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Saturday, January 09, 1982

01.09.2007 - Tuesday Open Thread

This is your open thread for Tuesday, January 9, 2007. Please post random links and off-topic discussions here.

14 comments:

The Klondike said...

Well, Nancy Pellosi stated yesterday that they were going to re-tax the rich, affecting small businesses across the nation. I don't belong to either party, and frankly despise them both, but I am betting that the Dems will surely bring the economy to a standstill...and then for the next ten years blame it on the current administration. this may or may not be true, but surely, higher taxes on small businesses will stall spending faster than a bum can grab a ham sandwhich.

biliruben said...

Every small business person I know, and I know quite a few, are pretty darned far from rich.

Maybe I'm keeping the wrong company.

In any case, the costs of health care as a small business person just trying to make a living is often insurmountable. In the global economy, we are competing with other businesses who's government picks up that tab at less than half the cost.

It's very difficult to be competitive in such an environment. Perhaps that is part of the reason we don't make much that anyone else will buy any more.

Raise taxes on the actually wealthy, and role it into education and health care. Give our citizens the tools to compete on a level playing field.

The Klondike said...

I guess "The Wealthy" needs to be defined. to Pelosi, any body or entity grossing over $500K/year will be taxed. That is why Small business will be hurt, even though, by any definition, they are not "wealthy"

Matthew said...

The Dems will have little, if any, immediate impact on the economy. The majority of the Bush tax cuts are in place until 2010. There is already some gridlock on passing parts of the budget, I know the budgets for Dept of Defense and Homeland Security has been passed, the rest have not. Personally, I think the divided government is good, and a check on the rampant spending that has been going on the last few years. Increased spending + Big Tax Cuts = Big Deficit

The FED will have a greater impact on the economy depending on what it does with rates.

biliruben said...

I can't find anything on the tax hike in any of the major papers. Even faux news.

Do you have a link?

In any case, 500K in gross income isn't rich?

Anonymous said...

Check out this turd by Marlow Harris over at the Seattle PI's blog.

plymster said...

I know this isn't a political blog, but I really take issue with this statement:

I am betting that the Dems will surely bring the economy to a standstill...and then for the next ten years blame it on the current administration.

The Republican President and Republican Congress embroils the country in a needless, multi-trillion dollar war in Iraq, funnels billions of dollars to war profiteers, oil barons, and drug companies, engages in a limitless list of criminal activity (Abramoff, Cunningham, Ney, etc), guts emergency relief with rampant cronyism, loses a key shipping port at the mouth of the largest interior waterway in the country, doubles the national debt (in six years, that's a quite a feat), and ruins the standing of the US throughout the world. Bush's big solution to our economic woes: "Go shopping!"

But those darned Democrats! They're attempting to reinstate a tax on the wealthiest 1% of all households. They're trying to wreck the country and frame the Republicans for it!

Let's also forget that Easy Al blew the biggest bubble the world has ever seen (twice!), and has the nerve to encourage people to jump into ARMs when interest rates are at their lowest point on record.

Yet somehow, the Democrats who have held both houses of Congress for a week are responsible for the coming economic disaster. T,V, &B, it takes 3 men to smoke that much weed.

greenthum said...

Come on plymster, everyone knows that
Democrat poop stinks just as bad as Repulican poop! Truth is, they're both to blame for this economic mess.
Pointing fingers ain't gonna pull us out of this nosedive.

The Klondike said...

And i wasn't pointing fingers. I simply stated that knee jerk reactions by the demo-rats, just as the repulsive ones, er republicans did when they took control, certainly isn't going to help anything. Each party blames the other for the bad times and takes credit for the good. Pelosi simply stated, and you can google "pelosi tax" to find the news bit, that those that gross 500k (aka small businesses) should be taxed higher. I think raising taxes always puts a damper on spending.

biliruben said...

Ah there it is. Faux news. Doesn't say anything about small businesses. Doesn't say anthing about gross income.

If you would like to read the actual transcript instead of misquoted sound bites, here it is:

The meat of the tax discussion:

SCHIEFFER: But let's go on--go back to taxes. Are you promising no new taxes
for anybody?
Rep. PELOSI: No, I'm talking about tax cuts for many in the middle class.
We've had tax cuts for small businesses to provide health insurance to their
workers, R&D, making permanent and modernizing research and development tax
credit for small business. We are talking about helping families with the
higher education of their children. We're talking about tax credit...
SCHIEFFER: So you're talking about more tax cuts?
Rep. PELOSI: We're talking about tax cuts for the middle class. And as we
review what we get from, again, collecting our taxes and reducing waste, fraud
and abuse, investing in education and in initiatives which will bring money
into the Treasury, it may be that tax cuts for those making over a certain
amount of money--$500,000 a year--might be more important to the American
people than ignoring the educational and health needs of America's children.
SCHIEFFER: So what you're talking about is you may have to raise taxes for
some people in the upper income levels in order to cut taxes for some below
them?
Rep. PELOSI: What we're saying is Democrats propose tax cuts for middle
income families.
SCHIEFFER: Mm-hmm.
Rep. PELOSI: And we want to have pay-go, no new deficit spending. We're not
going to start with tax--repealing tax cuts, but they certainly are not off
the table for people making over half a million dollars a year.
SCHIEFFER: So they may see their taxes go up?
Rep. PELOSI: They may. But as I say, that's not where we'll begin. It's an
option, it's not a first resort.


Sounds mild to me. We are running more than half a trillion deficit. We are living high on the hog on the back of the future children of the country. The tax base relative the GDP is historically low. Stop screwing with our kid's future for present day excess.

Matthew said...

The main reason for raising taxes right now would be the hundreds of billions of dollars in debt we have racked up the last 6 years. They are talking about attempting to balance the budget in the next 5 years or so... we'll see.

We have a multi-billion dollar a week war going on right now, SOMEONE has to pay for it. The Chinese are only going to buy so much of our debt!

Obviously this president has shown that he isn't going to cut spending, so therefore a tax increase is the only logical move if you want to achieve a balanced budget.

Again, most of this talk is irrelevant since the majority of the Bush tax cuts ARE PERMANENT UNTIL 2010!!!

(disclaimer: I tend to be fiscally conservative)

The Klondike said...

OK Cam, You win. No new taxes! Thanks for setting me straight. I guess I don't understand that when a politician says sarcastically that
"it may be that tax cuts for those making over a certain
amount of money--$500,000 a year--might be more important to the American
people than ignoring the educational and health needs of America's children."

that entity is not a target of theirs. I only mentioned it as future possibilites for the economy as a whole. Not as a political commentary. that would be for another blog. I appreciate your dedication to your party. I wish I had a party I could commit my love and dedication to. BTW, I was watching CNN when I heard it. Not "Faux News"..... So, How 'bout those Seahawks?

biliruben said...

He He. I'm not a dem.

And those Sea-chickens are lucky as heck! (I'm a Bills fan).

The economy is in for a nasty recession, but it's not going to be because some hedge fund manager will be only able to by the 8000 sq ft third house in Tamarack instead of the 10000 sq ft one he really wanted. Damn liberals.

The Klondike said...

And I a Chargers fan. Which is a good year to be a chargers fan. Well, it looks like a slow news day as far as housing is concerned. I guess we all await to see if any other pundits try to dispell the housing market activity...or lack thereof. C'mon, I need my fix whilst I slave away.