Showing posts with label higher taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label higher taxes. Show all posts

Thursday, April 23, 2009

AP poll shows independents not sold on Obama

America’s third largest party points to polling released April 22 by the Associated Press showing only 17 percent of self-described political independents think America is “heading in the right direction” under Barack Obama as a sign the president’s agenda of higher taxes, higher spending, higher debt and nationalizing industry isn’t winning over sensible voters.

“The percentage of Americans who believe Elvis is or might still be alive is higher than that of political independents who think Obama has America heading in the right direction,” said Libertarian National Committee Communications Director Donny Ferguson.

Nineteen percent of respondents to an Aug. 2002 FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll said they believed either Elvis Presley was still alive, or weren’t sure.

“The fact someone is more likely to believe Elvis could still be alive than a political independent is to believe Obama has us heading in the right direction should be astonishing,” said Ferguson. “Until you realize both require you to believe an out-of-control appetite has no negative consequences whatsoever, whether it’s for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches or prosperity-crushing national debt.”

Overall, 48 percent of Americans tell the Associated Press they believe America is “heading in the right direction” under Obama, while 44 percent say America is heading in the “wrong direction.”

“If you want the truth, you have to get away from the partisan Republicans and Democrats and look at people who decide elections – the independent American,” said Ferguson. “Only 17 percent of independents – the people who decide elections – say they believe things are looking better under Obama. That should be a stark warning for the President and any other politician who hopes to change America into the very kind of European socialism that continent is trying to get away from.”

Seventy-nine percent of all respondents say the record-shattering debt being run up by Obama will hurt future generations. Republicans fare poorly as well, with only 29 percent of Americans stating they approve of the way the party, which began the current bailout mentality with then-President Bush’s TARP plan to prop up failed banks, is handling economic issues.

“After 14 years of a Republican Congress and White House that exploded spending, bailed out banks and regulated virtually more and more facets of American life, and now a Democrat administration building on that foundation at a record pace, it’s clear the Libertarian Party – with its message of fiscal and personal responsibility – is America’s only mainstream political party,” said Ferguson.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Regional Roundup: President Obama's "Cap-and-Trade" Energy Tax Hits Families, Small Businesses

For weeks, Republicans have been highlighting the fact that the President’s budget taxes too much. Among the tax hikes that has been getting the most attention is the Administration’s “cap-and-trade” energy tax scheme. Under this plan, every American will be hit by the tax hike: middle-class families, small businesses, seniors, charities, schools … basically, anyone who has the audacity to flip on a light switch will be forced to pay higher energy bills thanks to this new $646 billion tax increase. And some of the states suffering the most during the economic downturn – such as Michigan, West Virginia, and Ohio – will be hit hardest by the Administration’s energy tax. The result? Higher energy bills for families and small businesses and more American jobs shipped to Mexico, India, China, and other countries not forced to pay a “cap-and-trade” energy tax.

Don’t hard hit states – and families and small businesses struggling through this recession – deserve better solutions than a massive tax increase that will only drive their energy costs up even further? Editorials and news reports around the country certainly believe so, and that’s why they’ve been taking aim at the Administration’s “cap-and-trade” energy tax ever since the President released his budget. Here’s just a sampling of what newspapers across America are saying about this ill-advised tax hike:

“Midwestern energy providers such as Dayton Power & Light and Duke Energy say the proposal could punish coal-dependent states like Ohio. Duke estimated it could force electric rates 40 percent higher.” – Dayton Daily News, 3/16/09

“[Washington State] House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said many fellow Democrats voiced concern about the economic toll new regulations could take on businesses already shaken by the recession.” – Seattle Times, 3/16/09

“The realization is slowly but surely growing that duplicating Europe’s failed cap-and-trade scheme would be a knockout blow to the U.S. economy that would dramatically increase energy costs and cripple the nation’s dwindling manufacturing base. The Detroit News aptly called cap-and-trade a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation’s heartland.” – San Francisco Examiner editorial, 3/15/09

“Where is this $650 billion or more [energy tax] going to come from? The answer, Louisiana and other industry heavy states: Louisiana ranks sixth in per capita CO2 emissions, California 47th. We have 19 refineries and dozens of chemical plants throughout Louisiana; they will be hit the hardest. It appears that the spread-the-wealth program not only applies to income levels of families, but also where you live.” – Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser op-ed, 3/15/09

“Since utilities pass through costs to customers, that’s tantamount to $180 billion in new taxes just on [Appalachian Power Companies] customers between the time cap-and-trade goes into effect and 2030.” – Charleston (WV) Daily Mail column, 3/13/09

“Not only does cap and trade tax at the point of production (even if some of those costs are ultimately borne by consumers elsewhere), but it also shifts economic activity away from those industries. The states that produce the most emissions are going to see the strongest ancillary declines in income and increases in unemployment. The top carbon states – in absolute, not per capita, emissions – include Ohio (No. 3), Pennsylvania (No. 4), Indiana (No. 7) and Michigan (No. 9).” – Wall Street Journal editorial, 3/13/09

House Republicans have a better solution for creating jobs and getting our nation back on a track to prosperity. It involves letting families and small businesses keep more of what they earn to encourage savings and investment – both of which will lead to more job creation now and in the future. In fact, the House GOP economic recovery alternative will create twice as many jobs – 6.2 million total – as the Democrats’ trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending plan at half the cost. As communities across the nation are beginning to realize just how much the Administration’s budget will burden them with more taxes and higher energy costs, isn’t it time for Washington Democrats to abandon its tax, borrow, and spend budget and work on bipartisan solutions to get our economy moving again?

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Obama's First 50 Days: Devastating to Taxpayers

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) released a taxpayer timeline of President Obama's first 50 days in office:

January 20: The Dow opens at 8,279.63. Obama is inaugurated. The Dow falls 330 points.

January 26: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is confirmed despite his tax problems.

February 2: In order to ensure "What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago" by preventing corruption and kickbacks arising from the "stimulus" bill, ATR asks each Member of Congress planning to vote for the bill to sign a statement promising that they, their family, and the members of their staff will not personally benefit from the bill. All refuse.

February 3: Health & Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle withdraws his nomination due to tax problems. Chief Performance Officer-designate Nancy Killefer withdraws her nomination due to tax problems.

February 4: On the sixteenth day of his presidency, Obama breaks one of the central promises of his campaign by singing into law a 156 percent increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco, a hike of 61 cents per pack, to take effect April 1. Obama promised repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would never raise any form of taxes on those making less than $250,000 per year, for example:

"I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes"

(September 12, 2008, Dover, NH -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8erePM8V5U )

This tax increase will fall squarely on the shoulders of the middle- and low-income Americans Obama said he would not raise taxes on: 55 percent of smokers are "working poor," one in four smokers live below the poverty line, and on average, smokers, whose median income is a little more than $36,000 make about 30 percent less than non-smokers.

February 9: Obama holds his first press conference, during which he calls for massive government spending increases. He fails to provide a single historical example where a government increased spending which led to increased jobs, income, and wealth on any sustainable basis. Obama also has the audacity to claim the "stimulus" plan is free of pet projects and earmarks:

"What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable."

Responding to a reporter's question as to what specific metric the American people should use to determine whether Obama's programs are working, Obama replies:

"I think my initial measure of success is creating or saving 4 million jobs."

How, exactly, does one measure a "saved" job? (See March 4 for details)

During the press conference, Obama builds expectations about the next day's planned announcement by Treasury Secretary Geithner.

February 10: Instead of presenting the promised specific plan, Geithner instead offers vague statements and echoes FDR's economically paralyzing "bold, persistent experimentation" philosophy with this gem:

"We will have to adapt our program as conditions change. We will have to try things we've never tried before. We will make mistakes. We will go through periods in which things get worse and progress is uneven or interrupted."

The Dow falls 380 points.

February 12, sometime around 10:00 PM: The "Stimulus" conference report is completed behind closed doors. Less than sixteen hours pass before the bill is taken up by the House.

Friday, February 13

2:24 PM: With not a single Member voting for the bill having claimed to have actually read it, the House passes the conference report for H.R.1, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."

5:29 PM: With not a single Member voting for the bill having claimed to have actually read it, the Senate passes the conference report for H.R. 1.

The Dow falls 82 points.

February 17: Obama signs the "Stimulus" bill and violates his pledge to the American people that he will allow legislation to be posted online for five full days before signing it. The stimulus bill was posted for only four days, not five.

"No more secrecy. ... when there's a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you, the American voter, will have five days to look online and find out what it is before I sign it, so that you know what your government's doing."

(June 22, 2007. Manchester, New Hampshire, http://tinyurl.com/dl2wog)

The Dow falls 293 points.


February 24: Obama makes his first address to a joint session of Congress and claims he doesn't believe in "bigger government." Obama also says he is proud that "we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks."

February 25: The first trading day after Obama's address, the Dow drops 78 points.

February 26: Obama releases his budget outline which raises taxes on individuals, small businesses, capital gains, dividends, and foreign source profits of corporations while eliminating several energy tax credits.

The budget also calls for a "cap and trade" regime which makes an absolute mockery of Obama's central campaign promise not to raise any form of taxes on those making less than $250,000 per year.

Obama also shatters his campaign promise to enact net spending cuts during his administration:

"So we're going to have to make some investments but we've also got to make spending cuts, and what I've proposed -- you'll hear Senator McCain say 'he's proposing a whole bunch of new spending' -- but, actually, I'm cutting more than I'm spending. So that it will be a net spending cut."

(Oct. 7, 2008. Second Presidential Debate - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM0Eri8VWiw)

The Dow drops 86 points.

March 1: The Obama administration foreshadows another broken promise when Peter Orszag, appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, claims the 8,000 earmarks in the 2009 Omnibus are "last year's business. We just need to move on."

To say the least, this is not consistent with Obama's campaign promises on earmarks and "change":

"And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."

(Oct. 14, 2008. First Presidential Debate)

March 3: Obama compares the stock market to a political daily tracking poll:

"The stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day-to-day," Obama said. "And if you spend all your time worrying about that, then you're probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong."

Obama also indicates to union leaders he will sign "card check" legislation.

The Dow drops 38 points.

March 4: While testifying before the Senate, Treasury Secretary Geithner is challenged by Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) as to the invention by the Obama administration of a new metric -- "creating or saving" jobs -- the very same metric Obama claimed on Feb. 9 is the most important measure of success:

"You created a situation where you cannot be wrong. If the economy loses 2 million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would've lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs," Baucus said. "You've given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct."

March 4: CNN visits the site of the first "stimulus" dollars to hit the ground: A $8.5 million bridge serving the town of Tuscumbia, Missouri - population 223.

March 5: While testifying before the House, Treasury Secretary Geithner concedes Obama's budget raises taxes on small businesses, but focuses on a meaningless metric: the percentage of small businesses affected rather than the fact that two-thirds of small business profits will be subject to higher taxation.

The Dow falls 279 points.

March 9: The Dow closes at 6,547.05. From Inauguration Day to March 9, the Dow is down 1,732.58, a 21 percent drop.

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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Libertarian poll: What is Obama trying to distract us from?

America’s third largest party is asking Americans to vote on what they think the White House’s ongoing war with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is intended to distract attention from, Libertarian National Committee (LNC) Communications Director Donny Ferguson announced Wednesday.

The LNC has posted a poll at www.lp.org asking Americans to cast their vote for one of five harmful Obama policies the White House hopes their spat with Limbaugh will distract attention from.

“Every time Obama announces higher taxes on unemployment, the market tanks. Economic research shows his spending plan causes long-term economic damage. He’s keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq and breaking his promise to end earmarks,” said Ferguson. “Now, with polls showing more and more Americans oppose his agenda, Barack Obama needs a distraction. He gets it by having his operatives pick a fight with a colorful radio personality.”

“Instead of solving our economic problems by reducing spending during a recession and granting tax relief to job creators, Obama has instead chosen to kick mud at a radio entertainer,” said Ferguson. “That’s not change or hope. It’s a tired old political trick pulled out when you’re making problems worse.”

“Libertarians may not always agree with Limbaugh, but you don’t have to agree with him to see the White House is latching onto his celebrity hoping Americans will pay attention to that and not the economic damage Obama is causing,” said Ferguson.

“While the White House is busying whining about an entertainer and Republicans are busy inserting their wasteful earmarks into the budget, Libertarians are busy cutting spending and creating jobs in their private businesses. It’s clear the Libertarian Party is the only party with an agenda for renewal, not waste or petty spats,” said Ferguson.

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