Creating Jobs: The President proposed a small business tax credit with the goal of encouraging businesses to hire workers or raise wages. However, business tax credits are apt for fraudulent uses. In this case, I could see instances where firms would fire a worker with a handshake agreement that they would be hired back after a period of time in order for the firm to obtain the tax credit. In my myopic opinion, if the President wants to create jobs while saying he’s fighting for the middle class, he can propose a payroll tax cut for populations he deems “middle class.” He could also leave the tax rates on capital gains to remain in place beyond 2010 to encourage business planning and investment and not just temporary fixes. Those are two ideas I’m still waiting to hear from the President.
Taxes: the claim that the President has cut taxes on 95 percent of Americans is hard to measure. Do we take the $400 payroll tax cut per worker than many had to pay back as a tax cut? Do we take the one dollar increase cigarette tax (a tax that disproportionately affects the poor) to pay for the expansion of child health care as a tax cut? Do we take the increases that businesses have to pay (400 percent increase for the Golden Inn in WI) in their unemployment taxes due to state unemployment fund deficits around the country as cutting taxes? I don’t know where the President’s figure comes from, but I have a hard time believing it.
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Deficit: I will say that the President has a point in stating that the last Administration added trillions of dollars to the debt via expanding entitlement programs, waging two wars and not controlling the budget to hold down spending (yes, I know the President blames the tax cuts). But to say that a spending freeze on non-entitlement, non-defense spending after increasing such spending by over a trillion dollars in one year with a Democratic Congress is something hard to believe is seriously meant to control the deficit. Perhaps some concrete reforms on reforming entitlements, taxes (yes, I said it) and discretionary spending would greatly help the President’s credibility on the issue of controlling deficits.
- Mellow Yellow
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