Obama’s burden on US taxpayers has just begun

obama-reid-pelosiIf you thought the tax hike Congress enacted in January was the end of tax increases, think again. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are singing an old tune, and it’s called, “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

The 16th Amendment, making a tax on personal income possible, was ratified 100 years ago, and the subsequent Revenue Act of 1913 set the upper limits at 7 percent. Today’s upper limit is 39.6 percent, a 465 percent increase.

The president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared on TV Sunday with essentially the same message — they’re looking to the American taxpayer to fork over more money.

President Obama did a pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS’ Scott Pelley on a variety of subjects, including the admission of gays in the Boy Scouts (he’s for it). But most of the time was dedicated to tax revenue increases.

“There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions, in order to bring down our deficit,” Obama said, according to The Hill.

The president also said that the government could raise more revenue without further tax hikes by closing so-called “loopholes,” such as limiting charitable and mortgage interest deductions.

But whether the goal is achieved by tweaking the front end — tax rates — or fiddling with the back end — deductions — the result is the same. The taxpayer is left with fewer dollars in his pocket.

The president also criticized Congress for operating from crisis to crisis, where the debt limit is increased incrementally each time.

“Washington cannot continually operate under a cloud of crisis that freezes up consumers,” he said, according to The Hill. “We can’t afford these self-inflicted wounds.”

I agree, but the president ignores his own contribution to this state of affairs. This is what happens when Congress operates without a budget. Although budgets are passed by Congress, they’re traditionally presented by the president, and Obama hasn’t made a serious attempt at one on his own since he assumed office.

Reid’s interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was interchangeable with Obama’s.

“The American people are on our side. The American people don’t believe in these austere things” Reid said. “We believe that the rich should contribute. We believe we should fill those tax loopholes — get rid of them, I should say. And that’s where we need to go.”

If the Democratic Party is serious about increasing revenue, it should consider decreasing tax rates, freeing up capital and getting the wheels of commerce working again. I know that this is counter-intuitive and requires a leap of faith, but it has always worked in the past and it will continue to do so.

I’ve been told that if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, he’ll immediately hop out. But if you drop him in a pot of water at room temperature and then gradually raise the heat, he’ll be quite comfortable as he slowly cooks to death. The American taxpayer is gradually getting cooked to death without even realizing it.

A hundred years ago, Homer S. Cummings, then-chairman of the Democratic National Committee, considered the income tax one of his party’s most notable achievements. Democrats obviously still feel that way.
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