Obama AGREES To Allow RICH BIGGER TAX CUT Than Middle Class

[Segami]

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:


:wtf:


" David Axelrod, the senior adviser to President Barack Obama, says that the White House has conceded to Republicans in giving into tax cuts for the wealthy, a legacy of a Bush-era policy to reduce federal taxes for various income classes.


In an interview with the Huffington Post, which the website described as "candid," Axelrod served news progressives will be less than excited to hear.


"We have to deal with the world as we find it," Axelrod said during the interview. "The world of what it takes to get this done."


Getting what done appears to mean extending tax cuts for those who make less than $250,000 by keeping the tax rate for those who make more nearly five percent less.


"There are concerns," he added, that Congress will continue to extend the tax cuts indefinitely, and keep pushing the ball to the next president's court by making the cuts temporary, as Bush did. "But I don't want to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that point."


Using Republicans' language on the cuts, Axelrod referred to the ending of the tax cuts, which were designed to be temporary and expire at the end of this year, as a "tax increase." Between 2001 and 2003, President George W. Bush, along with a Republican-led Congress, reduced income taxes across the board, though the decrease was more significant at the lowest and highest tax bracket.


"Between 2001 and 2003, the Bush administration instituted a federal tax cut for all taxpayers," Wikipedia notes, according to the Brookings Institution. "Among other changes, the lowest income tax rate was lowered from 15% to 10%, the 27% rate went to 25%, the 30% rate went to 28%, the 35% rate went to 33%, and the top marginal tax rate went from 39.6% to 35%."


"We don't want that tax increase to go forward for the middle class," Axelrod was quoted as saying. He didn't explain why the Administration believes that those in the highest income tax bracket should get more relief.


"Although the president 'took the position he felt was the right position' -- favoring a continuation of the cuts only for families earning up to $250,000 -- Axelrod portrayed this 'optimal' stance as unrealistic in the lame-duck Congress that begins next week," Huffington's Sam Stein and Howard Fineman wrote.


Axelrod also dished on President Barack Obama's new healthcare law, saying the president would veto any threats to repeal it.


"I'm not going to prejudge what they are going to do," Axelrod remarked of Republican opposition. "But I will tell you this -- we are firm in our commitment, we are willing to work with people to improve this plan we are not going to stand for those who want to undermine it and destroy it.":rofl:



cont'

<http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/white-house-agree-bush-tax-cuts-rich/>


.

[Segami]

1. Unrecc all you want. It doesn't change the truth.

[LiberalEsto]

2. This is an outrage

A back-room deal favoring the rich and powerful, just like the deal on health care reform that took single-payer off the table.

[WVRICK13]

3. I Don't Know What To Think

anymore. Nothing is making any sense about our government as a whole. The only explanations are those that make feel feel like putting on a tin foil hat. Are we really all just pawns in the total domination and control by the oligarchy?

[City Lights]

5. "Are we really all just pawns in the total domination and control by the oligarchy?"

Yes.

[WinkyDink]

21. Yes. Our children comprise the expendable warrior class, and elders are the serfs.

[ananda]

4. Something everyone should know about Obama.

He is very very weak psychologically. Basically, he tries to fit in with
what the rightwing bullies say is "normal" or "good."

He's been doing this for years.

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. Makes sense. nt

[asjr]

6. Until I hear this from Obama himself I will

reserve judgment.

[FSogol]

9. Same here. It is just BS derived from an interview in Huffington Post. Not an official policy

position.

[ljm2002]

18. "just BS derived from an interview"

First of all, "just BS derived from an interview" implies that what was said in the interview was not that clearcut and could be interpreted differently. Whereas in the actual interview, the stated position on tax cuts for the rich is crystal clear.

Of course, the interview happens to be with David Axelrod, a nobody in the White House. Well unless you put any stock in titles like Senior Advisor to the President. Still, I'm sure he speaks only for himself, and is not privy to the President's thinking on the matter. Right.

[FSogol]

19. Go read the WH statement on it. Huff.Post's story is pure BS. n/t

[enlightenment]

23. Do you have a link to that statement?

Interestingly, there is nothing at all on whitehouse.gov (I believe that's the official mouthpiece, correct?)

Perhaps rather than painting yourself into a corner, you could simply say "I'll believe this when the President says it's true" - instead of posting unprovable statements.

[FSogol]

30. Here you go

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/the_morning_plum_129.html

[enlightenment]

36. Nice try, but that didn't exist when you posted your comment.

Oh, wait. I know!

You're psychic, right?

[Segami]

37. LOL

[FSogol]

39. Sure it did. "By Greg Sargent, November 11, 2010; 8:35 AM ET "

You forget to set your clocks back last Sunday?

[laughingliberal]

26. So, it's your position that the WH will not support extending the tax cuts for the rich? nt

[FSogol]

31. No, my position is that Huffington Post = unsupported crap. n/t

[laughingliberal]

33. It's my position that a lot of that 'unsupported crap' turns out to be true and attempts to kill...

the messenger are all about trying to keep unfavorable realities out of sight.

IOW, if you can't refute the fact, attack the messenger.

[ljm2002]

32. Pure BS?

So Howard Fineman and Sam Stein publish an on-the-record interview with David Axelrod, the President's senior advisor, and you think the positions outlined there are "pure BS"?

We'll see.

(on edit) By the way, can you provide a link to the White House response that you cite?

[FSogol]

34. So, I have to provide exact links to Official sources and you can post innuendo from Huff Post?

:rofl:

[ljm2002]

45. You asserted there is a statement from the White House...

...so it's on you to back up your assertion.

This was an on-the-record interview with a named White House official, David Axelrod, who happens to be the President's Senior Advisor. The report was done by two well known reporters whose bylines appear on the interview. Yet you persist in calling it "innuendo".

:rofl: indeed...

[Segami]

35. I guess the HuffPost story is " pure BS " just like the HuffPost HealthCare secret deal story.

Seems the MO is the same.

Here is a refresher clip from DemocracyNow with Ralph Nader.



" Well, to talk more about the healthcare legislation, we’re joined by former presidential candidate, longtime consumer advocate, Ralph Nader.

Ralph, you have looked at what came out in the Huffington Post. Explain what it is now that we’re understanding is the deal that the White House has, well, denied over the last week.


RALPH NADER:

What is emerging here is what was being planned by the Obama White House all along, which is they would only—they would only demand legislation that was accepted by the big drug companies and the big health insurance companies.

You can see this emerging over the last few months. President Obama has met with the heads of the drug companies and the health insurance companies. Some executives have met with President Obama four to five times in the White House in the last few months. He has never met with the longtime leaders of the “Full Medicare for Everybody” movement, including Dr. Quentin Young, who is a close friend of his in Chicago; Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the head of the Health Research Group of Public Citizen; Rose Ann DeMoro, the leader of the fast-growing California Nurses Association—not once in the White House.

That’s all you need to know to realize that the deal that’s being cut here is from Obama to Senator Baucus, the Blue Dog senator from Montana, who is cutting a deal, largely in private, with right-wing Republican senators and getting it through the Senate and presenting Henry Waxman and John Dingle and others in the House with a fait accompli. So whatever they pass in the House will be watered down in the Senate-House conference. And what we’ll end up with is another patchwork piece of legislation, allowing huge and expanded profits for the health insurance companies and the drug companies, and continuing this pay-or-die system that has plagued this country for decades, a system that takes 20,000 lives a year, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. That’s about fifty to sixty people who die every day.

<http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/14/you_dont_cut_deals_with_the>

[jillan]

16. There's media in Asia - Savannah Guthrie is with him. He can give a statement.

[asjr]

17. Ah, you just said the magic word--media.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

25. So you're waiting for Obama to come and visit you in person? N.T.

[Bandit]

7. One less Democratic vote in 2012

I don't have thousands of dollars to dish out to them so I don't matter at all. All I have is my single little vote and they just made the decision they did not want that either...It will do me good anyway to just forget about politics and start enjoying life again..

[piratefish08]

13. 2 less -- if the middle class gets fucked

in yet another half-measure designed to appease the right.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

29. Millions less.

If

[NorthCarolina]

8. Likely the plan all along. Everything to the contrary was just for show.

Well, show time is over.

[Segami]

12. Campaign promises to nowhere. There's a bridge in Alaska just like that.

[liberalmuse]

10. I'm going to wait to hear this from the horse's mouth.

But if this is true, he's lost me. Same 'ol shit, you know?

[WinkyDink]

22. If this is true, you will have heard it from a different part of the horse.

[2Design]

11. they did not want the vote on this before election just like health care

they already decided to give away the store

we can only hope the disaster happens quickly so we can rebuild the country from the ground up

[TBF]

14. What middle class? nt

[Segami]

15. Exactly!!

[WinkyDink]

20. So much for reducing the deficit. Can we stop the charade now?

[ProSense]

27. Guess this should be posted here too:

Via Greg Sargent:

Axelrod emails:

There is not one bit of news here. I simply re-stated what POTUS and Robert have been saying. Our two strong principles are that we need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, but we can't afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

And White House comm director Dan Pfeiffer adds:

The story is overwritten. Nothing has changed from what the President said last week. We believe we need to extend the middle class tax cuts, we cannot afford to borrow 700 billion to pay for extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and we are open to compromise and are looking forward to talking to the Congressional leadership next week to discuss how to move forward. Full Stop, period, end of sentence.

[laughingliberal]

28. K & R nt

[phleshdef]

38. Nice, Raw Story in joining HP in spreading yellow journalism lies.

Axelrod said the same thing they have been saying for weeks during this interview... including that they DON'T support extending the tax cuts for the top 2%.

[SidDithers]

40. Unrec...nt

Sid

[ladjf]

41. White House staffers like to use comments such as "liberals won't

like this.." to try to ingratiate themselves with Republicans. In others words, they are more interested in sucking up to the Republicans than they are in staying in the good graces of "liberals".

[Segami]

42. Until election time comes around once again.

Then they begin their ' good graces ' campaign to remind us of all the wonderful things they have been doing on our behalf, including casting some very tough votes along the way.

[bvar22]

43. Couldn't you just smell this coming?

It has gotten so bad, all I can do is laugh.
The Obama "New Democrat" administration IS "the sound of one hand clapping."
.
.

See ya in the bread lines (if we're lucky). :hi:

[sarcasmo]

44. No surprise here, he is now more middle right than middle left.

[TheKentuckian]

46. To cut through the bullshit, they are willing to negotiate a temporary extension at this time

to allow this to stretch out to be an issue, yet again, in the next election.

They were off on some old bullshit as soon as they didn't rescind the cut or at least put it to a vote and go after those that want to keep this crap regardless of party.

[eilen]

47. Who didn't see this coming?

folded quicker than a cheap lawn chair.