Discussion for article #232176
His proposal is fair and equitable. Thatâs why it will be soundly rejected by the GOP controlled Congress.
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Sadly, I suspect this proposal will go about as far as the Presidentâs last couple of offered budgets.
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I never understand why President Obama releases key information about his SOTU address ahead of time. It only serves to give the GOP and the media time to attack and belittle it before the SOTU is even given. Why give them an opening? Undoubtedly the GOP and the Sunday talk shows will be foaming at the mouth about this today. To pre-release statements like this seems put the President on the defensive before he is out of the gate.
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A proposal that will go nowhere except RWNJ sites talking about âDimmycrats raising taxes again!!!1â
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Yes. It is devastating. I expect Joni Ernstâs rebuttal to be every bit as powerful as those of Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal.
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Thereâs nothing like setting up the Republicans to opposing tax cuts for the middle class.
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But, but but, the poor lil job creators!!! Their feelings will get hurt!
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He gives people the opportunity to process the reasonableness of his proposals before Joni blabbers a bunch of lies. He has the advantage of putting it out there, and Joni has to suck it up until late Tuesday. Pretty smart, I think.
BTW, they already have a copy of his speech, so heâs not giving away the store.
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I think part of it is that times are changing. Years ago, when there were only three TV networks, the SOTU could be expected to draw a sizable audience. Today, there is too much competition and many donât tune in to the SOTU, which is itself an outdated tradition.
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I think another reason is 2016. Obama is trying to connect the issues in his SOTU in a way that engages voters, boosts turnout and gives the Democrats something to fight for. Obama keeps giving âsneak previewsâ of the SOTU while in cities across the country, which generates interest in the address, but also keeps the themes out there in the public.
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This isnât about legislation. The last election freed him of any responsibility to propose legislation with even a remote chance of passing. This is about Obama acting as leader of the party to define what the party is going to be about going forward, draw sharp, clear contrasts with the open contempt of the poor and the continuous plutocrat knob polishing knee pad party that will be the 114th Congress, try to direct the focus of the next presidential race, and maybe, just possibly, disrupt the MSM CW narrative, though good luck with the last one.
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It upsets me a bit that our tax code continues to gives breaks to people with children in a way that does not address the issue of overpopulation. Families like the Duggars should have benefits like the child tax credit limited to their first two children, and non-allowable on the next 17, or whatever it is. Even if there is a phase-out or elimination based on income, giving incentives for people who canât afford children to have more children would be a poor unintended consequence of these kinds of tax laws.
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There is 32 trillion dollars parked in offshore tax havens. When that amount of money isnât circulating, it creates a vacuum in global economies.
A good start before tackling the tax havens and getting some of that money back into circulation would be to treat all income the same. No more special tax rate for capital gains, dividends, etc. Everything on the same set of brackets, one total number at the end of the year, pay taxes on that total number. Simplify our tax code.
High Frequency trading should be taxed. Money that creates manufacturing, and jobs should be given significant tax breaks. Some of our best years of growth occurred under tax rates in excess of 70%.
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The repubs will do their best to ridicule it and call it socialism. Just wait until Joni Ernst gets warmed up. Make sure your pop cornâs ready.
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See, we all knew he was a socialist.
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Yes, and President Obama keeps saying there is a chance he can work out a tax code revision with the Republicans that lowers rates and frees up money for investments in infrastructure and other priorities of his. Itâs going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
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No doubt, but maybe, just maybe, the American public is politically sophisticated enough to understand this one. This isnât a brainteaser like âWe donât control the worldâ or âYou canât just deport 11 million people and you wouldnât want the jobs theyâre doing anyway.â
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Nice timing, Mr. President. You propose this just after Republicans took complete control of Congress. Of, course, your supporters are thrilled, because nothing excites them more than being for policies that have no chance of becoming law. Where were you on this six years ago?
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I think he had his hands full trying to get people health care.
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The message is definitely the one we need to have moving forward.
The key is to present it in a way that emphasizes fairness. Americans can accept hardship as long as there is a sense that it is equally shared and weâre all in this together. When one segment of society is flourishing at the expense of the rest, it offends our notions of democracy.
Thatâs where we should be driving the wedge.
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