How have the democrats added progressive taxation/funding to the government

[Juche]

So they have been in charge of the house, senate & executive a year so far. So I am curious what all have the democrats done to


1) cut subsidies for wealthy individuals and wealthy corporations
2) raised taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations
3) increased subsidies for poor/working class/middle class/upper middle class individuals and small business
4) lowered taxes on the poor/working class/middle class/upper middle class and small business




I know the recent health care bill will involve about $200 billion a year in subsidies starting in 2014. Plus it expands the medicare tax to 3.8% for income over 200/250k, while also taxing investment income for medicare taxes.

The student loan revamping also cut a lot of corporate welfare and will funnel that money into subsides for students.

Making work pay tax credit

Ending Bushs tax cuts on those making over 200k

Expanded SCHIP (this also involved a cigarette tax, so it is a wash on progressive taxation/subsidies IMO)

Various expansions in the stimulus for UI and COBRA funding

Anything else? So far that isn't so bad. I remember Obama saying he found 2 trillion to cut from the budget over 10 years in the 2009 SoTU address, and I got the impression much came from cutting corporate welfare. I don't know how much of that has been enacted in the 2010 and 2011 budget though.

But even if you just include the stuff I listed (ending the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy, a new medicare tax, subsides for health insurance, tax credits for workers, etc) it adds up to several hundred billion a year in increased taxes and lower subsides on the well off and increased subsidies/lower taxes on everyone else.

I consider myself lower middle class, and don't mind paying taxes. Esp considering how bad the economy is doing and how bankrupt we are, I'd rather be paying taxes than the government borrowing from China. But I'd like our tax system to be as progressive as pragmatically possible while doing it.

Considering that the federal budget hovers in the 3-4 trillion range lately, adding an extra $200 billion a year in taxes on the well off, cutting $50-100 billion in subsidies for the well off while also adding billions in subsidies and tax credits for everyone else is a pretty big accomplishment in one year.

[napi21]

1. I know the HC bill changes paart of the income tax code.

Very large Co's were getting subsidies for providing drug coverage for their retirees, but they were also allowed to deduct the amount of that subsidy from their taxes, which of course is doube dipping. The new law changes the tax dode to eliminate that deduction. I don't know how much $$ that is, but to hear AT&T & Caterpillar bitch so loud, it must be pretty big.