A letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

On November 6, 2012 you made history and I helped you, as I did in 2008. But this time I expect more. 

I don't want to see a grand bargain that includes you selling out the people who elected you. The election really was a clear choice and voters said, we want a government that helps us up, rather than shuts us out.

I voted for you because you are supposed to support and defend the things Democrats believe in, like Pell Grants, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. You are supposed to keep our environment clean and safe from people who want to pollute it for profit.

Now is your time to prove that you will not bend to the will of the losing party. America does indeed want to move forward.

So, Mr. President, stick to your guns and break the gridlock because the best way to tame a spoiled child is to simply say no.

• ·       No to cuts in Social Security and the chained CPI index.

• ·       No to education cuts.

• ·       No to Medicare and Medicaid cuts

• ·       No to more tax cuts for the rich

And most importantly, say no to John Boehner and his Tea Party caucus. Just because they refuse to listen to the voice of voters doesn't mean you should go along for the ride.

Image: Wiki file

Musician Sting calls American politicians unpatriotic

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The political gamesmanship that has been going on in Washington, D.C. has not gone unnoticed by foreign born celebrities in the United States. In an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the legendary singer, songwriter Sting was asked what he thought about America’s latest battles between democrat and republican politicians. Sting said, “I think it’s unpatriotic.”

Sting was also disappointed in the lack of progress being made regarding climate change and environmental protection.  In 2009, Sting joined forces with Prince Charles in an effort to stop the destruction of the world’s rain forests. Sting told the Independent UK , “Thirty years ago I wrote ‘Message in a Bottle’. Today I’m joining forces with the Prince of Wales and many others  to send an SOS to the world.”

Sting may not be alone in his belief that American politicians are unpatriotic. US citizens on both sides of the aisle are not pleased with recent maneuvering by lawmakers to extend the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.  President Obama compared the republican insistence on including the top 2% for tax breaks like “negotiating with hostage takers.”

Due to the ‘unpatriotic… hostage taking’ of the American public by republicans to assure discounts for the wealthy, the tax package will add $900 billion to the United States federal deficit.

MSNBC Morning Joe Video on Obama tax cut compromise: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe#40565551

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Obama taking heat from democrats on Bush tax cuts for wealthy

President Obama is feeling the heat for taking a compromise deal from republicans that extend the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not happy with the deal and the democratic base is outraged by the Obama surrender.

Bloomberg reports Rep. Nancy Pelosi, “criticized the elements of the plan demanded by Republicans, including extending the top tax rates and the estate tax, while stopping short of saying she’ll urge House Democrats to reject the deal.” She added, “Republicans have held the middle class hostage for provisions that benefit only the wealthiest 3 percent, do not create jobs, and add tens of billions of dollars to the deficit.”

In a statement on Monday, President Obama expressed his concern over fears that if he did not go along with the all-or-nothing republican proposal that all of the tax cuts would have expired at the end of this year and that would unfairly punish the struggling middle class with a tax hike.

President Obama called the compromise the only way to avoid “collateral damage for political warfare here in Washington,” and expressed his displeasure with Republicans for forcing his hand “regardless of the cost of impact on the deficit,” he said in televised remarks.

The extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy will put an extra $104,000 into the pockets of millionaires and add $800 billion to the federal deficit, according to reports.

Fallout from Obama tax cut deal rattles democrats, breaks GOP promises to reduce deficit

Critics on the democratic side have had a lot to say about President Obama’s decision to give in to republican demands and extend the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.

The compromise bill seems like a one sided deal to democrats. Republicans held their ground and got exactly what they wanted, despite the fact that the electorate did not agree. According to recent polls, less than 40% support extending the Bush tax cuts to the top 2%.  Additionally, the millionaire tax cuts will add some $450 billion to America’s debt, which will have to be borrowed from the Chinese and other creditors.

Political pundits agree, the high end tax breaks will not create jobs as republicans pledged, and it raises the deficit, which is an issue the GOP campaigned against. The Bush tax cuts will put an extra $104,000 per year into the pockets of those with incomes of 1 million dollars.

The compromise deal has not yet been finalized, but few expect Lame Duck democrats to attempt to block Obama’s agreement with republican lawmakers.

Senate republicans block both votes on tax cuts for middle class

Republicans in the Senate defeated two bills on Saturday that would have extended tax cuts for the middle class. The first vote was to extend tax cuts for those earning up to $250,000, the second vote, which immediately followed would have extended the Bush tax cuts for incomes up to a million dollars a year.

The extension of the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires has been a sticking point for the GOP. Last week, Senator Mitch McConnell sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid that said the republicans would block all legislation until tax cuts for the rich was passed.

Although there is no evidence to support suggestions that trickle-down economics creates jobs, the republicans have been claiming that the tax cuts for the top 2% will help the economy.

Since the Regan Administration began lowering tax rates for the wealthy, the budget deficit has grown and the gap between the rich and poor has widened.

“We are now living in a period when more money is concentrated in the hands of a smaller group of people. For the first time since the beginning of the 19th century, the majority of America’s wealth is held by 1/100th of 1% (.01%) of the population,” according to reports.

A Pew Research Group survey in July 2010 said, 74% of Americans believe large banks and financial institutions have been helped more by the federal government’s economic policies. 57% said wealthy people benefited most. Only 27% said the middle class has been helped by US economic policy.

President Obama leaning toward the Tea Party agenda?

Op-Ed

President Obama is beginning to look like a republican who is only pretending to be a democrat. On Thursday, his departing democratic congressional majority passed an extension for the Bush tax cuts for the middle class only. Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner called the Lame Duck Congress’ swan song, “chicken crap.” 

The republican mantra has been glued to an all-or-nothing tax cut policy, which includes extending tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, despite a recent report on MSNBC's The Last Word that says less than 40% of the American people want to give the wealthiest segment of the population any more money.

The White House response to the only bit of backbone democrats have shown in recent days was to immediately cave in on their principles and offer republicans another compromise to ease the tax-burden of the wealthy.

President Obama did not appear to see the congressional move as a victory, even if only symbolic since the Senate is unlikely to pass the measure. Instead, the president now seems ready to favor of adding $700 billion to the deficit for top 2% tax breaks.

On his path to alienating as many democrats as possible, President Obama made a great stride on Thursday. His dwindling supporters must now be avoiding thoughts of which direction he will take after the republican majority seizes the House in January. Will he become Obama the Tea Party guy?

Debt panel suggests cutting mortgage interest tax deduction

President Obama’s debt commission has suggested some unpopular plans to reduce the federal deficit. Among them is the elimination of mortgage interest tax deductions. With 15 million Americans still unemployed and the middle class struggling for survival, this proposal is a tax increase targeted at besieged homeowners. However, it does fit with the direction of the current wind in Washington, which is to shift the burden of paying taxes away from the rich and onto the backs of working Americans.

On the surface it appears that the republicans are not concerned with coming off as puppets of the rich. On Wednesday, GOP leader Mitch McConnell sent a letter to President Obama that threatened a Senate voting blockade against all legislation unless tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans are passed first.

While Republicans are eager to add $700 billion to the deficit with tax cuts for the rich, they are balking at an extension of unemployment benefits, which would only add 18 billion, according to a statement by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The democratic lame duck congress is raising red flags on growing class warfare between the rich and growing numbers of middle –class workers falling into poverty under the weight of the sluggish economy.

Are Dem’s holding out hope for a deal on Obama tax cuts for middle class only?

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Republicans have vowed to block any Democratic deals on extending the Bush tax cuts if they do not include an extension for wealthy people earning more than $250,000 a year. An extension of the tax cuts for the richest Americans will add $700 billion to the budget deficit, which goes against the GOP pledge to reduce America's debt.

“In an off-camera briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs deflected a question as to whether the administration would like to see a solitary vote on whether to keep the current rates for the middle class while letting those for the wealthy expire,” according to the Huffington Post. "I'd have to talk to [legislation] affairs office," he said.

That line of thinking does coincide with President Obama’s previous statements that keeping tax rates low on the middle class was his priority. However, Democrats have been widely criticized for their lack of resolve when it comes to defending their working class base.

If the Democrats were to force a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts only for people earning less than $250,000 a year, the Republicans would have to go after tax cuts for the rich through separate legislation. Trying to pass a bill that only benefits the rich will show the American public where the GOP’s loyalty really lies, and that will not win them many votes in the next general election.

The Bush tax cuts explained