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29 Aug 2011 17:42

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Politics: House Republicans plot major deregulatory push

  • Deregulation = jobs: A memo obtained by ShortFormBlog contains details of an upcoming Republican effort to push massive deregulatory legislation through the House of Representatives, in hopes of unshackling “costly bureaucratic handcuffs” faced by businesses. The letter, sent today by Eric Cantor to the House Republican caucus, details the “Top 10 Job-Destroying Regulations,” and how Republicans plan to address them. “By pursuing a steady repeal of job-destroying regulations,” Cantor wrote, “we can help lift the cloud of uncertainty hanging over small and large employers alike, empowering them to hire more workers.” Some key proposals:
  • Weakened emission limits  The TRAIN (Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation) Act, along with the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, would delay implementation of EPA standards intended to limit air pollution.
  • Limiting union power The Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act would limit the National Labor Relations Board’s power, rescinding its ability to influence relocation of manufacturing plants.
  • Farm dust for all The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act would, as expected, restrict the federal government’s ability to regulate farm dust, allowing it to do so only within state and local regulations. source
  • » In keeping with Republican orthodoxy, Cantor also proposes to two tax cuts (one for government contractors, another for small businesses), and the repeal of unspecified provisions of the Affordable Care Act. What do you all think of Cantor’s plan? Read the whole thing at the link. (AP Photo)
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2011 11:51

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U.S.: John Boehner: Obama isn’t serious about cutting the deficit

“He’s talking about [the deficit],” Boehner says. “But I’m not seeing real action here.” Obama put the Bush tax cuts on the cutting board. You won’t. Who’s serious again? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 13:24

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U.S.: CBO report: Obama’s deficit balloons, and tax cuts to blame

  • $9.5 trillion the size of the deficits that will be required under current policies through 2021, the CBO says
  • $2.7 trillion the increase over the previous expected budget numbers – a huge leap, to say the least source
  • » Why is this? The CBO’s report says that in regards to what’s behind all this, “Of the various initiatives that the President is proposing, tax provisions would have by far the largest budgetary impact.” In layman’s terms, tax cuts — especially those for the middle class — are the largest factor affecting deficits. While he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, they won’t offset the effect of the tax cuts. You know what’s funny though? Even though the CBO’s report specifically says this, the Washington Times reported this story as if spending was the culprit.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 15:32

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U.S.: Gov. Rick Scott is not one to buck Republican orthodoxy

  • $5 billion in proposed budget cuts to Florida over the next two years
  • $4 billion in proposed tax cuts to Floridians over the next two years source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 13:35

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U.S.: The high cost of unfunded tax cuts

  • $1.07 trillion could have been our deficit in 2011 source
  • » Not to belabor the point: The extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, which the President hashed out with Republicans, was a compromise granted to a political party that claims to be concerned about the deficit. You might therefore think the deal wouldn’t staggeringly increase the deficit, but you’d think wrong. This news will invariably be spun into another story about reckless liberal spending, but remember: this was the war trophy the Republican Party got out of the President, unfunded expenditure be damned.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 1 Comment • Permalink

07 Dec 2010 10:52

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Politics: Obama’s tax compromise: $600 billion to $800 billion total cost

  • So, fun fact on the Obama compromise: A lot of the stuff here could be considered short-term stimulus. While the Bush tax cut extension itself wouldn’t be, because it’s just extending a current tax rate, about half of the things in it (Social Security and business tax breaks, unemployment benefits, individual tax credits) could be. The overall result, which includes the Bush Tax Cuts would lead to a $600 billion to $800 billion total cost for the government. But hey, lower taxes for everybody! (And the Social Security tax break is, let’s face it, a not-terrible idea. As long as people notice that less money is getting taken out of their paychecks. Which they didn’t before.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 20:20

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Politics: Three things Obama conceded to push through the Bush tax cuts

  • two number of years the Bush tax cuts were extended for everyone – not just the middle class
  • 4.2% the Social Security payroll tax next year – that’s down two full percentage points, BTW
  • 35% the maximum estate tax rate; there will also be an exemption of $5 million per person source
  • » Will Democrats go for it? Maybe not; it seems that many congressional Democrats are upset about the estate tax thing in particular, and the overall deal got a weak reception from Democrats in particular. But the GOP likes it. When was the last time Obama pleased the GOP?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Dec 2010 21:56

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Politics: Obama’s tax-cut compromise has Democrats in Congress very sad

  • causeObama was handed an obvious, but still painful defeat after the GOP declined his plan to extend the Bush tax cuts to only the middle class.
  • reaction Now Obama’s hoping for a compromise by midweek to ensure that the rest of his agenda for this year gets through the ever-shrinking pipeline quickly.
  • responseDemocrats in Congress look like they’re about to slit their wrists, which suggests that the compromise might not go through, either. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2010 12:31

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Politics: Democrats fail to win hard-fought battle over Bush tax cuts

  • obvious Two procedural Democratic votes to extend the Bush tax cuts to only the non-super-wealthy failed to reach 60 votes in the Senate, to the shock of nobody.
  • sad The Democrats failed to even get everyone in their own party to go for them, only scoring 53 votes for the measure. Next up? Obama gives in to the GOP. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2010 21:17

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Politics: Reagan budget director: GOP, Dems going too far with tax cuts

  • It’s rank demagoguery. We should call it for what it is. If these people were all put into a room on penalty of death to come up with how much they could cut, they couldn’t come up with $50 billion, when the problem is $1.3 trillion. So, to stand before the public and rub raw this anti-tax sentiment, the Republican Party, as much as it pains me to say this, should be ashamed of themselves.
  • Reagan budget director David Stockman • Ripping his own freaking party for emphasizing a tax-cut strategy despite the fact that there’s a huge deficit. “It’s become in a sense an absolute,” he explains. “Something that can’t be questioned, something that’s gospel, something that’s sort of embedded into the catechism and so scratch the average Republican today and he’ll say ‘Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.'” The key point he seems to be getting at: We have too much going on as a government and it can’t simply be solved by cutting taxes. It’s a point that makes him angry when the Democrats (i.e. Obama) recommend it, too. The fact of the matter is that we have the Reagan tax cuts, the Bush tax cuts and now the Obama tax cuts. Is the solution cutting the government severely, like our boys in the U.K.? Or is it just raising taxes? A lot to question. (Thanks soupsoup) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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