Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Obama In Wonderland

The "reverse-speak" of the President was something I noted very early in his administration. At first it seemed strange, but very quickly it became obvious. Listen to what he says. Whatever he says you can be certain that his policy will be the opposite. Whatever he claims, you can verify that the outcome was the reverse. When he says yes, he means no. When he says stop, he means go. When he says he favors, he really opposes. When he says save, he means spend. When he says tax cut...

The Supreme Court pretty well caught him with his pin-striped trousers down. Most conservatives haven't been over-joyed by the Roberts opinion, but the highest court in the land has taken the subterfuge out of the "Affordable" Health Care Act. You really can't make something out of nothing. You must apply money; vast amounts of money, to get uninsured folks covered by healthcare. Government gets money one way: taxes.

So, we got a confirmation two weeks ago that "I've provided a tax cut for 95% of Americans" really means a $1,700,000,000,000.00 tax increase. The majority of that falls on those making less than $125k per year.

This week we've got this grand egalitarian move:

"I'll Cut Taxes on Those Making Less Than $250k"

It is important to first parse a bit of language. The Bamster isn't cutting a single tax. What he is doing is NOT raising taxes on his chosen electorate. The extension of a tax rate structure which has been in place for twelve years is not a tax cut. It is a maintenance of status quo. Such a consistency in tax burden is generally viewed as an essential in any business making future growth and hiring decisions.

What the Messiah is doing is RAISING taxes on everyone who makes more than $250k/year. That's got a level of resonance for those who envy the successful. The emotional response is, "Sure, go ahead, they can afford it."

Now the language gets tricky. While the slack-jawed sycophants arrayed before him stand in awe of his benevolence, he segues into the linkage that by not raising taxes on those fortunate $250k earners there will be a vast growth in jobs to catapult us out of the recession.

I won't coach you now. I'll simply ask you to consider for a moment. Let's say you are a professional; maybe an engineer, an attorney, an upper tier manager, or even a business owner making that "less than $250k" income.

How many people do you employ?

How much do you pay them?

How confident are you that you could hire and retain one more worker based on keeping the current tax burden for just one more year with no guarantees after that?

How much will Obamacare cost you for that worker?

The prosecution rests. This is so bad that even Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer aren't happy with it.

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