White House Could Protect Middle Class From Tax Hikes If Deficit Talks Falter

[TruthOut10]

The White House has the power to temporarily protect taxpayers from middle-class tax hikes even as upper income rates rise if Congress does nothing and all of the Bush-era tax rates expire in January.

Experts and lawmakers alike agree that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to adjust how much is withheld from paychecks for tax purposes — for all taxpayers or just for some.

White House could protect middle class from tax hikes if deficit talks falter - The Hill's On The Money

 

[martybegan]

The White House has the power to temporarily protect taxpayers from middle-class tax hikes even as upper income rates rise if Congress does nothing and all of the Bush-era tax rates expire in January.

Experts and lawmakers alike agree that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to adjust how much is withheld from paychecks for tax purposes — for all taxpayers or just for some.

White House could protect middle class from tax hikes if deficit talks falter - The Hill's On The Money

I love the smell of a constitutional crisis in the morning, it smells like victory.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right ' Michigan's a real showcase, ain't it?...

Obama: Look at Michigan to See How Unions Built America's Middle Class
December 10, 2012 – Speaking at the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant in Redford, Mich., on Monday, President Barack Obama lashed out at the Michigan legislature, which is preparing to pass a right-to-work law, and declared that Americans only needed to look at Michigan if they wanted to see how unions helped build the middle class.

“These so called right to work laws, they don’t have to do with economics,” Obama said. "They have everything to do with politics. "What they’re really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money," said Obama. "You only have to look to Michigan where workers were instrumental in reviving the auto industry to see how unions have helped build not just a stronger middle class but a stronger America.” Unemployment in Michigan was 9.1 percent in October, and there's talk about Detroit, Michigan's largest city, going bankrupt. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently told the Detroit Free Press that his staff has begun reviewing municipal bankruptcies in other states.

The Michigan right-to-work proposal would make union dues and membership voluntary for private sector unions and most public sector unions. Police and firefighters are the exception. Gov. Snyder has said he would sign the bill to make Michigan the nation’s 24th right-to-work state. Obama scoffed at the legislation. “We should do everything we can to encourage companies like Daimler to keep investing in American workers,” Obama said Monday. “And by the way, what we shouldn’t do, I just got to say this, what we shouldn’t be doing is try to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions.” This comment was followed by 23 seconds of applause from a crowd at the plant.

Gov. Snyder said the issue was about freedom. “We respect the fact that the freedom-to-work issue evokes strong emotions among supporters and opponents,” the governor said in a statement. “That's why we've focused on other reforms that are so critical to Michigan’s turnaround. But with this issue now on the table, it's time to embrace the benefits that come with giving working men and women the freedom they deserve. “The values of freedom, fairness and equality in the workplace should unite us all. And as states fiercely compete for jobs, this legislation will ensure that investors know Michigan is the place to do business,” Snyder added.

Union contracts typically require average dues of $600 to $900 per year, according to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Meanwhile, a Detroit Free Press poll found that 54 percent support the idea of a right-to-work state. However, when asked if Michigan should be a right-to-work state, the number is split to 47 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed.

Source

See also:

Only 7% of Detroit Public-School 8th Graders Proficient in Reading
December 11, 2012 - In the public schools in Detroit, Mich., according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 7 percent of the eighth graders are grade-level proficient or better in reading.

Some public school teachers in the City of Detroit and around the state of Michigan are reportedly taking a vacation or a sick day today to protest right-to-work legislation likely to be approved by the state legislature. Under current law, Michigan public school teachers must pay dues to the teachers’ union. If the right-to-work law is enacted, Michigan public-school teachers will be free to join the union and pay dues to it if they wish, but they will also be free not to join the union and not to pay it dues.

Detroit public-school eighth graders do even worse in math than they do in reading, according to the Department of Education. While only 7 percent scored highly enough on the department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress test in 2011 to be rated “proficient” or better in reading, only 4 percent scored highly enough to be rated “proficient” or better in math.

Statewide in Michigan, only 32 percent of public-school eighth graders scored grade-level proficient or better in reading, and only 31 percent scored grade-level proficient or better in math. 68 percent of Michigan public-school eighth graders are not proficient in reading and 69 percent are not proficient in math.

Over the past decade, Michigan’s public school have shown no improvement at all in teaching children how to read. In 2002 just as in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 32 percent of Michigan public-school eighth graders scored proficient or better in reading. The state’s public schools have made a slight improvement in teaching math. In 2000, only 28 percent of Michigan public-school eighth graders were proficient or better in math. By 2011, that had inched up to 31 percent.

Source

 

[RetiredGySgt]

The White House has the power to temporarily protect taxpayers from middle-class tax hikes even as upper income rates rise if Congress does nothing and all of the Bush-era tax rates expire in January.

Experts and lawmakers alike agree that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to adjust how much is withheld from paychecks for tax purposes — for all taxpayers or just for some.

White House could protect middle class from tax hikes if deficit talks falter - The Hill's On The Money

Unless the rates are returned then all that will do is ensure that at the end of the year those people OWE actual money to the Government.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

The White House has the power to temporarily protect taxpayers from middle-class tax hikes

why protect them when they pay so little??? The top 1% pay 40 % of all taxes; aren't they the ones who need to be protected??