what brand is it? On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 8:18 AM, Max Sawicky <[email protected]> wrote: > Sorry for multiple posts. > I blame my damn laptop keyboard. > It overreacts. > > On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:32 AM, Max Sawicky <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> This has been "walked back," as they say in Spin City. >> Though I don't doubt it will happen. >> >> On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/10/white-house-gives-in-on-bush-tax-cuts_n_781992.html >>> >>> White House Gives In On Bush Tax Cuts >>> >>> WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's top adviser suggested to >>> The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is >>> ready to accept an across-the-board, temporary continuation of >>> steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. >>> >>> That appears to be the only way, said David Axelrod, that >>> middle-class taxpayers can keep their tax cuts, given the >>> legislative and political realities facing Obama in the aftermath >>> of last week's electoral defeat. >>> >>> "We have to deal with the world as we find it," Axelrod said >>> during an unusually candid and reflective 90-minute interview in >>> his office, steps away from the Oval Office. "The world of what it >>> takes to get this done." >>> >>> "There are concerns," he added, that Congress will continue to >>> kick the can down the road in the future by passing temporary >>> extensions for the wealthy time and time again. "But I don't want >>> to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that >>> point." >>> >>> It has been widely assumed that the president would have to accept >>> an across-the-board deal of some kind, but Axelrod's remarks were >>> the first public confirmation of that fact -- and by a figure >>> regarded as closer to Obama than any other White House staffer. >>> >>> Also dealing "with the world as we find it," Axelrod declined >>> repeatedly to comment on any of the controversial debt-reduction >>> measures suggested by the chairs of the president's own commission >>> -- even those, such as raising the Social Security retirement age, >>> that go against Obama campaign pledges and strike at the heart of >>> Democratic constituencies. >>> >>> He said that the White House would wait until the commission made >>> its final recommendations on Dec. 1 before adding, "the >>> president's commitments haven't changed." >>> >>> By giving ground on taxes and remaining silent on budget >>> suggestions that others, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) >>> and AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka, quickly denounced, Axelrod showed >>> the subdued caution of an adviser to a humbled boss. >>> >>> But the top Obama aide also erected some barriers against >>> newly-emboldened Republicans and their Pentagon allies. >>> >>> Axelrod said that his boss would veto repeal of his cherished >>> health care law, though he would "work with people" who "have >>> constructive ideas about how to strengthen" it. The veto threat >>> was not unexpected, but it was the first time that a top >>> administration figure had issued such a threat on the record. And >>> in doing so, Axelrod predicted that Republicans would be making a >>> major misstep by challenging the White House's commitment on this >>> front. >>> >>> "I'm not going to prejudge what they are going to do," Axelrod >>> said of Republican opposition to the legislation. "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." >>> >>> "The notion of spending the next two years fighting over this, I >>> think, is a complete misreading of what the American people want," >>> he added. "They want us to focus on the economy. They don't want >>> us to fight the battles of the last two years. But we are not >>> going to stand by and go back to allowing people with preexisting >>> conditions to be discriminated against, go back to the situation >>> where people can be thrown off their insurance simply because they >>> become seriously ill or you can't get on your parents' insurance >>> after the age of 20. There are so many things that are just central." >>> >>> Meanwhile, on the war in Afghanistan -- an expensive and >>> increasingly unpopular conflict -- Axelrod pushed back hard >>> against the notion, floated in some recent stories quoting "senior >>> administration sources," that the deadline for beginning troop >>> withdrawals had been pushed back from July 2011 to some time in 2014. >>> >>> "If it is being sourced to senior administration officials, then >>> someone has bad administration sources," Axelrod said. "There is >>> no change in the president's position. There is no change in that >>> basic commitment." >>> >>> But there is just such a change on taxes. >>> >>> 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. >>> >>> For one, time is not on the administration's side. All of the tax >>> cuts, enacted in 2001 and 2003, will expire at the end of this >>> year unless Congress acts. The Republicans in effect "built in tax >>> increases," Axelrod said. And separating out different categories >>> of tax cuts now -- extending some without extending others -- is >>> politically unrealistic and procedurally difficult, he added. >>> >>> "We don't want that tax increase to go forward for the middle >>> class," he said, which means the administration will have to >>> accept them all for some unspecified period of time. "But plainly, >>> what we can't do is permanently extend these high income taxes." >>> >>> In other words, the White House won't risk being blamed for >>> raising taxes on the middle class even though, arguably, it is the >>> GOP's refusal to separate the categories that has put Obama in >>> this bind. The only condition, at least initially, seems to be >>> that the tax cuts for the wealthy not be extended "permanently." >>> >>> A student of history and a onetime political reporter, Axelrod >>> expressed curiosity and even some optimism about the tea party, >>> suggesting that Obama could work with them on matters such as a >>> ban on spending earmarks and on winding down the war in Afghanistan. >>> >>> If so, Obama would turn the Clinton-era triangulation strategy on >>> its head, reaching out not to the moderates in the other party but >>> to the new breed of conservatives who could bring the ideological >>> arc of Congress full circle. >>> >>> Can the White House work with them? "It is a fascinating time in >>> our history," he said, "and I don't think anybody really knows. I >>> mean I have watched carefully some of these folks on television. I >>> don't think this is nearly as predictable as people think." >>> >>> President Obama, in fact, has called every new Republican >>> senator-elect and many of the incoming GOP House members -- "well >>> over 100 calls" in all, said Axelrod. >>> >>> That's how a shellacked president spends his plane time on a trip >>> to Asia. >>> >>> --- >>> >>> NY Times November 10, 2010 >>> Panel Seeks Social Security Cuts and Tax Increases >>> By JACKIE CALMES >>> >>> WASHINGTON — The chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan >>> commission on reducing the national debt outlined a politically >>> provocative and economically ambitious package of spending cuts >>> and tax increases on Wednesday, igniting a debate that is likely >>> to grip the country for years. >>> >>> The plan calls for deep cuts in domestic and military spending, a >>> gradual 15-cents-a-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax, >>> limiting or eliminating popular tax breaks in return for lower >>> rates, and benefit cuts and an increased retirement age for Social >>> Security. >>> >>> Those changes and others, none of which would take effect before >>> 2012 to avoid undermining the tepid economic recovery, would erase >>> nearly $4 trillion from projected deficits through 2020, the >>> proposal says, and stabilize the accumulated debt. >>> >>> “It’s time to lay it out on the table and let the American people >>> start to chew on it,” said Alan K. Simpson, the former Republican >>> Senate leader who is one of the co-chairmen, along with Erskine B. >>> Bowles, who was White House chief of staff under President Bill >>> Clinton. >>> >>> Their outline will be the basis for negotiation within the >>> commission, which has a Dec. 1 deadline for submitting a final >>> plan. It represents a challenge to both parties: to Mr. Obama and >>> the Democrats, to show in the wake of the midterm election that >>> they are serious about their pledges to address long-term >>> deficits, and to Republicans, who for the most part have ruled out >>> consideration of tax increases even as they have promised new >>> adherence to fiscal responsibility. >>> >>> Liberal groups immediately condemned the plan when news of it >>> broke, for its Social Security and Medicare changes and for the >>> scope of the spending cuts. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in a >>> statement called it “simply unacceptable.” >>> >>> The furor on the left was not matched — yet — by a similar outcry >>> from the right to the draft’s proposed revenue increases, cuts to >>> the military or other options. >>> >>> The plan has many elements with the potential to draw intense >>> political fire. It lays out options for overhauling the tax code >>> that include limiting or eliminating the mortgage interest >>> deduction, the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. >>> It envisions cutting Pentagon weapons programs and paring back >>> almost all domestic programs. >>> >>> The plan would reduce cost-of-living increases for all federal >>> programs, including Social Security. It would reduce projected >>> Social Security benefits to most retirees in later decades, though >>> low-income people would get higher benefits. The retirement age >>> for full benefits would be slowly raised to 69 from 67 by 2075, >>> with a “hardship exemption” for people who physically cannot work >>> past 62. And higher levels of income would be subject to payroll >>> taxes. >>> >>> But the plan would not count Social Security savings toward the >>> overall deficit-reduction goal that Mr. Obama set for fiscal year >>> 2015, reflecting the chairmen’s sensitivity to liberal critics who >>> have complained that Social Security should be fixed only for its >>> own sake, not to help balance the nation’s books. >>> >>> Mr. Obama created the commission last February in the hope it >>> would provide political cover for bold action against deficits in >>> 2011. His stance now, in the wake of his party’s drubbing, will go >>> a long way toward telling whether he tacks to the political center >>> — by embracing such proposals — or shifts to the left and leaves >>> them on a shelf. >>> >>> For Republicans, the chairmen’s proposals and a similar report >>> coming next week from a private bipartisan group will challenge >>> their contention that the budget can be balanced by spending cuts >>> alone. That is a claim that many conservative economists and >>> budget analysts reject, given the scale of projected debt as the >>> baby boom generation retires and begins claiming costly federal >>> benefits, after a severe recession. >>> >>> Mr. Bowles and Mr. Simpson said their plan was “a starting point” >>> as members of the commission met behind closed doors to consider it. >>> >>> That was clear from the initial reactions of the members, nine of >>> them Democrats, seven Republicans. None embraced the package and >>> several made clear they would not support it without big changes. >>> >>> “I think every member of the commission would agree that this is >>> not the plan,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of >>> Illinois, who is perhaps the panel’s most liberal member. >>> >>> The group had made no decisions before the midterm elections, to >>> avoid politicizing the painful options. Even so, the election >>> results — by emboldening victorious antitax conservatives and >>> having led to the defeat of many fiscally conservative >>> Congressional Democrats — are widely seen as having reduced the >>> already slim chance that a supermajority of the commission could >>> agree to a package of proposals by Dec. 1. >>> >>> Under Mr. Obama’s executive order creating the panel of 12 members >>> of Congress and six private citizens, 14 of the 18 commissioners >>> must agree in order to send any package to Congress for a vote in >>> December. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and >>> Ms. Pelosi, who will remain the speaker until January, have >>> promised in writing that the Senate would vote first and, if it >>> approves a plan, the House would vote. >>> >>> “I think it’s possible” that 14 members will agree, said Senator >>> Tom Coburn, a conservative Oklahoma Republican who worked closely >>> with the chairmen on proposed reductions from the military and in >>> so-called tax expenditures, the myriad tax breaks for individuals >>> and businesses that cost more than $1 trillion a year. “You don’t >>> know until you see what the final plan is.” >>> >>> In five hours of deliberations on Wednesday, the commission did >>> not discuss the plan’s particulars much but instead talked at >>> length about whether a lame-duck Congress would have time to write >>> specific legislation and then vote, members said in interviews. It >>> was unclear, they said, whether that was a sign other members >>> thought the commission actually could reach agreement, or whether >>> they were hiding behind concerns about legislative procedures to >>> avoid tough policy decisions. >>> >>> “At least people stayed in the room,” Andy Stern, the former >>> president of the Service Employees International Union, said in an >>> interview, recalling his concerns and others’ that Republicans >>> would walk out if taxes were on the table and Democrats if Social >>> Security and other spending programs were. >>> >>> Right now the biggest issue facing the lame-duck Congress is >>> whether to extend the Bush-era income tax cuts, which expire Dec. >>> 31, for all taxpayers, as Republicans want, or for income below >>> $250,000, as Mr. Obama and Democrats want. The Bowles-Simpson plan >>> includes one option that assumes only the lower-income rates are >>> extended and another that ends all Bush tax rates and replaces the >>> tax code with simpler, lower rates and many fewer tax breaks. >>> >>> Extending all the Bush tax cuts through 2020 would add more than >>> $4 trillion to the debt — coincidentally, about the same amount >>> that the chairmen’s painful options are designed to cut in the >>> same time frame. >>> >>> Their proposed simplification of the tax code would repeal or >>> modify a number of popular tax breaks — including the >>> deductibility of mortgage interest payments — so that income tax >>> rates could be reduced across the board. Under one option, >>> individual income tax rates would decline to as low as 8 percent >>> for the lowest income bracket (it is now 10 percent) and to 23 >>> percent for the highest bracket (now 35 percent). The corporate >>> tax rate, now 35 percent, would be reduced to as low as 26 percent. >>> >>> But how low the rates are set would depend on how many tax breaks >>> are reduced or eliminated. Some of them, including the mortgage >>> interest deduction and the exemption from taxes for employees’ >>> health benefits, are political sacred cows. >>> >>> The 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax would rise by 15 >>> cents between 2013 and 2015 so that transportation spending no >>> longer requires money from the general treasury. >>> >>> The plan would cut $2 from spending for every $1 in new revenues. >>> Total spending would be about 22 percent of the nation’s gross >>> domestic product, and revenues would be held to 21 percent. >>> >>> Cuts in annual discretionary spending, domestic and military, >>> would be the largest in recent decades. Farm subsidies would be >>> reduced. To further reduce growth in the fast-growing entitlement >>> programs, the plan would expand on the hard-won Medicare cost >>> savings in Mr. Obama’s health care law. And it would limit >>> malpractice awards, long a Republican goal. >>> >>> David M. Herszenhorn contributed reporting. >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pen-l mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >> > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > >
-- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
