Top Obama aide defends tax deal as Democrats fume

[Jagermeister]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/08/tax.plan/index.html?hpt=C1


Who's crying now. :biggrin:

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's top political aide Wednesday defended the tax plan the president hammered out with Republican leaders, even as Democrats threaten to rebel over it.

David Axelrod insisted the most important thing was that Obama had been able to secure a two-year extension in current income tax rates for "the middle class."

Democrats are angry that the extension also applies to high earners, as Republicans had demanded, and that Obama agreed to a Republican proposal on the estate tax.

"Our guys got taken to the cleaners," top Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said Tuesday night.

Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat, joked bitterly about the notion that Democrats hadn't gotten anything out of the negotiations.



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"I disagree that we didn't get anything -- we got screwed," he said.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, also a New York Democrat, accepted that politics involves compromise, but blasted Obama's negotiating skills.

"I honor the president for wanting to try to solve these problems, and I'm not saying that you never compromise," he said. "This is Washington. That's how laws get passed. But he and his team just don't seem to be any good at it, and that's a real problem for a lot of Democrats."

But Axelrod called the proposal "a good deal," saying the president and his team "need to focus on what's good for the country, what's good for the American people."

If no deal was passed, he said, "taxes would go up, people would lose their unemployment insurance and the economy would suffer."

He also downplayed predictions that the tax deal -- which does not include any revenue-raising measures -- will increase the deficit by a huge amount.

"The most important thing we can do to get our deficit down is to have robust economic growth," he said on CNN's "American Morning." "Every economist who has looked at this said this would be a real shot for economic growth."

House Democrats vented their frustrations over Obama's tax proposal at a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, with rank-and-file members slamming the White House for leaving House Democrats out of final negotiations and agreeing too quickly to a GOP proposal on the estate tax.

According to several Democratic members and aides, much of the discussion centered on the addition of the estate tax exemption to the package extending all the Bush-era tax cuts for two years.

Democrats are fuming that the administration agreed to exempt inheritances up to $5 million and to set the tax rate at 35%. The estate tax is scheduled to be reinstated at a higher rate of 55% next year, with the exemption up to $1 million. A bill that passed in the House a year ago set the threshold for the exemption at $3.5 million and the tax rate at 45%.

"My sense is people are not happy with this," said Pennsylvania Democrat Allyson Schwartz, who also told reporters that Democrats plan to "push back a little" at the White House to try to change the estate tax back to the version that passed the House. Schwartz said if the administration agreed to do that, she could support the package, but she could not predict how many other Democrats would do the same.

According to a senior House Democratic aide, Rep. Van Hollen, who represented House Democrats in discussions with the administration and Republicans, said the decision to accept the GOP estate-tax proposal was "an unnecessary giveaway to Kyl."

GOP Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, who was negotiating for Senate Republicans, sponsored an estate-tax bill that is essentially the same as the deal outlined by Obama.

About 20 House Democrats lined up at microphones after the evening meeting to complain about the president's proposal. According to the senior Democratic aide, in addition to concerns about the substance of the proposal, equally upsetting to attendees was how, "House Democrats were left out of the process at the end."

The aide added, "They view it as a trend," noting that it started with the president's stimulus package. "The House always seems to get rolled," the aide said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "didn't really weigh in either way" during the meeting about how members should vote on the president's plan, according to the aide, "but she certainly wasn't cheerleading for it."

But Pelosi made it clear Democrats were unhappy, telling reporters outside the meeting, "I think it's fair to say that there is a certain amount of unease with the proposal that was put forth by the president." She also noted that the estate tax benefits a much smaller number of families than the middle-class tax cut.

The senior Democratic aide conceded that despite the threats to vote against the plan, it's also a reality that the proposal could still pass the House. "This gets done, but does not get done with a majority of Democratic votes," the aide said.

Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to talk to House Democrats Wednesday afternoon. Asked whether Biden could convince Democrats to support the plan, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer quipped, "You'll have to ask him."

Hoyer didn't directly answer a query on whether he believed House Democrats could make significant changes to the administration's plan.

"I think it's under discussion," he said, but added, "the majority of the House is still Democratic."

[Nitro Express]

That's ok. Obama will make it up with spiking the Federal gas tax.

[Nickdfresh]

...

Who's crying now. :biggrin:

...

I dunno, but I know who's laughing:

The American National Debt, and the Chinese...

[Jesus Christ]

I dunno, but I know who's laughing:

The American National Debt, and the Chinese...

......And the thieving criminal non-jobcreating multi-generational inherited rich scum who have been bleeding thy country dry for the last thirty years.

[Nitro Express]

I was reading this morning that China has now replaced South Africa as the world's number one gold producer and China is importing gold. What does this mean? China is getting ready for the worldwide currency collapse. Fractional reserve banking is coming to an end because none of the currencies are long-term sustainable. Once there is a scramble for real wealth the Chinese will have the gold market cornered.

The west is so stupid, they just have to sit there and bide their time.

[Nitro Express]

With debt we have to be careful because we are getting hood winked there. The US Treasury has been reduced to a holding company for tax collection and a manufacturer of coins and notes. The Federal Reserve does all the borrowing and lending. China buys it's bonds from the Fed. Not the US treasury. I would say any debt incurred belongs to the Fed and they know it. That's why the Fed is purposely creating inflation because if you are a debtor, inflation is a good thing but it screws people who are trying to save. Of course the Federal Reserve is trying to get us to pay their debts for them. In a legal sense, each US citizen is accountable for no Federal Reserve debt. It's a private corporation and actually the Federal Government is a corporation. The Corporation of the United States and because of this, exists in a district and not a state. Each state is separate as well. So it's like saying Kansas has to pay for California's debts.

Basically, China loaned the Federal Reserve Bank money, if they default, then I guess they weren't too smart loaning that lousy bank money. That's the reality of it. Let them fail.

[ELVIS]

......And the thieving criminal non-jobcreating multi-generational inherited rich scum who have been bleeding thy country dry for the last thirty years.

Exactly...the people on the left...

[FORD]

The BCE and their Democratic party infiltration agency the DLC are not "people on the Left". And you really shouldn't be arguing this sort of thing with the Lord.

[BigBadBrian]

Tax cuts increase tax revenue. Ask Bill Clinton.

[FORD]

I thought Bill Clinton was responsible for "THE LARGEST GODDAMN TAX INCREASE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND!!!11!!!1!", or so Mush and Hannity have said repeatedly for the last 15 years. (in reality it was a slight increase on tax rates for the rich.)

[Nitro Express]

If the goverment needs more money, they should just go to Ben Bernake. He loves to print it. They don't need it from little o'l me. I would rather hold beef jerky than US currency and no Uncle Sam can't have my beef jerky.

[FORD]

If the goverment needs more money, they should just go to Ben Bernake. He loves to print it. They don't need it from little o'l me. I would rather hold beef jerky than US currency and no Uncle Sam can't have my beef jerky.

Bernanke & Timmy the Elf even managed to fuck that up.........

Printing errors delay debut of new $100 bills

By Brady Dennis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 6, 2010; 9:48 PM

Over the past two years, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has dealt with the fallout of bank bailouts, pushed for broad new financial rules and navigated complex economic relationships with other nations.

But due to production problems, he'll have to wait awhile longer to enjoy one of the perks of his position - having $100 bills bearing his signature circulate throughout the globe.

The issue stems from what officials called a "problem with sporadic creasing of the paper during printing" that resulted in blanks spots on some of the newly redesigned bills. Officials at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are working with Crane & Co., which has supplied the government with paper for currency for more than 130 years, to identify what caused the errors and to figure out how to sort through hundreds of millions of bills to weed out and shred the faulty ones.

"You can only imagine hand sorting a volume like that," said one person familiar with the situation, who like others commented on condition of anonymity because the review is ongoing.

The "new Benjamins," as Geithner called them during an unveiling ceremony earlier this spring, were scheduled to begin circulating in February 2011. More than 1 billion of the $100 bills bearing Geithner's signature were printed, but they remain in storage at Bureau of Engraving and Printing vaults in Washington and Fort Worth, Texas, while officials determine how many have been rendered unusable.

Numerous government officials expressed confidence that the majority of the $100 bills bearing Geithner's signature will be found acceptable and eventually shipped to the Federal Reserve, which will put the money into circulation.

The Fed announced that the new bills had been placed on hold in early October, but the issue received scant notice until a CNBC report drew attention to the problem Monday.

Officials remained uncertain when the new bills would be distributed. In the meantime, they said, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will continue to use the current design, which bears the signature of former Bush Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson.

The Geithner $100 bills feature an array of new security features aimed at thwarting counterfeiters, including a blue 3-D security ribbon with small images of bells that change into 100s as the bill is tilted. The strip is woven into the front of the bill. In addition, the new design features an image of a color-shifting bell inside a copper-colored inkwell on the lower front. Officials also retained some older security features, such as portrait watermarks and raised printing. The Geithner bills also cost more to produce than the Paulson version - nearly 12 cents per bill versus 8.5 cents for each Paulson bill.

According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Web site, more than "a decade of research and development" went into the new bill's security features. That increased complexity likely played a role in the recent production errors.

"This is the most complex note that the U.S. government has ever put into circulation," one Treasury official said. "As the notes become more sophisticated, the printing becomes more sophisticated."

Only a portion of the nation's money supply exists in the form of paper money or coins; a larger amount is held in bank accounts and other electronic forms. The Federal Reserve authorizes the creation of paper money based on how much banks request, and the currency is printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, then distributed through the regional Federal Reserve system to banks around the country.

There was $978 billion in paper currency and coins outstanding as of last week, while the total money supply, using a measure that includes money in checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market mutual funds is about $8.8 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

The government rarely has encountered serious problems in the production of new currency. One other significant delay came in 1987 when the Treasury announced that technical problems had postponed the issuance of the first redesigned American currency in a half century. The new bills did not begin to circulate for several years.

Geithner might have to wait awhile to use the Benjamins that bear his autograph. But for what it's worth, many Americans are already carrying around his signature on the $1 and $20 bills in their pockets.

[Nitro Express]

The thing is, the Democrats want higher estate taxes. In reality, that hurts family ranching and farming operations where property is transferred generation to generation. The fat cats like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates do estate planning. A lot of their wealth is hidden in charity organizations and is tax exempt but they still control that wealth. So estate taxes basically hurt family businesses while the big fish with the help of their lawyers and accountants get around it.

It sounds good going after the rich people but when you get into the details, it's not what the average person thinks it is. Plus, most of the money in the estate has been taxed already. I doublt Nacy Pelosi who is rich herself will pay a 55% estate tax. The Democrat party is full of rich people pulling the same shit that the rich Republicans do. It will just put more family businesses under which is what both sides really want to do anyways. They want to break the middle class because that is what is in the way of complete corporate takeover.

[Baby's On Fire]

The United States has become a farce. A joke of a so-called democracy. But still the "best" in the World, right boys?

In a decade or less, the USA will be bankrupt. Mexicans won't be immigrating any longer. You people will be slipping over the border in hopes of getting a job picking Mexican lettuce.

Honestly, whata fucking mess.

And how many of you still vote Republican or Democractic, no matter what? Fuck the other side, right?

Honestly, your best hope is to elect President Jesse Ventura. That guy kicks ass. Hopefully he runs for president. He says it like it is. Does it how he wants. And doesn't give a flying fuck what you think. That's what you need in a president.

[BigBadBrian]

The United States has become a farce. A joke of a so-called democracy. But still the "best" in the World, right boys?

In a decade or less, the USA will be bankrupt. Mexicans won't be immigrating any longer. You people will be slipping over the border in hopes of getting a job picking Mexican lettuce.

Honestly, whata fucking mess.

And how many of you still vote Republican or Democractic, no matter what? Fuck the other side, right?

Honestly, your best hope is to elect President Jesse Ventura. That guy kicks ass. Hopefully he runs for president. He says it like it is. Does it how he wants. And doesn't give a flying fuck what you think. That's what you need in a president.

How's your wife? Tell her I said hello! :doggystyle: :anal: :blow:

[ELVIS]

The United States has become a farce. A joke of a so-called democracy.

It's not a democracy, crybaby...

[Unchainme]

The United States has become a farce. A joke of a so-called democracy. But still the "best" in the World, right boys?

In a decade or less, the USA will be bankrupt. Mexicans won't be immigrating any longer. You people will be slipping over the border in hopes of getting a job picking Mexican lettuce.

Honestly, whata fucking mess.

And how many of you still vote Republican or Democractic, no matter what? Fuck the other side, right?

Honestly, your best hope is to elect President Jesse Ventura. That guy kicks ass. Hopefully he runs for president. He says it like it is. Does it how he wants. And doesn't give a flying fuck what you think. That's what you need in a president.

OT

burlington is full of stuck-up losers, per canadian friend of mine.

You guys are more white than the snow falling on my porch, and have more WASP's than a 4 foot long nest.

Awfully easy to say "GRRRR americans suck" from that sort of place, just saying.

[Unchainme]

It's not a democracy, crybaby...


Government
Federal presidential
constitutional republic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic

[Dr. Love]

It's not a democracy, crybaby...

democracy? more like demo-crazy! amirite?

[Nitro Express]

The United States is a Constitutional Republic and not a democracy. Benjamin Franklin put it well when he said a democracy is a sheep and two wolves voting on what's for diner. The founding fathers saw danger in a true democracy for the fact that the majority would abuse the minority, so they decided to set up a republic based on individual rights spelled out in the law. Then they gave a high court the responsibility to make any law subject to the constitution which of course spelled out the rights of each individual in the country. So if the wolves did start to pick on the sheep, the sheep could go to the Supreme Court who would weigh the situation against the supreme law, the US Constitution. A democracy has no safe guards.

[Nitro Express]

The United States has become a farce. A joke of a so-called democracy. But still the "best" in the World, right boys?

In a decade or less, the USA will be bankrupt. Mexicans won't be immigrating any longer. You people will be slipping over the border in hopes of getting a job picking Mexican lettuce.

Honestly, whata fucking mess.

And how many of you still vote Republican or Democractic, no matter what? Fuck the other side, right?

Honestly, your best hope is to elect President Jesse Ventura. That guy kicks ass. Hopefully he runs for president. He says it like it is. Does it how he wants. And doesn't give a flying fuck what you think. That's what you need in a president.

People probably said the same thing during the War of 1812 and our Civil War. What people don't understand is what's going on in the US is going on in other parts of the world and the big banks are who's doing it. Easy loans, the US borrowed the most but other nations did the same and now the defaults are happening. If the US defaults most the industrialized world will be there with us with the banks ready to snatch up the goods on the cheap. In my opinion these banks are in bed with China because someone was behind outsourcing our industry to them.

In truth, everyone fell for this banking scheme except for China. The European Union is broke, the US is broke, Canada is technically broke as well and we all can thank our central banks for breaking us. The politicians have just been paid puppets in this scheme.

[Nitro Express]

What's really going on is the west is losing it's control of the world and that is being transfered to Asia. The days of western empire is probably ending because their industrial base has become the largest in the world and they soon will have the military might to flex muscle with. What the west needs to do is stop feeding the Asians and let them take care of themselves. We don't need to keep giving them our money and industry.

[Unchainme]

People probably said the same thing during the War of 1812 and our Civil War. What people don't understand is what's going on in the US is going on in other parts of the world and the big banks are who's doing it. Easy loans, the US borrowed the most but other nations did the same and now the defaults are happening. If the US defaults most the industrialized world will be there with us with the banks ready to snatch up the goods on the cheap. In my opinion these banks are in bed with China because someone was behind outsourcing our industry to them.

In truth, everyone fell for this banking scheme except for China. The European Union is broke, the US is broke, Canada is technically broke as well and we all can thank our central banks for breaking us. The politicians have just been paid puppets in this scheme.

and bingo was his name-o

our canadian friend is an idiot.

the us economy is so intertwined with the rest of the world, that even if the events described by captain canuck would happen, they would also impact western europe and even his precious country.

he can go on and on about wishing that the us collapses and "it's all our fault". But once that happens, you can guran-dam-tee, that canada is going down with us.

May I ask, what is his level of education?

[knuckleboner]

Tax cuts increase tax revenue. Ask Bill Clinton.

george bush's didn't. trillions of dollars in debt. and that has nothing to do with the spending (though, he increased that, too.)

[Nitro Express]

and bingo was his name-o

our canadian friend is an idiot.

the us economy is so intertwined with the rest of the world, that even if the events described by captain canuck would happen, they would also impact western europe and even his precious country.

he can go on and on about wishing that the us collapses and "it's all our fault". But once that happens, you can guran-dam-tee, that canada is going down with us.

May I ask, what is his level of education?

There are very few solvent countries in the world right now. The only one in Europe is Germany. I think Singapore is doing well as is China. Japan has problems. It was all that cheap money the banks made available and everyone spent, spent, spent. Low interest rates and available loans. The 90's just made me sick because I saw this coming.

[BigBadBrian]

george bush's didn't. trillions of dollars in debt. and that has nothing to do with the spending (though, he increased that, too.)

Yes. Spending WAS and IS the main culprit.

You mean to tell me you can reduce your personal tax but keep spending like mad and NOT go into debt?

I think not.

Also, welfare programs added almost 10 times the amount to the national debt as did the wars in iraq and Afghanistan. Fact.

[BigBadBrian]

george bush's didn't. trillions of dollars in debt. and that has nothing to do with the spending (though, he increased that, too.)

Besides, Obama's first 2 years have increased the deficit way more than George's entire 8. You liberals need to realize that Keynes and his economic theories was all hogwash.

[FORD]

You really need to stop drinking that Repuke KoolAid........

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lm2JI7sGwYI/THx6j2NXsAI/AAAAAAAAK6s/oH9e7T36RwI/s400/KoolAidRepublicanPartyLogo.jpg

[Nickdfresh]

Yes. Spending WAS and IS the main culprit.

You mean to tell me you can reduce your personal tax but keep spending like mad and NOT go into debt?

I think not.

Also, welfare programs added almost 10 times the amount to the national debt as did the wars in iraq and Afghanistan. Fact.

Please help us with that "factoid" by citing it....