Day: December 17, 2010

The Final Tally Or …You Owe…You Owe

Soon the Prez will sign the new tax cuts bill into law and there were a few tweaks….but what is the final tally of the bill?

Well, thanx to BusinessWeek we have them for you to see……and judge for yourself…..

The package extends:

–Lower rates for taxpayers at every income level. The top rate, on taxable income above $379,150, would stay at 35 percent, instead of increasing to 39.6 percent. The bottom rate, on taxable income below $8,500 for individuals and $17,000 for married couples, would stay at 10 percent, instead of increasing to 15 percent. Cost: $186.8 billion.

–More generous itemized deductions for high-income households. Cost: $20.7 billion.

–A more generous $1,000 child tax credit. Cost: $71.7 billion.

–Marriage penalty relief, increasing the standard deduction for married couples. Cost: $18 billion.

–A more generous Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families. Cost: $15.7 billion.

–A series of tax breaks for students and their families, including interest deduction for student loans and an exemption for employer-provided educational assistance. Cost: $3.3 billion.

–A deduction for tuition and related expenses for higher education, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $1.2 billion.

–A tax credit of up to $2,500 for students’ higher education expenses. Cost: $17.6 billion.

–The top capital gains tax rate of 15 percent. Cost: $25.9 billion.

–The top tax rate on dividends of 15 percent. Cost: $27.3 billion.

–Through 2011, enhanced jobless benefits for people who have been unemployed for long stretches. Cost: $56.5 billion.

–A series of incentives for selling, using and producing alternative fuels, including ethanol. Many of the provisions expired at the end of 2009. They would be extended through 2011. Cost: $11.3 billion.

–A $250 deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses by teachers, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $390 million.

–A federal income tax deduction for state and local sales taxes, taken mostly by people who live in the nine states without state income taxes, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $5.5 billion.

–The ability of older Americans to withdraw up to $100,000 a year from Individual Retirement Accounts, tax-free, to donate to certain public charities, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $979 million.

–A business tax credit for research and experimentation expenses, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $13.3 billion.

–Tax breaks for capital improvements to restaurants and other retail buildings, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $3.6 billion.

–A tax break for active investors in foreign-based banking, securities and insurance firms, for 2010 and 2011. Cost: $9.2 billion.

–Increased depreciation and expensing for capital investments by businesses. Cost: $21.8 billion.

The package also:

–Spares more than 20 million middle-income households from tax increases averaging $3,900 from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2010 and 2011. Cost: $136.7 billion.

–Imposes a lower estate tax for the next two years, allowing couples to pass estates as large as $10 million to heirs tax-free. The balance would be taxed at 35 percent. Cost: $68.1 billion.

–Provides a one-year Social Security tax cut for all wage earners, from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. Cost: $112 billion.

There she be!  And NOT one penny of it paid for….just add another trillion to the deficit….take it out of petty cash…..NO one will notice…..what happened to those guys and gals that were so concerned about the cost of all the programs….and why was this pushed through without hearings or a CBO score?

It will be fun to see who uses this as a political tool…..

The Afghan Review

As promised, the president will have his up-to-date review of how things are going in Afghanistan…….i have said that they are NOT going well at all, but I am in the minority….or at least I thought I was….

A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds a record 60% of Americans “say the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting, a grim assessment — and a politically hazardous one — in advance of the Obama administration’s one-year review of its revised strategy.”

With that said the review that will be given to the president today will say…..

THE OVERVIEW

“Specific components of our strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan are working well and there are notable operational gains.

“Most important, al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership in Pakistan is weaker and under more sustained pressure than at any other point since it fled Afghanistan in 2001. In Pakistan, we are laying the foundation for a strategic partnership based on mutual respect and trust, through increased dialogue, improved cooperation, and enhanced exchange and assistance programs. And in Afghanistan, the momentum achieved by the Taliban in recent years has been arrested in much of the country and reversed in some key areas, although these gains remain fragile and reversible.

“While the strategy is showing progress across all three assessed areas of al-Qa’ida, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the challenge remains to make our gains durable and sustainable.”

(Thanx to Reuters for the overview)

First of all, what would you think it was going to say?  Did you really thin it was going to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

The troops will start home next July….good sign?  Nope…..it is to make it appear that part of the campaign promises are being upheld…….they rumor is we will reevaluate our mission (what ever that is) in 2014….what happens then?  Another 10 years…maybe?

We Americans, the people as the politicians like to refer to us as, are dead set against this war and 60% are, if that was the Senate it would be the “super-majority” that we are always hearing about, why are we still there fighting a war that CANNOT be won?  If we leave it to the generals, we will be there when my granddaughter turns 18 and we we there when she was born….I would say that is long enough….cut your loses and let the a/holes go back to the 12th century…….

It Is All So Much Worthless Rhetoric!

The media and politicians spend a lot of time talking about the problems and the so-called solutions….the media spends a couple of weeks a year dedicated to energy or education or the deficit….they talk with experts and the talk with normals and they program this spot or that….all highlight the problem and all appear to want to be sincere….and then there are our politicians, you know….. those elected ones that cannot act like a mature adult once they get their votes and rent an office in Washington….. the silly ballet that we call the US Congress.

CBS, MSNBC and others have spent time, a couple of weeks a year,  and money on “Green is Universal” and other such catchy titles where they discuss the problems of energy….we listen to the oil man Pickens who wants to make more money with Nat Gas….or some leader of some foundation that throws a wealth of stats at the view to make their point……and then they stress the dire need for some action on this front…..and then we wait and wait…..nothing has been done after nearly 40 years of these “talks” and programming…..it is all so much worthless rhetoric!

And they choose a couple of different weeks to focus on education…we hear how we need to change the system because we are falling way behind the rest of the world….we hear from this expert and that group, we hear about a successful program in Harlem and then we hear from lawmakers who want to make a difference….and then we wait and wait….and once again…It is so much worthless rhetoric!

Then we have to sit through endless hours of the media bitching about the deficit and then we must listen to the media talk with all the Congress people about the problem and the solutions….we have elections where the people loudly voted for more action on the deficit…..and then the Congress goes and votes for the largest increase in the deficit in years…..over a trillion it will cost for the new tax plan and NOT one job will be created from all this action……and yet again….it was all so much worthless rhetoric!

All this valiant effort is nothing but a sugar high!  A temporary action that has NO lasting outcome or an effective solution other than some feel good moments for those participating in the so called “solutions”….all they accomplish is some questions with NO answers and little promise of solutions….it is all so much rhetoric!

Take a look at what you are getting from the people you elect to protect you from disaster….

Some perspective on the tax cut deal from Ezra Klein: “The $858 billion package does more damage to the deficit than anything other piece of legislation passed during the Obama presidency. It’s also expected to receive the largest bipartisan majority of any major piece of legislation the Senate has considered in the last two years.”

I do not know how much long Americans can go through life with blinders on…..For the love of God……find some people that will be willing to do what it takes to make us energy independent or an educated country or at least find some politicians that are NOT wind bags of worthless rhetoric!

More Than Meets The Eye

It is now official…..we will take the Bush tax cuts in place and yes the wealthy will get wealthier thanx to our president and the Congress…..you have heard all the scuttle-butt…..about the jobs or about the need or about…well whatever the kings of power want you to hear…..but as usual there is more to the story than some would like you to know…..

For instance, the GOP has been yelling about the run away spending of the Obama administration….how he is some sort of drunken sailor when it comes to the government…..and the soon to be speaker of the House called the taxation of the rich as some sort of pile of “chicken crap” (pretty good summation from a real statesman) (sarcasm, BTW)…..

But with all the speeches and all the promises and all the crap….what will it cost to continue  the Bush tax cuts……thanx to CNNMoney for the breakdown…..

Unemployment benefits: $57 billion. The package would also leave in place for 13 months the option to file for extended federal unemployment benefits — which go as high as 99 weeks in states hit hardest by job loss. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that a year-long extension would cost $57 billion.

Social Security tax break: $120 billion. The package would also offer workers a 2% payroll tax holiday next year, so that instead of paying 6.2% on their first $106,800 of wages, they will only have to pay 4.2%. The White House estimates the measure would cost $120 billion.

Individual tax credits: $40 billion. The compromise framework would also extend for two years the increased value of a number of tax credits that benefit low- and middle-income tax filers, such as the earned income tax credit, the child credit and a revamped tax credit for college costs. The measure would cost $40 billion, the administration said.

Business tax breaks: Cost unclear. It is still not clear how many business tax breaks are in the package. Some, like an extension of the research and development credit, has drawn bipartisan support and is typically renewed annually. But also included is a new temporary option for businesses to write off 100% of their expenses in 2011. A cost estimate was not immediately available.

Estate tax: $88 billion. The compromise framework also includes a lower estate tax, which barring any changes would return in 2011 with a $1 million exemption level and a top rate of 55%. Instead, under the proposal, the exemption level would be raised to $5 million and the top rate lowered to 35%. The administration said it didn’t have a cost estimate yet, but a review of an estate tax proposal with similar parameters by the Tax Policy Center suggests the cost could be roughly $88 billion over 2 years.

Yep…sports fans they will be expensive!  But I thought we were on this kick of deficit reduction….is that not what the last election showed all the analysts?

The one part that I am suspicious of is the part about the social security payroll taxes decreased by 2%…yes it will give people a bit more money in their pockets…..but it will decrease the amount of money in the fund…..which will make it weaker and will help it go bust sooner….the GOP will most likely get their way on some of their moronic SS proposals…..

This is a win-win for the GOP…..not only do their base, the rich, get lots of cash to play with…but they also will weaken an already weakened SS fund….which will mean that something may have to be done sooner than later….and that is their plan and their desire…..I can hear the yells for cuts in entitlements as I type…..

And one last thing…thgis is now Obama’s tax cuts, no longer will it be laid at the feet of Bush……anything that goes wrong will be the sole possession of Obama and the Dems….makes for a great election season…..

To my friends on the Right…..do you recall all the whining, screaming and crying about a government take over?  This bill had NO committee, had NO CBO score and NO real debate and yet it has become law….now you may start screaming about the government takeover that you were so worried about in the recent past……(insert sound of a cricket here)……