Republicans Pull Brilliant Move in Senate

[red states rule]

Republicans in the Senate have linked a increase in the minimum wage to tax breaks for businesses and deep cuts in the death cuts.

Harry Reid in livid (nothing new) and this will force the Dems to vote for their precious minimum wage increase or will they say "Screw the working poor. The 'rich' are not getting any more tax cuts!"

The liberal media is siding with the Dems and saying how unfair it is to link the tac cuts with the minimum wage.

The Republicans are running rings around the Dems and it is so fun to watch

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060728/ap_on_go_co/minimum_wage
GOP makes conditions on wage increase

WASHINGTON - Republican leaders are willing to allow the first minimum wage increase in a decade but only if it's coupled with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates, lawmakers said Friday.

As the House pointed toward a session stretching past midnight, it was anything but certain that the plan would work. In fact, the move seemed unlikely to result in a hike in the minimum wage, which has been frozen at $5.15 per hour for a decade.

Republicans hoped to put Democrats in the uncomfortable position of voting against the minimum wage increase and the estate tax cut — and an accompanying bipartisan package of popular tax breaks, including a research and development credit for businesses and deductions for college tuition and state sales taxes.

But there was GOP discontent, too. Some conservative in the House were unhappy about the minimum wage vote while moderates in the party were restive about it being tied to cuts in the estate tax.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged to kill the hybrid minimum wage/tax cut bill if it got to the Senate.

"The Senate has rejected fiscally irresponsible estate tax giveaways before and will reject them again," Reid said. "Blackmailing working families will not change that outcome."

The GOP package would increase the wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour, phased in over the next three years, said Kevin Madden, spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

It would also exempt $5 million of an individual's estate, and $10 million of a couple's, from estate taxes by 2015. Estates worth up to $25 million would be taxed at capital gains rates, currently 15 percent and scheduled to rise to 20 percent. Tax rates on the remainder of larger estates would fall to 30 percent by 2015.

The maneuver was aimed at defusing the wage hike as a campaign issue for Democrats while using the popularity of the increase to achieve the Republican Party's longtime goal of permanently cutting taxes on the estates of millionaires and small businessmen.

Lawmakers did not rush to embrace the idea, which has backing from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

As part of the plan, the House and Senate would also pass a bill shoring up the U.S. pension system. That bill seemed more likely to succeed than the minimum wage/estate tax plan.

"(Frist) is looking forward to bringing to the floor two bills that will strengthen pension funding rules, help to bring sanity to the tax code and offer a first step toward full repeal of the unfair death tax," said Frist spokeswoman Carolyn Weyforth.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, does not like the idea and wants to couple the business tax breaks with a bill to overhaul U.S. pension laws.

Democrats expressed outrage at the GOP strategy, saying low-income workers deserved a straight vote on increasing the minimum wage uncoupled to other measures.

"It's political blackmail to say the only way that minimum wage workers can get a raise is to give a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans," said Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass. "Members of Congress raised their own pay — no strings attached. Surely, common decency suggests that minimum wage workers deserve the same respect."

The No. 2 Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said the move by GOP leaders — who actually oppose the minimum wage hike — was a cynical exercise to give political cover to GOP moderates while ensuring the wage hike does not become law.

"They want on the one hand to appear to be doing something and on the other make sure that it doesn't happen," Hoyer said.

The move comes after almost 50 rank-and-file Republican lawmakers pressed House leaders to schedule the measure for debate. Democrats have been hammering away on the wage hike issue and have public opinion behind them

"We weren't going to be denied," said Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. "How can you defend $5.15 an hour in today's economy?"

It was a decade ago, during the campaign year of 1996, that Congress last voted to increase the minimum wage. A person working 40 hours per week at minimum wage makes $10,700, which is below the poverty line for workers with families.

In advancing the tax plan, GOP leaders excluded a measure popular with small businesses that would make it easier for their businesses and the self-employed to band together and buy health insurance plans for employees at a lower cost.

Democrats have made increasing the wage a pillar of their campaign platform and are pushing to raise it to $7.25 per hour over two years. In June, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to raise the minimum wage, rejecting a proposal from Democrats.

Inflation has eroded the minimum wage's buying power to the lowest level in about 50 years. Lawmakers have won cost-of-living wage increases totaling about $35,000 for themselves over that time.

Lawmakers fear being pounded with 30-second campaign ads over the August recess that would tie Congress' upcoming $3,300 pay increase with Republicans' refusal to raise the minimum wage.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

Republicans in the Senate have linked a increase in the minimum wage to tax breaks for businesses and deep cuts in the death cuts.

Harry Reid in livid (nothing new) and this will force the Dems to vote for their precious minimum wage increase or will they say "Screw the working poor. The 'rich' are not getting any more tax cuts!"

The liberal media is siding with the Dems and saying how unfair it is to link the tac cuts with the minimum wage.

The Republicans are running rings around the Dems and it is so fun to watch

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060728/ap_on_go_co/minimum_wage
GOP makes conditions on wage increase

WASHINGTON - Republican leaders are willing to allow the first minimum wage increase in a decade but only if it's coupled with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates, lawmakers said Friday.

As the House pointed toward a session stretching past midnight, it was anything but certain that the plan would work. In fact, the move seemed unlikely to result in a hike in the minimum wage, which has been frozen at $5.15 per hour for a decade.

Republicans hoped to put Democrats in the uncomfortable position of voting against the minimum wage increase and the estate tax cut — and an accompanying bipartisan package of popular tax breaks, including a research and development credit for businesses and deductions for college tuition and state sales taxes.

But there was GOP discontent, too. Some conservative in the House were unhappy about the minimum wage vote while moderates in the party were restive about it being tied to cuts in the estate tax.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged to kill the hybrid minimum wage/tax cut bill if it got to the Senate.

"The Senate has rejected fiscally irresponsible estate tax giveaways before and will reject them again," Reid said. "Blackmailing working families will not change that outcome."

The GOP package would increase the wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour, phased in over the next three years, said Kevin Madden, spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

It would also exempt $5 million of an individual's estate, and $10 million of a couple's, from estate taxes by 2015. Estates worth up to $25 million would be taxed at capital gains rates, currently 15 percent and scheduled to rise to 20 percent. Tax rates on the remainder of larger estates would fall to 30 percent by 2015.

The maneuver was aimed at defusing the wage hike as a campaign issue for Democrats while using the popularity of the increase to achieve the Republican Party's longtime goal of permanently cutting taxes on the estates of millionaires and small businessmen.

Lawmakers did not rush to embrace the idea, which has backing from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

As part of the plan, the House and Senate would also pass a bill shoring up the U.S. pension system. That bill seemed more likely to succeed than the minimum wage/estate tax plan.

"(Frist) is looking forward to bringing to the floor two bills that will strengthen pension funding rules, help to bring sanity to the tax code and offer a first step toward full repeal of the unfair death tax," said Frist spokeswoman Carolyn Weyforth.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, does not like the idea and wants to couple the business tax breaks with a bill to overhaul U.S. pension laws.

Democrats expressed outrage at the GOP strategy, saying low-income workers deserved a straight vote on increasing the minimum wage uncoupled to other measures.

"It's political blackmail to say the only way that minimum wage workers can get a raise is to give a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans," said Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass. "Members of Congress raised their own pay — no strings attached. Surely, common decency suggests that minimum wage workers deserve the same respect."

The No. 2 Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said the move by GOP leaders — who actually oppose the minimum wage hike — was a cynical exercise to give political cover to GOP moderates while ensuring the wage hike does not become law.

"They want on the one hand to appear to be doing something and on the other make sure that it doesn't happen," Hoyer said.

The move comes after almost 50 rank-and-file Republican lawmakers pressed House leaders to schedule the measure for debate. Democrats have been hammering away on the wage hike issue and have public opinion behind them

"We weren't going to be denied," said Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. "How can you defend $5.15 an hour in today's economy?"

It was a decade ago, during the campaign year of 1996, that Congress last voted to increase the minimum wage. A person working 40 hours per week at minimum wage makes $10,700, which is below the poverty line for workers with families.

In advancing the tax plan, GOP leaders excluded a measure popular with small businesses that would make it easier for their businesses and the self-employed to band together and buy health insurance plans for employees at a lower cost.

Democrats have made increasing the wage a pillar of their campaign platform and are pushing to raise it to $7.25 per hour over two years. In June, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to raise the minimum wage, rejecting a proposal from Democrats.

Inflation has eroded the minimum wage's buying power to the lowest level in about 50 years. Lawmakers have won cost-of-living wage increases totaling about $35,000 for themselves over that time.

Lawmakers fear being pounded with 30-second campaign ads over the August recess that would tie Congress' upcoming $3,300 pay increase with Republicans' refusal to raise the minimum wage.

Why do you even care if the estate tax is cut? Are you sitting on a multi-million dollar estate? If so, why aren't you travelling, sailing, doing business or anything else more interesting than sitting and posting on a message board all day?

 

[red states rule]

Why do you even care if the estate tax is cut? Are you sitting on a multi-million dollar estate? If so, why aren't you travelling, sailing, doing business or anything else more interesting than sitting and posting on a message board all day?

I care because it is double and even triple taxation. Why is it so bad to pass on the fruits of your labor to your family? Why should the government step in and take half because you died?

Many times the family has to sell the business, or family property, to pay the tax.

Liberalism punishes achievement and rewards failure

 

[JeffWartman]

Why do you even care if the estate tax is cut? Are you sitting on a multi-million dollar estate? If so, why aren't you travelling, sailing, doing business or anything else more interesting than sitting and posting on a message board all day?

Because unlike Liberals, we care about issues that are just, not just selfish issues used to cover our own hides.

 

[red states rule]

Because unlike Liberals, we care about issues that are just, not just selfish issues used to cover our own hides.

Will the libs hatred for the rich stop them from voting for the minimum wage increase?

Libs say the "working poor" is suffering, and they need this increase. So will the Dems tell them they are going to have to get by without the increase because the "rich" will not get anymore tax cuts?

This is going to be fun to watch!

 

[5stringJeff]

While this bill will probably protect the minimum wage from increasing, it will also ensure that the death tax isn't repealed and, more importantly, that the sales tax exemption for states like mine isn't continued. That means higher taxes for me. Stupid Republicans!

 

[red states rule]

While this bill will probably protect the minimum wage from increasing, it will also ensure that the death tax isn't repealed and, more importantly, that the sales tax exemption for states like mine isn't continued. That means higher taxes for me. Stupid Republicans!

If your state has high taxes - move. I did.

 

[jillian]

While this bill will probably protect the minimum wage from increasing, it will also ensure that the death tax isn't repealed and, more importantly, that the sales tax exemption for states like mine isn't continued. That means higher taxes for me. Stupid Republicans!

Yup...but RSR feels Paris Hilton's pain.

 

[red states rule]

Yup...but RSR feels Paris Hilton's pain.

Also the former owners of the Miami Dolphins. Before he died, he bought the land and built the new stadium with his own money.

When he died the family had to sell the team to pay the death tax

Again, why do libs hate the wealthy?

 

[5stringJeff]

If your state has high taxes - move. I did.

Tell me how that works out when you have a house, a family, and a career.

 

[Mr. P]

HORROR STORIES


“I have been so scared since my mother-in-law died last week that I am having daily anxiety attacks worrying about how I can save the farm.

My husband died in 2000 and I am now the only heir to my mother-in-law's farm. After my husband died, I planted the majority of the farm in trees; saving some acreage for cows and other crops. So much of the land around me is being developed for house trailers and housing developments. I want so much to save the land for future farm use. There are about 60 acres of this land that remains as it was hundreds of years ago....as my husband used to say, "never touched by human hands." This land was bought, paid for, loved, and improved on. I should not have this terrible fear of not being able to buy it again from the government, (in the form of the death tax), in order to save it. Not only that.....my future security will be wiped out. I have worked so hard all my life, and this just doesn't seem fair.

My luck has always followed the "day late and dollar short" saying so I do not look for any miracles to save me. I just hope the death tax is abolished so it will help others enjoy the fruit of their labors.

Thank you so much for trying to help.”
MJ
Live Oak, Florida








“My name is Abby Jensen. My father, Roger Jensen, died June 30th. He was only 54. I am only 19 years and starting college. My brother is only 24. My parents were divorced when I was 8 years old and I have lived with and depended on my father completely. I am concerned with the death tax, it sounds so unfair. On top of all the grief, this is added to our list of problems. My father was a very smart man and he would of put his life insurance in bonds to avoid adding it to the estate, but he just recently raised his insurance to $500,000 and didn’t have time to. He was very healthy and in two short weeks, a shocking dignosise of brain cancer killed him. He was just about to enjoy the fruits of his labor, he wanted to go to Great Britain, he was starting to finally buy things he enjoyed. As long as I have grown up he has been tight with the wallet, what good did that do. The government wants to take what sounds like a lot of his savings and hard work. My dad bought land that would pay out when I would go to college and now the government wants to tax it again. I am a dependent, my dad worked hard because he had a dream to send me and my brother to a good college of our choice. I was going to go to a private school but now I don’t know if I can afford it. It sounds like my dad had a lot of money, lot of investments, and the life insurance and retirement money on top of that will put it over a million. My dad was just about to take a loan out for 2.8 million dollars (with a partner) for what sounds like a very great opportunity investment. If the bank still borrows the money, we want to continue on all my dads work. There are tons of bills coming in the mail that me and my brother never had to deal with, its very overwelming. Then the death tax, court fee, lawyer fee on top of that. I want to learn more about the death tax, I don’t think it is fair. Thank you for your time.
AJ
Hugo, MN









"Boy do I have a horror story for you! My father passed away 10/90. His estate for tax purposes was assessed at 7.7 million dollars when it was re-evaluated. After six months it had not changed much so approximately 3.8 million was owed in death and estate taxes. Most of my father's estate was in real estate and shortly after the six month period after his death, real estate took a dive. And every piece of property we sold to pay taxes sold at about 40% of what it was appraised at time of death.

Well it has been ten years since my father's passing and we have still not seen any money. If and I do mean if we are lucky, then maybe at the end of this year after we pay the last $350,000 to federal and pay the state, my mother, sister and I may have all of $200,000 to split between us. Great."
Michael Stern









"I am 77 years old. My history of work, thrifts and efforts to save money is unbelievable. Here is my reward! All of my social security (plus more) goes for income tax. I live off my teacher's pension as I do not want to cash my investments. If I died today, I'd pay about $200,000 in death tax. I am helping a great niece to go to college. I have two great nephews coming up. All are bright children. I would like to help them - not the IRS.

I had a newspaper route in college. I worked for 50¢ an hour doing office work under the program set up by President Roosevelt. I have lost money in investments. I went to work when I had a death sentence with lung cancer in 1967. I didn't miss a day when I was told I could only live three months at the most. I am still working. I have a tenant and I tutor ESL students. I do almost all my own work and cooking. I have never had a bill I didn't pay on time.

The way things are now what the nursing home doesn't get (if I'm that unfortunate) the IRS will! What did I make all this effort for? Our laws need to be changed but I have no clout!”
Ida Prichard - Seattle, WA









This is a true story about Ray. Ray is dead now. He died earlier this year.

He owned a service station on a corner. He had this service station for 27 years. During that 27 years, other service stations were built on the other three corners, the intersection grew busy, the roads forming that intersection were expanded to four lanes. So it was a good place for his business. He had two service bays plus a car wash. He had some old pumps and old equipment. He cleared about $70 thousand a year - not wealthy, but it was a good living. His wife handled the books for the business. His grown son worked there and was eventually going to take over the business.

When Ray died he had a $50 thousand term insurance policy, $60 thousand in municipal bonds (which were income tax free, of course), $174 thousand in his retirement plan, and, of course, the service station.

A few months after he died, his wife also died. Upon the death of his parents, the son discovered that the land on which the service station sat had appreciated over the years and was now worth $1.7 million. The service station and equipment was worth $158,000. He also learned that his father's retirement plan was funded on a before tax basis, so not only would he have to pay estate taxes, but income taxes would be due on the retirement.

The son was now in quite a situation, and he began looking for a way to pay taxes on the almost $2 million estate. The son said "If I can run this as well as my father has, or even better, I can make maybe $70 thousand a year, but I am going to have to have someone to keep the books, so maybe 70 is a little tight." He had no proven track record, so the only thing he could do was to borrow against the land and equipment to pay the estate taxes; however, he could not cover the interest on the loan.

Ray's son will have to sell this business. He has gone from a situation where he looks wealthy, to a situation where he will have to sell the very thing that was his livelihood.
A Story About Ray

 

[red states rule]

Tell me how that works out when you have a house, a family, and a career.

Sell the hbouse, move the family, and find a new job

I did

 

[5stringJeff]

Sell the hbouse, move the family, and find a new job

I did

Well congratu-freakin-lations. For the moment, I'll choose to be upset at the GOP for screwing around with BS legislation instead of using their majority to pass a few tax cuts.

 

[jillian]

Tell me how that works out when you have a house, a family, and a career.

You know he's pulling your leg, Jeff. He lives with his mommy and daddy and doesn't work. So he doesn't have a clue...unless Rush or the Coultergeist say it to him. :tng:

 

[red states rule]

Well congratu-freakin-lations. For the moment, I'll choose to be upset at the GOP for screwing around with BS legislation instead of using their majority to pass a few tax cuts.

Stop putting limitations on yourself. If you do not like your current situation do something about it beside blaming others

 

[Gem]

My Grandfather was the older child of Irish immigrants. The family was incredibly poor. My grandfather used to put a block of ice and his younger sister on his wagon and sell ice door to door for money for the family. He worked on Christmas Eve. My great-grandfather died and great aunt became a nun in her teens and moved away, leaving my grandfather to take care of his family. He worked his entire young life and discovered ways to not spend money so there would be more for his family. For lunch for many years, he ate tomato sandwiches and tomato juice. That is, he would sit in the restaurant and ask for a glass of water and two pieces of bread...that and the ketchup on the table would provide his lunch.

In his late 20's and early 30's he served as a medic in WWII. He was in Normandy on D-Day, fought in France, Italy, and was devestated to discover that the Hershey's chocolate bars many of the GI's were giving to the Holocaust survivors they liberated from a concentration camp actually made them sicker.

When he returned home he went to a restaurant and ordered nothing but a head of lettuce - it had been years since he had eaten fresh vegetables. He then started working as a mechanics assistant for a shipping company all of you have heard of...by the time I was born he was a VP of the company. He never went to college. He just worked hard, every day. At his funeral - the CEO of this company was in attendance, so was every mechanic and worker at his local office.

Before he died he put both of his daughters through college and started a small trust fund for them and his 4 grandchildren.

Due to a lot of hard work and smart investments on my parents part my mother's share of that trust fund wasn't needed to put me through college...my parents were able to do it on their own. So the trust fund grew a bit more. I hope to one day never have to touch that trust fund to send my children to school...I hope to do nothing but add to it for my children and grandchildren...like my grandfather did - and like my mother and father did.

It still is remarkabley small compared to Paris Hilton's...but it represents a hope. A hope that an Irish-American boy had for his family. That they would be safe and protected...and able to go to college and do all the things my grandfather wasn't able to do. It was the hope that maybe his grandchildren wouldn't have to work every single Christmas Eve. That they could go to whatever school they wanted to...study what they wanted and become good people. It was the hope that he could provide for his "girls" as he called his daughters, even after he was gone.

Estate taxes don't just take money from Paris Hilton and Ivanka Trump, Jillian. They steal money that was sweated and worked for by hard-working American citizens who busted their asses their entire lives to achieve the American dream of providing a better life for their kids than they had themselves.

Personally, I don't want to ever have to touch that money. I'm working my ass off everyday - and trust me, with my husband in lawschool full-time and me supporting us as a teacher and writer - we are NOT living the high life. If I plan well, and I'm trying, by the time I inherit my grandfather's and mothers gift to me I won't need it...I can save it for my children and their children.

But I'll tell you one thing, Jillian...that money has been taxed and taxed again, already and you and any other tax payer do not deserve one more dime of the money my family worked their asses off for.

Estate taxes are unconstitutional...in fact, they go against much of what America is supposed to be about. You can choose to close your mind and just few it as Paris Hilton-types losing money they won't even know is gone...but thats not who this hurts.

You can still support estate taxes if you want. But I wanted to share my story with you because I want you to see another angle of it. My grandfather was a great man who worked so hard every day of his life. He worked not so he could be rich, so that he could take lavish vacations...he didn't do this so his family would be rich...or that we could have seven houses (no one in my family owns more than one house)...he did it so that we would have opportunities to go to college, be able to take care of emergencies, to be safe. It is a quite different story than Paris Hilton...but I think it is far more valid when considering why the estate tax should be lowered and/or removed.

 

[red states rule]

You and your family are great examples of what Amercia is all about.

Jillian and her kind, want to punish you and your family, for your great achievements and hard work.

 

[Gem]

Truthfully, I do not want to be placed in the same category of hard-working Americans as my grandparents and parents yet. I'm still too young and haven't accomplished all that they have (successful careers, two kids each through college and some through graduate school), successful retirements - or upcoming retirements for my parents.

I am just trying to learn from my family's good example. And I certainly don't think that the money they worked so hard for should be taxed and taxed again because they had the good sense to save it rather than spend it.

 

[red states rule]

Truthfully, I do not want to be placed in the same category of hard-working Americans as my grandparents and parents yet. I'm still too young and haven't accomplished all that they have (successful careers, two kids each through college and some through graduate school), successful retirements - or upcoming retirements for my parents.

I am just trying to learn from my family's good example. And I certainly don't think that the money they worked so hard for should be taxed and taxed again because they had the good sense to save it rather than spend it.

You do deserve credit Gem. You are a ordinary Amercian who does extraordinary things everyday. You, like millions of others, get up every morning, go to work, and make this country work and prosper.

 

[Mr.Conley]

Truthfully, I do not want to be placed in the same category of hard-working Americans as my grandparents and parents yet. I'm still too young and haven't accomplished all that they have (successful careers, two kids each through college and some through graduate school), successful retirements - or upcoming retirements for my parents.

I am just trying to learn from my family's good example. And I certainly don't think that the money they worked so hard for should be taxed and taxed again because they had the good sense to save it rather than spend it.

You said you're a teacher. What subject?