- Jul 28, 2006
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The Washington Post pretty much tears up Obama's recent news conference.
Seems that most of Obama's main talking points don't really match up with reality or at least the impression he gives.
For example
" “The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers and corporate jet own"
Sounds fine and dandy till you start to add up the numbers.
The Jet loophole is worth $300 million a year, and that is million with an M
Hedge fund loophole is worth $1.5 billion a year. No where near the amount some members around here seem to think it would be worth.
Oil taxes are worth another $4 billion a year.
So we are looking less than $6 billion a year and yet Obama wants us to think that these rich evil jet flying oil using hedgefund managers are keeping kids from getting an education or seniors from getting medical care...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ference/2011/06/29/AGpQMPrH_blog.html?hpid=z2
Seems that most of Obama's main talking points don't really match up with reality or at least the impression he gives.
For example
" “The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers and corporate jet own"
Sounds fine and dandy till you start to add up the numbers.
The Jet loophole is worth $300 million a year, and that is million with an M
Hedge fund loophole is worth $1.5 billion a year. No where near the amount some members around here seem to think it would be worth.
Oil taxes are worth another $4 billion a year.
So we are looking less than $6 billion a year and yet Obama wants us to think that these rich evil jet flying oil using hedgefund managers are keeping kids from getting an education or seniors from getting medical care...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ference/2011/06/29/AGpQMPrH_blog.html?hpid=z2
A feisty President Obama met with reporters Wednesday — a sure sign that the dispute over the debt limit has reached a critical stage.
The president, clearly intending to increase pressure on the GOP, lambasted Republicans for, in his words, refusing to get rid of “tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires” before cutting aid to the less well-off. He also addressed questions on Libya.
Let’s parse some of his answers and explain what he means — and how factual he was.
“The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers and corporate jet owner. . . . Before we ask our seniors to pay more for health care, before we cut our children's education, before we sacrifice our commitment to the research and innovation that will help create more jobs in the economy, I think it's only fair to ask an oil company or a corporate jet owner that has done so well to give up that tax break that no other business enjoys.”
The White House and Congress have been looking for ways to cut the deficit over 10 years by $2 trillion to $4 trillion. Republicans want to cut spending, while Democrats have sought ways to increase revenues — a nonstarter for most Republicans.
While there have been reports the administration is seeking $400 billion in additional revenue, that’s apparently not a real number. At this point, the White House might accept just about anything that demonstrates what the president calls a “balanced solution.”
In a bit of class jujitsu, the president six times mentioned eliminating a tax loophole for corporate jets, frequently pitting it against student loans or food safety. It’s a potent image, but in the context of a $4 trillion goal, it is essentially meaningless. The item is so small the White House could not even provide an estimate of the revenue that would be raised, but other estimates suggest it would amount to $3 billion over 10 years.
Meanwhile, student financial assistance, just for 2011, is about $42 billion. So the corporate jet loophole — which involves the fact that such assets can be depreciated over five years, rather than the seven for commercial jets — just is not going to raise a lot of money. It certainly wouldn’t save many student loans.
Going after hedge fund managers might raise about $15 billion over 10 years, but in a different life The Fact Checker covered Wall Street and is pretty certain those financial wizards would figure out a way to avoid this tax shift. John Carney of CNBC actually outlined how that would work.
Eliminating oil and gas preferences would raise $44 billion over 10 years, according to administration figures (table S-8), so that begins to look like real money. But the real dollars are in what the president calls “tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires” — eliminating the ability of people making more than $250,000 to itemize their deductions. That proposal would raise $290 billion over 10 years.
Wait a minute, the president said he would target “millionaires and billionaires” and yet the fine print of his proposal would affect couples making more than $250,000 (and individuals making more than $200,000)? That’s right.