The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Obama's new budget will call for higher taxes. That's right, despite the major tax increases that Obama pushed through in the last five years, he is now going to campaign for more. Let's forget for the moment that this is just a political move with no hope of success since Congress is never going to pass Obama's proposal. Let's focus instead on what this request discloses (once again) about Obama. The truth is that Obama has no idea what is good for the economy. Just think about where America is at the moment.
1. It is almost five years since the recession officially ended and employment has not returned yet to pre-recession levels. This sort of economic stagnation has not happened since the great depression of the 1930s.
2. The average household income of the American family has gone down by about 10% since Obama took office. This has reduced the amount of money available to Americans to spend which, in turn, slows economic growth.
3. With the start of 2014, all sorts of new taxes and costs have kicked into action. The biggest item sucking money out of the pockets of Americans is the much higher healthcare premiums that many people are paying due to Obamacare. This does not hit everyone, but it hits a large enough segment of society to have a major negative effect on the economy. Then there are the Obamacare taxes which come from the higher income folks for the most part but which also hits middle income Americans day in and day out. Put all these tax and cost increases together and the result is a major reduction in spending power for the American consumer.
4. The economy was doing a bit better during the second half of 2013 although it was far from robust. Since the end of 2013, growth has seemed to slow as illustrated by the terrible job creation numbers reported in both December and January. As has been the case so many times in the last five years, a promising move in the economy seems to have stalled.
5. Raising taxes yet again would suck another substantial chunk of cash out of the pockets of the American people, thereby preventing the consumer spending which is the lifeblood of our economy. nevertheless, this is the plan being offered by Obama.
The sad truth is that we have an economic ignoramus as a president. Everything is politics, and class warfare (soak the rich) is the political argument on which Obama hangs his hat. There are times when it is appropriate to raise taxes, but this is not one of them. In fact, the likely result of a tax increase is that government receipts will fall as a new recession takes hold. there ought to be someone in Washington who understands this and actually acts for the best interests of the American people. Instead, we have Obama.
1. It is almost five years since the recession officially ended and employment has not returned yet to pre-recession levels. This sort of economic stagnation has not happened since the great depression of the 1930s.
2. The average household income of the American family has gone down by about 10% since Obama took office. This has reduced the amount of money available to Americans to spend which, in turn, slows economic growth.
3. With the start of 2014, all sorts of new taxes and costs have kicked into action. The biggest item sucking money out of the pockets of Americans is the much higher healthcare premiums that many people are paying due to Obamacare. This does not hit everyone, but it hits a large enough segment of society to have a major negative effect on the economy. Then there are the Obamacare taxes which come from the higher income folks for the most part but which also hits middle income Americans day in and day out. Put all these tax and cost increases together and the result is a major reduction in spending power for the American consumer.
4. The economy was doing a bit better during the second half of 2013 although it was far from robust. Since the end of 2013, growth has seemed to slow as illustrated by the terrible job creation numbers reported in both December and January. As has been the case so many times in the last five years, a promising move in the economy seems to have stalled.
5. Raising taxes yet again would suck another substantial chunk of cash out of the pockets of the American people, thereby preventing the consumer spending which is the lifeblood of our economy. nevertheless, this is the plan being offered by Obama.
The sad truth is that we have an economic ignoramus as a president. Everything is politics, and class warfare (soak the rich) is the political argument on which Obama hangs his hat. There are times when it is appropriate to raise taxes, but this is not one of them. In fact, the likely result of a tax increase is that government receipts will fall as a new recession takes hold. there ought to be someone in Washington who understands this and actually acts for the best interests of the American people. Instead, we have Obama.
No comments:
Post a Comment