I started to write an article about this yesterday, but didn't take the time to do so.

What I would have said echos what you've said here just about exactly.

The idea of trying to get the deficits under control is a great one, but the idea that increasing taxes on the wealthy and businesses won't have a negative impact on growth in the economy (and therefore, eventual tax revenue coming into the government) is dead wrong.

Raising capital gains taxes, at least long term capital gains taxes, is so wrong I don't know where to begin.  We should be lowering long term capital gains taxes to encourage long term investment in businesses.  The longer the capital remains invested, the lower the taxes should be.  Short term capital gains should be, in my opinion, treated in reverse.  If someone invests for a quick hit and then cashes out very quickly zap them hard for the profits they are taking.

Anyway, as you've noted, you'd have to have been a blind and deaf individual not to have seen or heard what was coming.

well damn god forbid they actually cut spending and not raise taxes.... i mean... you know damn well that 250.000 mark will get lowered and most of the working class is gonna get hit .... just so we can hope and change and provide "entitlement" garbage to people that should not get it

This is no surprise. It just what FDR did to keep the nation in the depression so long, and Obama seems to want to channel him. Maybe he thinks that will keep him in office for four terms.

 I challenge anyone to find an instance of history where the current Democratic economic model was a success. Good luck.

I have no problem with rolling back the W administrations tax cuts to those making >250k/yr.

Those monies would not be spent by the folks in that bracket anyway and the treasury needs to come back into balance after 8 years of fiscal tomfoolery.

Prime the pump with spending this year and likely again for at least part of next year, but after that be in a position to eliminate the tax breaks and get serious about cutting the pork. Sure this will be difficult, but that's his promise, let's see how he intends to end the nonsense.

I can belive I am reading that W's fiscal policy was correct and needs not be revoked.

This country is doomed if we dont all start acting like adults and wishing on falling stars - get real

Jack

Do you really believe that BO will balance the budget?  GW said that he would, ironically four years after his term .  BO is now saying he can do it (with a democrat Congress) after his term too . 

Ten to one says that he will change what is considered as the budget.  By removing Social Security and MEDICARE he could do it (without a democrat congress).  But SS and MED will balloon the next twenty years with the baby boomers reaching collecting age.

I'll give four to one odds that the regular budget maybe balanced, but emergence spending/stimuli bills will be needed every six months for one or another crisis (real or made up).

Another option is that he will balance it for submission, but Congress will pump up the price.  All the time BO knows his bill will never work and then sign a bloated budget just because "Congress, the reps of the people wants it".

I did not believe Bush could do it, I really do not believe BO will want to do it.

PS: Lets not forget the Billions of dollars in interest being added this last week. 

LOL.  How do you know what they would spend their money on?  Do you realize people in this bracket are business owners, that invest in things like......employees?

Oh goodness.  Obama just passed billions of dollars of pork and useless spending, do you seriously think he is the one to cut spending?  Wait until his free healthcare plans come up.

Why do folks on the left think that rich folks take their money in a big pile and sit on it? People that have money to spend, use it for everything from paying the pool cleaner on up (that equals jobs for someone). How many middle class folks employ limo services? Not many, so when times get tough these jobs go away. It's a fact that small businesses (many in that 250K tax bracket and higher) employ a vast number of workers. The lefts rhetoric would have you believe that "rich" people somehow had the money fall into their lap and they don't work for it. Notice "fair" was not part of the hope and change.

I'm not even close to rich (even the Obama definition of rich) yet I can see what effects this "tax the rich" schemes have. Tell you what, when your job goes away because your employers tax burden is up, just act like an adult and you'll be fine.. The answer is easy, we need less government. I'm tired of paying for service that I and everyone I know will never use.

Why not?

Fiscal tomfoolery? Have you heard about Obama's "stimulus" law?

That is pretty damn funny.

economics 101 - utilize fiscal policy during depressions (do you still think we are not headed for one?) and spend - hopefully on things that will bear fruit down the road and not to increase the spread between the haves and have nots - we are making the Guilded Age look gentle here.

Monetary policy we helpful when this was "only" a mild recession. We ran out of room there back when the Fed last met.

The past 8 years have seen the squandering of this naitons capability and pride. I am disgusted. The past 30 have seen Americans give up on the ehtic of hard work and pay as you go for an easy life on the backs of their own and their kids well being down the road.

Prime the pump by spending - your fiscla policy, then get back to some darn responsible spending. The Bush years have seen us give up on building any real wealth and the wealth that was created over the past 30 years was all on the edge of a bubble.

We are witnessing the decline of America as a hyperpower and you want to protect tax breaks to the well to do?

Lets get ourselves out of the current mess - my guess is another four years, but at some point, where we dont repeat FDR's mistakes and end up riasing taxes too soon (point well taken) we need to begin setting the ship right.

What do you think will happen when on some fine day China decides not to buy and more T bills? Never mind hyperpower, more like a diminished UK.

And yes, if you think the Bush adminstration was not a game plan for fiscal tomfoolery I have a brdige, no a credit default swap, I want to sell you.

BTW - excuse the bad spelling, please - no excuse, I know, but I am multi tasking

With the US Government looking at nationalizing banks and every US citizen dumping every extra investment/retirement dollar they have in T-bills (to pay for the stimulus bills) there will be no money free to expand and invest in the private sector.  No China and no more US retirement money means more Government jobs needed to keep people employed. 

Around and around the toilet goes until nobody is left in the upper 5% tax bracket to pay for the other 95% of the country.

"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy" Oscar Wilde

Dear, JackDuggan,

Here is something to thing about:

Last year I made $285,000.00 working for a large transportation company.  Tuesday (last week) I finished and sent off my taxes (1040's and assorted other forms).  The total taken out during the year by the feds along with state and local taxes came to $188,000.00.  Upon completing the tax forms it was determined that another $23,000.00 was to be paid out to federal, state, and local taxes.  Which means a total pay out in taxes of $211,000.00; thus leaving me with a total income for the year of approxmatily $74,000 take home.  And, with that I had to pay normal living expenses.  

To make to kind of money it was expected of me to work no less than 10 to 12 hours a day for at least five days, and in most cases it turned out to be six days.  This hard work cost me two things over that thirty years; the loss of my wife (of 22 years), and my health.  

I am not really sure how to finish this little thread, and that is because I get really upset with people who believe they know how we who make over $200,000.00 live and spend our money. 

I put in some long, long hard hours to earn that money.  And, now I have people out there who in all there great and wonderful wisdom think I don't pay enough.

You are disgusted by what exactly?

The past 8 years have seen the US actually _doing_ something. And all the violent people hate the US for it.