Obama, GOP on budget collision course

“The president recognizes that we don’t need to provide 100 year-old tax breaks to oil companies so they can sell $100 per barrel oil and make more than $100 billion per year,”

I should say not.

Conservatives need to be straight up and honest with themselves and the American people here: how can they support a raft of laws that shaft the poor while throwing their unwavering support behind a law that would help pad the bank accounts of the rich by ¥700 billion, and then scream that the deficit's too high? Mitch McConnell claims he wants an 'honest conversation' with the American people. He might be more credible if he actually exhibited a bit of honesty himself.

liberal tax-and-spend agenda

Three dirty words there. Wow. I guess if you repeat something often enough, enough suckers will buy it.

The GOP's Mitch McConnell also claimed Americans 'want' these budget cuts. Clearly the man is either clinically deluded, or simply not being honest with the American people. Reality is more like Americans 'want' these budget cuts - as long as those cuts don't affect them. How many conservatives understand this, I wonder?

The plan would allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire at the end of 2012 for individuals making more than $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000." There goes a lot of charity off the bat including:

"Wealthy taxpayers would have their itemized deductions limited starting in 2012, including deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes." Not listed here is capital gains.. Why invest?

the budget proposal would impose about $730 billion in new taxes on businesses" Stupid! "and wealthy individuals over the next decade, while cutting about $400 billion in taxes on middle-income families, the working poor and other businesses, for a net tax increase of about $330 billion." conviently lumped all in one sentence...

“In the face of record-high deficits and continued high levels of unemployment, a budget that imposes massive job-killing tax hikes on small businesses and fails to address entitlement reform or tax reform is hardly the answer,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.," Very true

We need to stop voting in educated elites who've never run a business much less ever worked for one. Need to stop the career politicians from getting elected

Sushi, don't know who you are directing your post to, but you can't tell me you are happy with the increased size of Government offices, the build outs of their offices, and to add those high wages government employees get and the fact that they can hardly ever get fired in a traditional manner.

BTW, I think it's a lame budget - if the primary goal is to reduce the budget. However, its intentions and focuses (especially the focus on renewables) are superior and more future focused than anything the GOP can or will come up with. If you look carefullly at the GOP budget plan, pretty much every aspect of it will take America backwards, make America less competitive, turn a blind eye to and ignore emerging industries, and take from those in need and give to those who don't. The GOP budget plan may as well be called 'Taking Americca Backwards.' Here's a hint: let taxes for the rich go up and there's 70% of the healthcare bill paid for. Slash all SS by a mere 2.5%, shave 10% off defense and raise the retirement age by 12 months and suddenly the budget books won't look quite so ugly.

Skip, what part of my post was your question aimed at?

sushi, your post goes after one side, the GOP, when I'm trying to tell everyone its the whole damn thing (the gov) as it is in its current form. raising taxes or cutting programs is the best answer these two groups can come up with? Your point about cutting the defense budget for example, is the wrong approach, instead you should look at what the military is purchasing and from whom. SS should have an opt out and btw, it was never intended on being the pot at the end of the rainbow, which far too many have treated as such. For your health care, dude, take a look today and how to sell something to a hospital. You are only looking at what people pay at the door.

Here we go, the class warfare rhetoric begins again. Can't wait until 2012 when Obama is voted out. :-)

While we're at it, can't wait until Boehner is out as well. He's a joke.

manfromamerica - "While we're at it, can't wait until Boehner is out as well. He's a joke."

What's with all his sobbing? I don't understand it..,..

What's with all his sobbing? I don't understand it..,..

What sobbing? I was not thrilled about him from the beginning. The entrenched Dems and GOP are the problem. To expect the people who spent us into today's troubles will suddenly be responsible is naive.

The entrenched Dems and GOP are the problem. To expect the people who spent us into today's troubles will suddenly be responsible is naive." Booooooooooooooom!

Exactly. My belief is that in the current 2 party environment, the Dems are the more palatable of two evils. Does that make me a bad person? :-)Exactly. My belief is that in the current 2 party environment, the Dems are the more palatable of two evils. Does that make me a bad person? :-)

sushi-

the Dems are the more palatable of two evils. Does that make me a bad person? :-)

of course not. However it means you are willfully choosing to be partisan to one side, and your arguments tend to wholly support Dems regardless. I tend to fall on the conservative side of issues, but I criticize guilty individuals in both parties. It took all players to get us to the sorry condition we are in now, and re-electing 20-year congressional veterans is the absolutely WRONG answer.

Boehner -> out. McCain -> out. Graham -> out.

Boehner -> out. McCain -> out. Graham -> out. West & Rubio

Boehner -> out. McCain -> out. Graham -> out.

Maybe, just maybe we ought to make a system where politicians are not allowed to make any other cash while serving except their salaries

"It took all players to get us to the sorry condition we are in now, and re-electing 20-year congressional veterans is the absolutely WRONG answer."

"Maybe, just maybe we ought to make a system where politicians are not allowed to make any other cash while serving except their salaries"

Sweet lord we'll actually talking and coming up with alternative solutions instead of simply attacking that with which we don't agree with. Won't ever happen while that people in charge are in charge, but it's a step in the right direction.

Sweet lord we'll actually talking and coming up with alternative solutions instead of simply attacking that with which we don't agree with. Won't ever happen while that people in charge are in charge, but it's a step in the right direction.

agreed!

So much for the post-election twaddle about how Obama will turn centrist like Clinton. His indoctrination is too strong. He is keeping his promise to fringe ecology groups and other neo-luddites that he will gut the coal industry and also keep us dependent on foreign oil. It is time to ask - who does Obama serve? It is not the American people.

SolidariTea, not the American people? Who are you kidding? Obama wants to get in behind an entire emerging industry of renewable/sustainable energy. The GOP wants to completely ignore it and by default let the majority of R&D jobs be in countries that are already leaving America in the dust. Obama wants a high speed rail network. Again, the GOP wants to ignore it. Obama wants the mega rich to take a small tax hike. Again, the GOP won't have it.

The Dem budget and the GOP budget is Progress vs. Stagnation. The only ones who are not 'for Americans' are the conservatives who want to take their nation backwards.

Who are you kidding? Obama wants to get in behind an entire emerging industry of renewable/sustainable energy.

I somehow doubt after GM got $49.5 billion from the taxpayers on their bailout and got busy building a 40,000 dollar 4 seater Chevy Volt, that the Execs at Toyota are losing much sleep right now.

Honestly, the GOP budget is one of the most backward-looking, naval-gazing, go nowhere pieces of legislation I've seen come out of Congress in a while. Again, the Dem budget and the GOP budget is Progress vs. Stagnation. If an initiative holds long- (or short)- term benefits for America, the GOP doesn't want to know about it. They just want Americans to buckle up as they continue to support giving tax breaks to Big Oil and the mega rich while leaching much needed money from those at the lower end of society who don't have enough. It's just amazing - not to mention incredibly ironic - to see conservatives throwing their support behind GOP politicians whose policies continue to rob them blind.

Obama wants to get in behind an entire emerging industry of renewable/sustainable energy

"Green power" failed miserably in Spain. What on earth makes ppl think it is going to create jobs, let alone a sustainable source of power, in the US????

They just want Americans to buckle up as they continue to support giving tax breaks to Big Oil and the mega rich

You are never, ever, able to name these companies supposedly receiving these breaks.

The "mega rich " in America is 1 percent of the population. They pay 40 percent of taxes.

Enlarge that category if u like - the 10 percent of the US pop. that is "mega rich" carries 70 percent of the tax burden.

the OECD - hardly a hotbed of laissez faire "neo-liberalism" - looked at 2008 tax info on America and concluded it is the US - not N Europe and not France - that has THE most progressive tax code in the WORLD.

Direct quote from that report:

the U.S. "has the most progressive tax system and collects the largest share of taxes from the richest 10% of the population."

Do you have even a clue what u are talking about? IS it America you are here to write about? Have u been there? Do you know ANYTHING about the place?

Time to see if members of the House earns their pay and shoots this nightmare down. Just because Obama suggests it does not mean he gets any of it.

RR

SolidariTea, not the American people? Who are you kidding? Obama wants to get in behind an entire emerging industry of renewable/sustainable energy. The GOP wants to completely ignore it and by default let the majority of R&D jobs be in countries that are already leaving America in the dust. Obama wants a high speed rail network. Again, the GOP wants to ignore it. Obama wants the mega rich to take a small tax hike. Again, the GOP won't have it.

What you aren't saying, is that Obama wants to tilt the market so that these areas become economically viable. A High Speed rail sounds nice, but isn't economically viable in the US. Green Jobs have been a disaster in spain and elsewhere where it has been conclusively proven, that it costs 2 jobs for every green job created. The US is broke. Giving billions of dollars in aid money, that they don't have, to push things that simply cannot work without government intervention, isn't the way to go about making things better. If we had a surplus of a few trillion dollars, then sure, maybe we could give that money to build high speed rails, and to force green jobs down everyones throats. But we don't have it, so it face facts. This simply won't work.

Time to see if members of the House earns their pay and shoots this nightmare down. Just because Obama suggests it does not mean he gets any of it.

Presidents budget is DOA. Doubtful even one of the congressmen will read it. They'll force their staffers to do so for soundbytes, but thats pretty much it. The Senate which is still in Dem hands might be able to bring parts of it to the floor, but its doubtful it would even get a vote in the house.

The GOP's excuse for a budget is toast before it even gets to the toaster. There's no way the Dems are going to sign off on a bill as destructive and backward-looking as the GOP proposal. The GOP needs to quit trying to ram these regressive, anti-America policies down peoples' throats and start turning their nonsense into sense. Onto green: it doesn't create jobs? Who are people who say this trying to kid? Solar alone created 80,000 jobs in Germany. Germany, while getting into solar early, is losing out because the tech behind products like photovoltaeic cells is moving so fast and there's not a great advantage being a first mover due to this. China's now leading in R&D, clean energy generation and tech development. Leaving America largely in the dust bar a few large wind farms and a massive solar development going up in Cali. America and Americans can choose to lead or fall behind to has-been status. With GOP policies, the U.S. won't have a chance and in terms of green tech development, profits and jobs, will have its a_se handed to it on a plate. With the GOP, the American empire and American Dream will be a sweet one and not much else.

"record-high deficits and continued high levels of unemploment"

Welcome to Obamaville, lol.

The liberal's mantra: Tax and spend, tax and spend...

RR

The conservative mantra: repeat jingoistic nonsense over and over until I'm convinced of it.

Taka

"The Obama administration hits almost every sector of our economy with a tax hike"

Welcome to Obamaville, lol.

but, but, but ... Obama told Bill O'Reilly that he "hasn't raised any taxes" as president.

Oh, wait, that was last week's lie. My bad.

RR

@Taka313--exactly.

Debating with these tea party morons is like banging your head against a wall. What's the point? Yeah RRII,"tax and spend" and keep repeating it. Big man. Never mind the validity of your words. Just repeat over and over.

The conservative mantra: have no ideas, no solutions, and no clue. Then run for president.

Fortunately for the American people the republicans are the majority in the House; i.e., controlling the purse strings, and therefore have the ability to slow - and eventually reverse - Owe-bama's off-the-cliff tax and spend strategy.

RR

Fortunately for the American people the republicans are the majority in the House; i.e., controlling the purse strings, and therefore have the ability to slow - and eventually reverse - Owe-bama's off-the-cliff tax and spend strategy.

Clearly they will do that like past republicans did by doubling the national debt (Regan,Bush Sr and Bush Jr all did it) and increasing the size of government. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Republicans are no better then the Democrats at fiscal conservatism.

Clearly they will do that like past republicans did by doubling the national debt (reagan,bush Sr and bush Jr all did it) and increasing the size of government. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. republicans are no better then the Democrats at fiscal conservatism.

Yeah, these so-called fiscal conservatives hate the so-called Democrats "tax and spend" while they claim to try to balance the budget with the republican "tax-cut and spend" theory.

No, the republicans are far worse. At least the Democrats see the need to bring in money. republicans just want their children to pay for it all.

Taka

Limiting those deductions would raise an additional $321 billion over the next decade.

This is a farce, the deficit is about $1.5 trillion just for one year. The politicians are arguing over peanuts. It is just for show, behind the scenes the two parties are obviously in complete agreement and working together. Why do you guys put up with this crap?

"No, the republicans are far worse. At least the Democrats see the need to bring in money."

Ha ha ha! If only the Democrats saw the need to get off the backs of businesses, and let people keep more of their own money to spend as they see fit.

I cannot believe people are trying to say that going green tech is not a good thing.

Good FORBID for the government trying to find more eco-friendly technology to reduce smog and carbon monoxide emissions from cars by creating a public transportation system that will save BILLIONS of MORE dollars to spend on expanding our current highways.

than to spend on expanding our current highways (I mean).

The "mega rich " in America is 1 percent of the population. They pay 40 percent of taxes.

Oh the unfairness!!! Of course they pay the tax, they have the money. They have the money because they rigged the system so that the money flowed to them. You have massive deficits because they think they can continue to keep the money flowing to themselves.

Banking and capitalism are not the same thing. Until you understand that you will understand nothing.

The conservative mantra: have no ideas, no solutions, and no clue. Then run for president.

Sushi - a Conservative hasn't run for president since Reagan. If you say it's the GOP mantra, then I can agree.

Banking and capitalism are not the same thing. Until you understand that you will understand nothing.

I understand. But this is about America, not Canada.

"You have massive deficits because they ( rich people ) think they can continue to keep the money flowing to themselves"

Um, no, we have massive deficits because the government spends way more than it takes in. Heck, I learned that much in Economics 101.

Since 2007 when Democrats took over Congress, the country has posted deficits of over $5 trillion, more than all the deficits combined up until then.

SushiSake: Exactly. My belief is that in the current 2 party environment, the Dems are the more palatable of two evils. Does that make me a bad person?

I dunno. Have you ever sold out your own beliefs because you just couldn't stand losing to what you considered to be the enemy? It doesn't necessarily make you a bad person, just a coward. I think before you were anti-American but you found a permanent debate partner in the radical right, so now they give you whatever it is you need to get through the day. I never really thought of you as a bad person, just someone who was helpless to the political game. You couldn't stop even if you tied. And to boot, you're a foreigner. Double whammy. We own you.

Um, no, we have massive deficits because the government spends way more than it takes in.

That is what I said Sarge. I was talking about the why.

I understand. But this is about America, not Canada.

Wish that was true, but unfortunately it is not, for two reasons. One, everybody is affected by the USA's insane response to its self-inflicted problems. Two, the insanity is not limited to the USA, it is all over the world, Canada included. Just wait until everything hits the fan in Canada, all the same "mistakes" will be made.