Dear Ms Hayworth:
First let me state that the idea of holding the country hostage while dealing with the deficit is outrageous and childish and unbecoming for members of the House of Representatives. I feel certain that at some level you must understand that it was Republican policies which caused the huge deficit, which caused the Great Recession, and now have caused our country to come perilously close to complete collapse. You must understand that it is the political shenanigans pursued by you and your party which have brought us to the brink.
I write to urge you to split from your party’s leadership and join with the President for a balanced approach to the debt crisis.
Please stop these games. The deals available to end this mess have already shifted enormously to your side of the ledger. Are you willing to push us over the edge for ideological purity and cause the ruination of the economy of the United States?
Please understand that the tax cuts from a decade ago and the numerous tax breaks which are now on the table were spending. If you want to cut spending, then to be fair those tax breaks should be included as spending cuts. The idea of cutting taxes for the wealthy was thought to stimulate the economy, to allow the entrepreneurial classes to retain money to invest and create jobs. This was a policy decision no different qualitatively than a decision to build a bridge or an aircraft carrier. Whether the policy worked (it didn't) is not the point, understand that it was spending.
The balanced approach must include increases on the revenue side. Those increases should be concentrated on the wealthy. Hedge Fund managers, who contribute nothing productive to our economy should pay ordinary income tax rates. We should eliminate the tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. This is just a start.
Please do not be short-sighted. Please do not strive for the ideologically pure. Please disavow the spin and obfuscation in this debate. Please join in a true compromise.
I know that means that you will have to - in effect - reach into your own pocket to solve this crisis. I think you should.
Sincerely,
Carlton
Carlton's blog
Pat in Fishkill (not verified) on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:43Great letter! Thank you!
Balanced & Compromise
Laughing at Libs (not verified) on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 16:48The balanced approach??? Compromise?? you mean the way obama and his left wing extremists on Capitol Hill took a balanced, comprise approach to the stimuloss??? obummercare??? maybe the nation wouldn't be in the sh!tter had they taken a balanced, comprised approach on those left wing policies, which have been complete failures- but its the GOP's fault!!LMAO- let's raise revenues- start with the 63.5 million slugs, 47% of American taxpayers, that don't contribute $.01 of federal income tax yet receive federal benefits!!!
Balanced & Compromise
James J. Kirk (not verified) on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 02:34This is exactly the type of misinformed rhetoric that republicans and their wealthy benefactors love to perpetuate and it's not even accurate. The fact is the number is, as of 2009 that 51% of Americans who are no longer paying federal income taxes. I am sure that this additional 4% will only add to the contempt towards low income Americans that this poster obviously holds. It somehow seems to escape their narrow bigoted minds that the reason 51% Americans are not paying federal income taxes is because they simply do not make enough money.
Additionally, these critics conveniently ignore the fact that while 51% of Americans may not pay federal income taxes they do pay Medicare and Social Security taxes. They also fail to recognize that most of the existing taxes such as sales and excise taxes are regressive and impact this group far more than upper income workers. The bottom line is their overall tax bill is probably much higher, on a percentage basis, than their wealthy counterparts.
The fact is that only 14% of American households paid no taxes in 2009, this is a far cry from the 47% or 51% currently bandied about by the new Know Nothing Party; it’s easier to parrot talking points of the Tea Party or the extreme Right than it is to investigate the overall underlying statistics(see link below).
Another chart that unfortunately only is current through 2005 paints and even grimmer picture for households in the lowest 3 quintiles. Since 1979 their pretax income has remained essentially flat while the pretax income for the top 1% has increased by 300%; this equates to a current differential of 100 to 1 between the top 1% and the lowest quintile of American taxpayers as compared to an 8.5 to 1 differential during 1979.
If you believe that this current system is sustainable and may not eventually lead to social unrest, you have obviously failed to pay attention to past history.
2009 Tax Structure:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3505
Increasing Inequality:
http://www.econdataus.com/efftax05.html
Yup...GOP policies are all to blame...
Laughing at Libs (not verified) on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 17:42good thing obozocare was pushed through with a balanced, compromise approach because its really going to rein in spending costs as promised:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/28/news/economy/healthcare_spending_forecast/
gotta pass that bill to see what's in it!!!
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