Tag Archives: middle class

Reid’s Plan to Raise Middle Class Taxes

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

The message to the Senate Finance Chairman was pretty clear: No tax reform unless you raise taxes on middle class Americans.

That is the only conclusion you could reach from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s demand that Max Baucus back off on his tax simplification plans unless it raises close to a trillion dollars in new revenue.

Everybody recognizes the need for fundamental tax reform. The system is inefficient, unfair, and so complex that most people have to hire outside help to figure it all out.

Dave Camp, the Ways and Means Chairman, and Mr. Baucus have gone on an unprecedented road show building the case for a simpler, flatter, and more fair tax regime. They have visited small businesses, big businesses, manufacturers, exporters, farmers, and everybody in between, bringing their charts, facts, and figures to the people. Continue reading →

We Don’t Need No Stinking Budget

BY JOHN FEEHERY

 Reprinted from the Feehery Theory

 The president’s top budget guy announced today that he’s leaving.

That should come as no surprise. After all, congressional Democrats announced that they weren’t going to do a budget this year anyway.

Who needs a budget?

Our country is doing fine financially.

Sure, we’ve got historically high debt to deal with. Sure, we have tax policy that is about to get a lot more interesting at the end of the year, when a bunch of tax provisions expire. Sure, we have Social Security starting to go broke quicker than anybody anticipated. Sure, we have a huge problem with chronic unemployment in the private sector and bursting employment in the public sector. Sure, almost every state seems like it is ready to belly-up financially.

Sure, we have all of those problems, problems that are all budget-related. But that doesn’t mean we should do a budget.

We don’t need no stinking budget. 
Budgets require tough choices. Budgets require (at least notionally) that the numbers all add up. Budgets require leadership. 

Continue reading →