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[Catchpenny]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/22/politics/22tax.html

Basically, we have a selection of popular middle-class tax cuts, due to expire, that have a substantial amount of bipartisan support. After some debate on whether to balance out the cuts with other taxes and/or spending reductions, House and Senate Republicans negotiate a bill where the cuts would be extended two years. Many Democrats are willing to go along with such an agreement, with the economy still in recovery mode.

The White House? They insist on a guaranteed five years without offsetting the costs, which seems pretty damn reckless with the wars we're fighting and rising defecits. Even the Republicans shy away from this. Obviously the Republicans aren't going to pass the bill anyway and make Bush veto it, so it's dead for now.

So Bush takes his ball and runs home, and if this can't be resolved in the next session of Congress, the Americans actually fighting Bush's wars will have that much more of a burden to carry. You know, military families, policemen, fire fighters, and so forth. Bush could get his five years on these tax cuts if he'd leave open the possibility of reclaiming some of the billions he's giving away to his rich friends in capital gains cuts, upper-class income tax cuts, etc. However, it's obvious he'd never put those people at risk of losing a little dough.

Of course, there's a bigger issue at play here. As the story notes, the White House doesn't want a tax cut bill passed with DEMOCRATS supporting it! That doesn't do them much good when they're trying to paint Kerry as a tax-and-spend liberal. Only a fiscally reckless version of the bill might persuade Kerry and a majority of Democrats to vote against it.

Funny that the president is running a campaign on family values, isn't it? There's one value on display here, and it is indeed a Bush family value: win election at any cost.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

There's one value on display here, and it is indeed a Bush family value: win election at any cost.

That "family value" is hardly exclusive to the Bush family, either party, or politics in general.

 

[xsarien]

That "family value" is hardly exclusive to the Bush family, either party, or politics in general.

The Bush family in particular is known for being quite vicious. If you'll recall, when Bush was still running against McCain in the primaries, the fight between them got heated, to say the least.

And it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to figure out who threw the first punch.

 

[AirBrian]

The Bush family in particular is known for being quite vicious. If you'll recall, when Bush was still running against McCain in the primaries, the fight between them got heated, to say the least.

And it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to figure out who threw the first punch.

And they are a drop in the bucket compared to the Kennedy's. My point is that 99.99% of politicians are vicious. Sure, we can point out (and argue over) the more extreme ones all day long, but that's like comparing murderers who've killed 10 people vs 15 people vs 20 people vs 50 people and so on. At the end of the day, they're still murderers.

 

[dark10x]

And they are a drop in the bucket compared to the Kennedy's. My point is that 99.99% of politicians are vicious. Sure, we can point out (and argue over) the more extreme ones all day long, but that's like comparing murderers who've killed 10 people vs 15 people vs 20 people vs 50 people and so on. At the end of the day, they're still murderers.

IAWTP

 

[slayn]

talking about tax cuts for the "middle class" or the "top x % is silly"

no one even knows what class they fall in when talking about money.

The best statistic I've ever seen was a poll of, "do you think you are financially in the top 1% in america?"

to which something like 13% of americans said yes.

 

[Nerevar]

talking about tax cuts for the "middle class" or the "top x % is silly"

no one even knows what class they fall in when talking about money.

The best statistic I've ever seen was a poll of, "do you think you are financially in the top 1% in america?"

to which something like 13% of americans said yes.

There's also a poll that shows almost all Americans (to the tune of like 90%) think they are "middle class." Which is, of course, why "middle class" tax cuts are so popular.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

There's also a poll that shows almost all Americans (to the tune of like 90%) think they are "middle class." Which is, of course, why "middle class" tax cuts are so popular.

Well, its kinda depressing to go, "You know what, I am a poor ass mother fucker." Does anybody know the exact values in the income brackets?

 

[AirBrian]

Single Taxpayers--2004

      Taxable income:                   Tax:
  Over     But not over         Tax       +%   On amount over            

$      0     $  7,150        $    0.00   10       $      0
   7,150       29,050           715.00   15          7,150
  29,050       70,350         4,000.00   25         29,050
  70,350      146,750        14,325.00   28         70,350
 146,750      319,100        35,717.00   33        146,750
 319,100      .......        92,592.50   35        319,100
  


Married Individuals Filing Joint--2004

      Taxable income:                   Tax:
  Over     But not over         Tax       +%   On amount over            

$      0     $ 14,300        $     0.00  10       $      0
  14,300       58,100          1,430.00  15         14,300
  58,100      117,250          8,000.00  25         58,100
 117,250      178,650         22,787.50  28        117,250
 178,650      319,100         39,979.50  33        178,650
 319,100      .......         86,328.00  35        319,100
 

Married Individuals Filing Separate--2004

      Taxable income:                   Tax:
  Over     But not over         Tax       +%   On amount over            

$      0     $  7,150        $    0.00   10       $      0
   7,150       29,050           715.00   15          7,150
  29,050       58,625         4,000.00   25         29,050
  58,625       89,325        11,393.75   28         58,625
  89,325      159,550        19,989.75   33         89,325
 159,550      .......        43,164.00   35        159,550



Heads Of Households--2004

      Taxable income:                   Tax:
  Over     But not over         Tax       +%   On amount over            

$      0     $ 10,200        $    0.00   10       $      0
  10,200       38,900         1,020.00   15         10,200
  38,900      100,500         5,325.00   25         38,900
 100,500      162,700        20,725.00   28        100,500
 162,700      319,100        38,141.00   33        162,700
 319,100      .......        89,753.00   35        319,100

http://www.smbiz.com/sbrl001.html

 

[Catchpenny]

Child tax credits and expanding the 10% income tax bracket are pretty obviously tax cuts aimed at poor or middle-class Americans. The latter is self-explanatory, and child credits favor larger families, which are more likely to be low or middle income.

That "family value" is hardly exclusive to the Bush family, either party, or politics in general.

Did I say it was?