Obama Rejects Obamaism

[Conservative]

Nice opinion piece from David Brooks...

Obama Rejects Obamaism

I liked Obama’s payroll tax cut ideas and urged Republicans to play along. But of course I’m a sap. When the president unveiled the second half of his stimulus it became clear that this package has nothing to do with helping people right away or averting a double dip. This is a campaign marker, not a jobs bill.

He claimed we can afford future Medicare costs if we raise taxes on the rich. He repeated the old half-truth about millionaires not paying as much in taxes as their secretaries. (In reality, the top 10 percent of earners pay nearly 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the I.R.S. People in the richest 1 percent pay 31 percent of their income to the federal government while the average worker pays less than 14 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)

That means when he talks about raising revenue, which he is right to do, he can’t really talk about anything substantive. He can’t tax gasoline. He can’t tax consumption. He can’t do a comprehensive tax reform. He has to restrict his tax policy changes to the top 2 percent, and to get any real revenue he’s got to hit them in every which way. We’re not going to simplify the tax code, but by God Obama’s going to raise taxes on rich people who give to charity! We’ve got to do something to reduce the awful philanthropy surplus plaguing this country!

We assign equal blame to both parties for the dysfunctional politics when in reality the Republicans are more rigid and extreme. There’s a lot of truth to that, but at least Republicans respect Americans enough to tell us what they really think. The White House gives moderates little morsels of hope, and then rips them from our mouths. To be an Obama admirer is to toggle from being uplifted to feeling used.

 

[ladyliberal]

Obama just can't win with some people. If he aims for the center, people say he's negotiating with himself and giving up more to the right than is necessary. If he aims to the left, people say he is needlessly antagonizing the right. Conservatives (such as Brooks) may not be happy until he is actively aiming for the right.

Brooks never really says why the proposed changes would be bad, he just says they are divisive, poorly premised, and won't be passed. He does however find space to note that some of the people Obama wants to tax already make charitable contributions.

 

[EriktheRed]

Brooks also doesn't seem to realize that high-end tax hikes are actually popular with the public now.


Something a good amount of wingnuts on here don't wish to acknowledge, either.

 

[konradv]

Nice opinion piece from David Brooks...

Obama Rejects Obamaism

He claimed we can afford future Medicare costs if we raise taxes on the rich. He repeated the old half-truth about millionaires not paying as much in taxes as their secretaries. (In reality, the top 10 percent of earners pay nearly 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the I.R.S. People in the richest 1 percent pay 31 percent of their income to the federal government while the average worker pays less than 14 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)

Not really the same thing. We're talking rates, NOT total accumulated taxes.

 

[hortysir]

Nice opinion piece from David Brooks...

Obama Rejects Obamaism

He claimed we can afford future Medicare costs if we raise taxes on the rich. He repeated the old half-truth about millionaires not paying as much in taxes as their secretaries. (In reality, the top 10 percent of earners pay nearly 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the I.R.S. People in the richest 1 percent pay 31 percent of their income to the federal government while the average worker pays less than 14 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)

Not really the same thing. We're talking rates, NOT total accumulated taxes.

Actually it is the same thing.
He talked about both.