they left the White House!

Also, Rice is a socially moderate in a party which is not so, as she is pro choice on abortion, for affirmative action, and for gay rights. That makes her poisonous to evangelical Christians and Tea Party activists, who look down upon a bright woman with a mind, and willingness to speak up for what she believes in!

And underlying a lot of opposition to her is the fact of the thought of an African American woman being in line for the Presidency! What a horrifying thought to the hate mongers in the Republican Party who hate Barack Obama much more than they love America, and would allow the country to go down the tubes, rather than cooperate for the benefit of the millions of victims of the Great Recession brought about by the short sighted policies of the Bush Administration!

Besides all of the above, Condoleezza Rice has made it perfectly clear that running for office is not her thing, and she happens to like her life at Stanford University, including her freedom to speak out and write and be back in the life of the scholar! She would have to be totally crazy to give that up, particularly for a Presidential candidate who is fatally flawed, and loves power too much to wish to give influence to someone who actually is much smarter than him in so many ways!

So why is her name being floated again? The answer is to deflect attention off Mitt Romney’s problems with his lies about his association with Bain Capital, and his refusal to release multiple years of tax returns, which would create problems for him.

This is a man who has said publicly that he has paid all of the taxes required, and NOT ONE PENNY more!

God forbid that he put his country first, and show some patriotism, that his government is not the enemy that he must avoid paying taxes at all costs. He could never spend or utilize all of his vast fortune in his lifetime, or even in the lifetime of his five sons, but he has this obsessive need to keep on having MORE and MORE, and must have power, because he is a control freak who looks down on the American citizenry as people he “can fire” in order to cut government spending, and to enrich himself and his oligarchic class of one percenters!

Condoleezza Rice may be a critic of Barack Obama, but her reputation, already damaged by association with George W. Bush, would suffer further damage if she dared to associate with Mitt Romney, to the extent that she would agree to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Do not hold your breath, as this is NOT going to happen!

Mitt Romney Wants Us To “Trust Him”, Avoiding Specifics! Why Should We Trust The “Lie Master And Chameleon?”

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, refuses to be specific about his plans for the economy to deal with taxes and the budget.

Romney refuses to be specific about what he would do about the illegal immigration controversy.

He refuses to be specific about ANYTHING, instead preferring to attack President Barack Obama as having failed, and that he, as a businessman, has the answers as to how to create jobs, even though he did a poor job on that score as Massachusetts Governor for four years.

Mitt Romney also repudiates his major accomplishment, the Massachusetts Health Care plan, which was used by Obama as a model for his health care plan.

Mitt Romney has changed his views on EVERY topic and issue imaginable, recasting himself as a “severe” conservative, when the record shows that he is a moderate Republican in his views.

Romney expects us to “trust” him, even though he avoids specifics, and is a total chameleon! The term “flip flopper extraordinaire” fits him to a tee!

So what it comes down to is that Mitt Romney is an expert “Lie Master”, who wants us to forget that he seems to have no principles, and despite his great statements of how religious he is about his Mormon faith, he will not even explain his religious viewpoints, evading it totally!

And if someone is so “religious”, then why can he not tell the truth about anything, or be consistent in his views on anything?

Why is he a “weather vane”, who changes direction on a moment’s notice?

This is the man who wants our support in November, running against a man who has already changed the course of history in numerous ways that are long lasting and productive, and has done a great deal economically to head us in the proper direction.

Yes, more needs to be done economically, but enough has been done, and the principles of the man who did it, to make any sane person realize that a “Lie Master” chameleon like Mitt Romney is NOT the better choice to be our President!

And think about it: Richard Nixon told us to “trust him”, and elect him on a “secret” plan to end the war in Vietnam, which he did not have! We know the kind of President Richard Nixon turned out to be, a “Lie Master”, who was forced out of the Presidency, and is a stain on the history of that office, despite some positive developments, which do not make up for the shortcomings of a person we chose to “trust” without facts or evidence!

Republican Talking Points On Taxes, Regulation, Growth Of Government, Unemployment Rate, And Fighting Terrorism All Total Lies!

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The Republican Party has been attacking the Obama Administration for three years, using “talking points” about taxes, regulation, growth of government, the high unemployment rate, and fighting terrorism.

According to Republican propaganda, Obama has raised taxes, when in actual fact, he has lowered payroll taxes and small business taxes multiple times.

According to Republican propaganda, Obama has increased regulations of all kinds, while in fact he has worked to get rid of unnecessary, unproductive regulation, while increasing it where needed.

According to Republican propaganda, Obama has increased the growth of government, when in actual fact, he has called for and now is initiating streamlining and unification of government agencies on trade and commerce, to save money and cut bureaucracy and unnecessary “red tape”.

According to Republican propaganda, the Obama Administration has failed to lower unemployment and create jobs, while the facts are that 3.2 million jobs have been created, restoring two thirds of the numbers unemployed due to the economic collapse in the last months of the Bush Administration and the first months of the Obama Administration. At the rate of job creation now, the entire loss of 4.7 million jobs since January 2009, mostly in the first six months of the administration as a carryover from the Bush Adminstration, will be recovered by the end of the term of office. And the high point of 9.8 percent unemployment is now down to 8.5 percent, and may go below the magic number of 8 percent that Obama pledged was his goal in the first term, with further improvement later on.

According to Republican propaganda, the Obama Administration has failed in the fight against terrorism, while in reality, our government has used the drone weapon very effectively against terrorists, both Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and has been successful in killing Osama Bin Laden, Anwar Al Awlaki, and helped NATO eliminate Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

EVERYTHING utilized as Republican propaganda for the past three years is based on lies, deceit, mythology, and manipulation of public opinion! Never has an administration been so wronged with all of its accomplishments, of which the above are only a selected few!

But the American people will get the message during the upcoming campaign about what REALLY happened, and who is responsible for the lack of FURTHER improvement, the Republican Party, which only cares about the one percent, and utilizes social issues to draw support from others NOT rich!

The sham is soon to be over, and Mitt Romney will not know what hit him when the campaign is in full swing! And if by some miracle, Rick Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul or Rick Santorum magically becomes the nominee, the attack will be only the stronger!

Forget The “Buffett Rule”! Call It The “Reagan Rule”!

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Recently, there has been much controversy about the concept of the “Buffett Rule”, named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said that he and all wealthy people should pay more taxes than his secretary!

Barack Obama has been promoting that, and the Republicans claim it is promoting “class warfare”! Instead, they would rather promote greed and selfishness, and starve the budget, preventing job growth and promoting further economic dislocation!

But now, it has been uncovered that President Ronald Reagan, the “darling” of the conservatives, called for the same thing when he was President in the 1980s, make wealthy people pay more than the average American taxpayer!

Obama’s language is almost exactly the same as Reagan’s, and it is amazing that many Republicans worship someone who actually agrees with Obama! That shows their ignorance, or their ability to lie, and either is disgraceful! And every poll shows more than 70 percent of the people agree with both Obama AND Reagan!

It is also not well known that Ronald Reagan signed ELEVEN different tax increases while in office, and understood that if the budget or economic conditions required it, a rise in taxes was necessary, including on the wealthy!

It is time for tax action to avert a worst economic situation than the one we are now in!

Death Of Alexander Hamilton On This Day In 1804: What Would He Think Of The Debt Ceiling Crisis?

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On this day, 207 years ago, in 1804, former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton was killed in a gun duel with Vice President Aaron Burr!

The tragedy of this bright, intelligent, brilliant man, who made such a dramatic difference in our history, dying at the young age of 47, still reverberates through our nation, as we desperately need a financial genius such as Hamilton to resolve our financial difficulties, where we are on the brink of default of our debt payments by August 2, unless cooler heads prevail and a compromise is reached!

Would Hamilton be proud of the Republican Party refusal to consider any tax adjustments, reforms, or increases, when the tax rate is the lowest it has been since the 1940s, and our greatest prosperity came during the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations, when the tax rates were as high as 91 percent under Eisenhower, and were dropped to 70 percent under JFK?

Hamilton, who believed in the power of the federal government, would be appalled at the states rights emphasis reviving today, as if there was no Civil War to resolve that matter!

He would be shocked at the ignorance of Republican leaders and supporters who feel no loyalty to the country, but only to their own selfish, greedy personal desires!

Hamilton revived the American economy 220 years ago when it was in desperate circumstances, making certain that all debts were paid!

It would be ironic if now we saw our nation declare bankruptcy, which will damage the nation and its citizens for generations to come, all over refusal to promote what the definition of politics is, that it is “the art of compromise”!

Tax Day Is Here, And The Wealthy And Corporations Are Evading Taxes With Pride!

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As Tax Day arrives, the average middle class person is paying his or her taxes, and yet has no certainty that the social safety net is going to survive, thanks to the Republican Party and its intention to continue to cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, as they have been advocating since Ronald Reagan’s time!

The tax system maximum under FDR was about 73 percent; under Eisenhower 91 percent; under Richard Nixon still about 50 percent; and under Bill Clinton close to 40 percent. But under George W. Bush, it has gone down to 35 percent, and Congressman Paul Ryan wants it to be 25 percent!

The result has been to produce the greatest stratification of wealth, greatest maldistribution of wealth, greatest inequities between the rich, the middle class and the poor in American history, in the midst of three foreign wars, and an aging population and massive social needs!

Meanwhile, the top corporations pay extremely low or no taxes at all, including General Electric and the major oil companies and banks, and many have overseas subsidiaries and operations. In so doing, they evade taxes, hire fewer American workers, charge higher prices to consumers, and give lower dividends and earnings on their investments to retirees. This country is run by the corporations, and the opposition party has no problem with that, since they gain large campaign contributions from these companies, as in the midterm Congressional elections of 2010, spurred on by the Citizens United case of the Supreme Court!

If the wealthy and the corporations do not learn that such inequities in society can lead to discontent and uprisings, then some day they may face the kind of violent change we are seeing elsewhere in the world. Exploitation can only go so far and then, regrettably, lead to dangerous scenarios that no one should wish for!