I might be willing to agree that we should tax people according to their income. I’d be less inclined to agree that we should increase the rate of taxation as the income moved ever higher.
However the debate went, I would insist on this:
Taxation of the people is meant to pay for the necessary role of government.
There is no way that you could get me to agree that we need to confiscate the wealth of one man and simply hand it to another.
There was a big decision last week. The Supreme Court ruled that the AMA was constitutional under the ability of congress to tax. Republicans, and I, jumped on this to claim that Obama broke his pledge to raise taxes.
Initially, Romney claimed that the AMA, Obamacare, was not a tax but rather a penalty:
In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” Romney strategist Eric Fehrnstrom was asked whether Romney agreed with last week’s Supreme Court ruling.
“The governor believes that what we put in place in Massachusetts was a penalty and he disagrees with the court’s ruling that the mandate was a tax,” Fehrnstrom said.
When pressed by host Chuck Todd about whether Romney supported calling the financial burden placed on Americans who choose not to buy health care “a penalty or a fee or a fine” rather than a tax, Fehrnstrom replied: “That’s correct.”
However, governor Romney has changed his tune, to one that sounds more true:
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney attempted to clarify his campaign’s position on the individual mandate, calling the provision a “tax” days after his top adviser said otherwise.
“The Supreme Court has spoken and while I agreed with the dissent, that’s taken over by the fact that the majority of the court said that it’s a tax and therefore it is a tax,” said Romney in an interview aired Wednesday on “CBS This Evening.”
This happens to be what I think. Obama never meant this to be a tax. He adamantly denied it was a tax. It never would have passed had it been a tax. It clearly was meant to be a mandate under the commerce clause. However, that is not how the supreme court saw it. To them, the mandate is a tax, therefore, legally, it’s a tax.
Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics: National
Tagged AMA, Barack Obama, Obamacare, Surpreme Court, Tax
Last night, in bitter disappointment, I posted that our President lied to us when he claimed that Obamacare wasn’t a tax. Scott Erb and Nickgb called shenanigans. The claim is that when Obama was claiming that his law wasn’t a tax, he believed it. Only later did it turn out that he would be wrong and the court would strike down the law based on the commerce clause and uphold it under congresses ability to tax.
Certainly valid points. But what is Obama’s administration saying now?
The White House and the Obama campaign today insisted that the individual mandate in the president’s health care bill is a “penalty,” not a tax, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the law under Congress’ taxing power.
“For those who can afford health insurance but choose to remain uninsured, forcing the rest of us to pay for their care, a penalty is administered as part of the Affordable Care Act,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One today.
“You can call it what you want. If you read the opinion, it is not a broad-based tax,” he said, stressing that the “penalty” would affect 1 percent of the population, based on CBO estimates. “It’s a penalty because you have a choice. You don’t have a choice to pay your taxes, right?”
Obama isn’t going to call this a tax. It IS a tax, that’s the law. As he sends his administration and his campaign out saying that it isn’t it does two things:
It’s settled. This new law is a tax hike, rumor has it it’s the biggest tax hike in history. In that lens , Obama is going to have to answer to that.
Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics: National, Welfare
Tagged Barack Obama, Obamacare, Tax
I have been waging a continuous war on taxes and increasing them. I personally think that the best way to cause our elected officials to reduce the size of government is to reduce the amount of money we give ’em. Those on the left feel that the best way to balance the budget is to INCREASE taxes. Now, unless they are pure Marxists who simply will not accept any other form of economic structure than that of transferring money from the wealthy to the poor, what my friends are saying is that we need to increase taxes to increase REVENUE.
The more money IN, the better off the budget/deficit will be.
Sadly, for the second year in a row and for the last 24 out of 30 years, the left has succeeded in growing revenue. In 2011 the United States Federal government will have taken in $2.3035 trillion. This represents a 6.51% increase year over year 2010.
If I’m lucky I can achieve my goal of shrinking government in 2012 but it doesn’t look good. The Tax Policy Center is calling for a 2012 tax receipt increase of $165.1 billion in 2012. And it only looks to get worse year over year after that.
Sigh.
Posted in Economics, Economy, Government, Politics: National
I just mentioned that President Obama is a liar. He claims to want to pay higher taxes, yet, when given the opportunity, he doesn’t. Rather he chooses to shelter his money and keep what he can. In fact, Obama pays less in taxes than does his secretary.
Ironic.
Now we find out that his Veep, Joseph Biden, is a cheapskate.
The vice president’s effective federal tax rate is 23.2%. The Bidens gave $5,540 to charity, a little less than 2% of income.
TWO percent of the Vice President of the United State’s income went to charity.
And the left has the balls to claim that conservative republicans don’t care about the poor, about kids, about education and the downtrodden.
On the other hand, perhaps we can defend Mr. Biden for stretching his pennies into copper wire. See, the Liberal doesn’t see taxation as confiscation. Rather, the liberal sees taxation AS CHARITY! They feel that by legislating laws that force people to pay for their charity of choice that they have somehow acted in a moral manner.
Beware the Leftist who is willing to spend YOUR money in the name of his charity.
Posted in Government, Idiots on Parade, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Charity, Joe Biden, Tax, Taxes
I have no qualms about lowering my tax burden. If I can shelter my income in such and such a manner that I pay less taxes to the government, all the better. On the other hand, I do not advocate that the federal government increase its confiscation of more and more of other people’s money.
Our President, Barack Obama, however, does.
He thinks that it is incumbent upon the wealthy to “pay their fair share.” Heck, he might get elected saying nothing more than, “The rich aren’t paying their fir share because of George Bush.”
Barack Obama is the warrior’s warrior when it comes to class warfare. He has nothing but disdain for the rich. He thinks they have abused the poor to obtain their wealth and refuse to use their riches to benefit society. He openly advocates for massive income redistribution from the rich to the poor.
But he doesn’t practice what he preaches:
WASHINGTON — For months, President Obama has marveled that the billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, citing it as an egregious example of an unjust tax code. It turns out that another famous and well-compensated American does, too: Mr. Obama.
The president and his wife, Michelle Obama, reported adjusted gross income of $789,674 in 2011, and paid just over 20 percent of it in federal taxes, according to income tax returns and gift-tax returns released by the White House on Friday. The White House confirmed that Mr. Obama’s secretary, Anita Decker Breckenridge, paid a “slightly higher” tax rate than her boss in 2011, on a salary of $95,000.
Un-freackin-believeable.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, North Carolina is experimenting with toll roads. As I’ve stated, I’m in favor of this type of taxation. It more correctly taxes usage than does a generic gasoline tax. Monies generated from a particular road have a better shot at being spent on the upkeep of that road. And, the money generated can help build a maintain future infrastructure.
Additionally the tolling can be used to create a market and maximize traffic flow. By raising rates during peak hours, lowering them during off peak hours, we’ll better be able to move more cars and trucks through than we other wise would. Sort of a “Tragedy of the Commons” modern style.
But is it working?
Posted in Politics: North Carolina, Transportation
Tagged North Carolina, Tax, Toll Roads
Today marks the opening of North Carolina’s first toll road:
Morrisville, N.C. — Tolls are now being collected on one of the Triangle’s newest roadways. The 3.5-mile Triangle Parkway opened Dec. 8, connecting Interstate 40 and N.C. Highway 147 in Durham County to N.C. Highway 540 in Wake County.
Tolls will be collected electronically on the highway, which is the first segment of the 18.8-mile Triangle Expressway that will eventually stretch from I-40 to N.C. Highway 55 in Holly Springs.
I am an optimist, so my excitement on this development makes a critical assumption; that other taxes used to fund our roads are diminished or retired as we begin to rely more and more on tolls.
The road, which will be expanded in segments, has a cost of nearly $1 billion. If we only toll the current segment, that 3.5 long portion, we should come up with some cash to pay down the bill:
Use of the Triangle Parkway since its opening has also topped expectations, with 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day, officials said.
…
Tolls are 30 to 50 cents for cars with a QuickPass and 45 to 70 cents for those without.
Assuming everyone uses a QuickPass, the daily take for the system is $8,400 using the low side of vehicles and toll rate. More if we use 10,000 vehicles and 50 cent average tolls.
As toll roads increase, we will have the ability to offset gasoline taxes AND increase the flow of traffic on our highways.
Posted in Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Gasoline Tax, North Carolina Politics, QuickPass, Tax, Toll Road
For those of us buying gasoline in North Carolina, the price of that gas is going to go up by about 1% beginning with the New Year:
RALEIGH, N.C. — The new year is already bringing changes to North Carolina drivers in the form of a record high tax on gasoline.
Revenue Secretary David Hoyle said last month the state motor fuels tax would grow by 3.9 cents per gallon to 38.9 cents starting Sunday. That’s the highest-ever state tax on gas. The tax rose by 2.5 cents per gallon in July.
State law directs the tax be recalculated automatically twice a year based on a formula linked to wholesale gas prices.
Right now, gas is about $3.22 before this new tax. This will put gas at about $3.26 beginning January 1.
3.9 cents doesn’t sound like much, but 38.9 cents certainly does. For each gallon of gas I pump I’m paying about $0.40 American. My car has an 18 gallon tank meaning that every time I fill up I’m contributing $6.22 to the state. Every time I fill up.
And this doesn’t count the federal taxes.
It would be interesting to see what both the state and federal governments do with that money. How much of it goes to “infrastructure” projects?
Posted in Energy, Government, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Gas Tax, Highway Funding, Tax
In the last few days and weeks we’ve been hearing a lot about the payroll tax hike/cut. Lately the pitch has ramped up for two reasons. One, the Senate was ale to negotiate a bipartisan agreement to extend the tax cuts.
For 2 months.
Now, most recently, the House Republicans have declined to accept that compromise. They voted Tuesday to reject the Senate deal and are asking for the two bodies to meet in committee. We’ll see who blinks.
However, for me, what has been lost in all of this is why the Democrats are fighting for a tax cut to begin with? I certainly understand the whole “We-They” thing, after all, the whole payroll tax cut idea was the Democrats brain child. But why, at all, do the tax more, big state liberals want ANY tax cut? Especially one that funds their most precious social program, Social Security?
Why? Because Social Security is SO broken, so in debt and so “no chance of survival” that the Democrats feel they have little to lose. In fact, they KNOW the government will “bail out” Social Security. So, in some perverse way, the payroll tax cut can be seen to be a stimulus program. Albeit not a perfect one. For starters the more you make the more it benefits you. And, you have to actually be working to benefit. But other than that, any money not sent to Social Security is just added to the bill that Congress will eventually pay.
Rascally Rabbits!
Posted in Government, Middle Class, Politics: National
Tagged Democrats, John Boehner, Payroll Tax Cut, Politics, Republicans, Social Security, Tax