Politico's Allen: Tax-Hiking 'Grand Bargain' Would Be Laudable 'Historic Achievement'
One more data point demonstrating the leftward tilt of the purportedly non-partisan Politico:
In his Playbook of today, Politico's chief White House correspondent Mike Allen depicts a "grand bargain" on the credit ceiling, which inevitably would include huge tax increases, as an "historic achievement" for which President Obama and House speaker John Boehner would "rightly get credit."
In contrast, Allen suggests that Republican leaders Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy are refusing a grand bargain out of petty political ambition.
Read more after the jump.
From the Playbook [emphasis added]:
PLAYBOOK FACTS OF LIFE - Why we're stuck: President Obama and Speaker Boehner - one facing reelection, the other on the back nine of his legislative career -- want to do a big deal, and would rightly get credit for a historic accomplishment. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (the #2 House GOP leader) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (the #3) - on the front nine of their Capitol Hill careers -- do not want a grand bargain, and are convinced their rank and file does not support even modest tax hikes.
So, in Politico-World, raising taxes = statesmanship. Focusing on cutting spending? Petty personal politics and ambition. Politico, non-partisan? Yeah, right.
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Comments
I don't want tax hikes either
Submitted by ricklail on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 8:23am.
I don't want tax hikes either you fool and neither do most Americans. You need to get out of DC and talk to REAL people. If Bonehead votes to raise taxes he and his Republican buddies are done. America is probably done.
I agree: raise taxes
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 8:32am.
Starting with the lowest rung on the ladder. Almost 50% of the households in the U.S. do not pay federal income taxes, and the top 1% of households by income pay 40% of all income taxes.
And yet these low- or no-tax families want government programs to provide services and even money to them. And the Congress is afraid of the lobbyists who advocate on behalf of the lowest brackets?
Everybody except a very very small number can afford a small amount, $50, $100, $200 a year. $50 a year is one item from the dollar menu a week; $100 is a pair of fancy sneakers at a discount chain; $200 is a Big Mac each week.
NO REPRESENTATION WITHOUT TAXATION.
No skin in game = no game.
Raise taxes, starting at the bottom, which by definition will be a large percentage increase, and gradually ("progressive taxation") reduce the proportional increase until after you reach the income levels of those who pay income taxes.
Lowering tax rates (within the Laffer Curve) always generates greater revenues! All of the deficits after the Kenedy, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush tax cuts were spending deficits, not revenue deficits!
The Biased Press
Submitted by Bourbeau on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 8:36am.
Nothing like having the biased media lecture the rest of us about the value of a "gigantic deal" that the Administration has had in the forefront of their debt ceiling strategy for weeks. Of course, don't expect Mike Allen or any of his compliant cohorts to ask for specific details, or you'll ruin their party. This whole debate is utter stupidity; it shows how divided a nation we are in Washington; and how hopeless we are when it comes to confronting serious issues head-on. Here's my solution: 1) debt ceiling increased $1 trillion immediately; 2) every agency in goverment, including Congress and White House, implements hiring freeze, salary freeze, contract freeze, and is assigned an across the board expense budget reduction of 5%; 3) any agency monies, left in accounts, as of today, are returned to the Treasury immediately and need require re-application for them to be returned; 4) tee-up tax code modifications immediately focusing on elimination or reduction of tax credits and compression of tax tables, and lastly, review those currently not paying income taxes and find a threshhold for them to be included - 50% of workers being excluded is unacceptable. Lets start there - then we can go after Medicare and Social Security
an "historic achievement" for
Submitted by motherbelt on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 8:42am.
an "historic achievement" for which President Obama and House speaker John Boehner would "rightly get credit."
Liberals are always willing to give a Republican "credit" when he caves to the Democrats!
and are convinced their rank and file does not support even modest tax hikes.
And that's obviously wrong. Obama told us that 80% of Americans want tax increases!
Can someone tell me what is wrong with...
Submitted by Order270 on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 8:49am.
...spending cuts and a balanced budget?
Ox and gore
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 9:12am.
Raising taxes on those evil corporations? Not a problem, because it's their ox you're goring and their blood, which splashes over other people. When you cut a program that helps me out, it's my ox that's gored and my ox's blood and >ewww< that hurts, don't do that, it's mean, you're bad, >eww eww< sick children, abandoned old folks, and dead puppies! Not fair! not nice!
There is nothing inherently evil about corporations.
Submitted by Order270 on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 1:31pm.
If you want government to determine your success, then please move to one of the many countries with that system already in place and leave America to those who want an opportunity to pursue their own happiness.
Well maybe
Submitted by mandrake on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 1:47pm.
But as I understand it the SCOTUS has declared that a corporation has the same rights as an individual..and such, has the same capacity for evil. Now here's the catch..they have way more money than you or I.
We need spending cuts. And a balanced budget.
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 11:12am.
Because we don't have a federal government hanging out there in midair all by itself. We also have, state government, county government, and city government. All together, collectively, that is known as government when we say, you know, government.
Point two, government already takes 1/3 of GDP of this country. That is one third of everything this country produces, right into the governments pockets. And what do we get for that one third? A crisis such as the one going on now. Entitlement programs already on the ropes. Infrastructure that everyone complains is crumbling. A poor economy. Falling house prices. A falling dollar.
Republicans need to pound the
Submitted by ricklail on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:24pm.
Republicans need to pound the fact that if Democrats get more money they will spend it on entitlement programs. That is what keeps them getting reelected. They talk big about the debt but I know not one dollar of a tax increase would go to pay down that debt. From what I hear the agencies like Moody's are going to down grade the US rating unless we get spending under control. It has nothing to do with defaulting on debt. It is going to happen anyway.
Obama wants 1.4 trillion in cuts over 10 years. That is only 140 billion a year. We borrow billions each day. I honestly don't see how to get out of this mess without major cuts in everything.
He is right about one thing
Submitted by richb313 on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 9:03am.
He is right about one thing, it would be historic. It would be marked down in history as the most bone headed move any government had ever made. It would mark the end of the beginning of the destruction of America.
You have to wonder though why the continued search for new revenue when the only sure way to increase revenue is to have a more robust economy.
Mike Allen
Submitted by Texndoc on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 9:39am.
I've disliked him ever since on Morning Joe he used to (and still does I'd imagine) bounce and spit and go bug-eyed if he had a Sarah Palin hit-piece. Ever watch him on that network? Yeah, I don't anymore, either.
Busting the "read my lips"
Submitted by mustango on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 10:11am.
Busting the "read my lips" pledge was pretty historic, so I guess he has that as a precedent.
Great commentary from my conservative brothers and sisters
Submitted by gmaniac1 on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 10:58am.
but in light of that I'm gonna do something I very rarely do, well at least specifically.
I'm gotta go with a personal insult and say this guy looks like a douche to me regardless of political affiliation. Maybe it's the lighting in the picture or maybe it's the "this is my better side," trying to be all GQ pose. I dunno but either way my assessment seems right on the money!
All you need to know is: The Liberal media LIES.
Submitted by Slyrr on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 10:57am.
They said the same thing about 'Obamacare'.
'Historic' to a Democrat/Liberal means 'forces Communism on the people against their will'.
In 'The Two Towers' (the book not the movie), the dwarf Gimli nailed how Democrats use language to hide their evil intentions when he slammed the traitor wizard Saruman, who used a 'reasonable and wise' voice to try and trick the good guys into thinking he was on their side.
'In the language of Orthanc (in this case, the Democrats), 'help' means 'ruin', and 'saving' means 'slaying', that is plain!'
It's funny how far off these supposed insiders are
Submitted by bkeyser on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 11:50am.
The "grand bargain" was never going to happen because it hinged on tax increases. I think the reason Politico, and this d-bag Allen (his work is terrible) thought Obama could come out victorious on this -they'd NEVER spin it as a win for Boehner if it actually happened- is because they still don't believe the Tea Party, and Americans in general really don't want the government to keep operating in the status quo. They're so perplexed by this anti-progressive movement, they simply chose to deny it rather than trying to understand it.
What must be repeated...
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 11:58am.
Even if all of the proposed taxes were enacted we would still be in economic crisis.
Without meaningful cuts the country is still going to go bankrupt eventually. We should not let the political Left present their ideas, without challenge, as somehow bringing to an end the fiscal armageddon staring us in the face. The real goal of the politicians and media on the Left is not a resolution of the crisis but a papering over of the problem long enough to get obama reelected. And that, is the real reason for the political impasse, two different objectives.
The Number One priority of
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:04pm.
The Number One priority of the DEMOCRAT-MEDIA-ACADEMIA COMPLEX is to get Republicans attached to TAX HIKES.
Doesn't matter how many. ANY will do... then they can spin Obama's 2012 campaign to his advantage.
That's all.
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
Good evening Jack
Submitted by cocodrie on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:17pm.
You have been elected discerner of the board. Advance token to GO and collect 200 dollars. Do it quick before your $200 is worth 2 cents.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
thanks coco -- I'll save that
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:20pm.
thanks coco -- I'll save that 200 bucks for down payment on a pint of milk in 2015.
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
Mike Allen's truth struggle
Submitted by zachlind on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:11pm.
Don’t forget, when you’re reading a Mike Allen written, John Harris (Politico.com boss) approved item, you’re reading a collection of words assembled by a charter member of the infamous left-wing created JournoList. Frequent fact checking, particularly where Mike Allen is concerned, may be the order of the day.
Let's settle this much
Submitted by StarAZ on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:20pm.
Politico non-partisan? It's partisan.
When I saw that photo of Mark
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:25pm.
When I saw that photo of Mark Finkelstein I expected him to say "Please state the nature of the medical emergency"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
LOL
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 6:09pm.
LOL
I've got a better idea.
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:54pm.
Mark, send all your assets to the government and have all your marxist buddies do the same. Show us how "THE COLLECTIVE" behaves.
Historical achivement
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 12:57pm.
Increasing taxes without meaningful cuts to spending as a method of balancing the budget and reducing the debt, that's an historical achievement, alright. It's what career politicians, historically, have been achieving decade after decade. And what do we have to show for it? Historical debt, decade after decade. Buy, hay, why should those politicians be concerned about any of this, especially increases in taxes? After all, very little of the trillions of dollars they spend every year comes out of their own pockets. They force the entire working population to "share" in the "burden" of the politician's spending habits. Well, I have an answer for that: For every one dollar increase in spending that the politicians enact, one dollar will be deducted from their pay, and another will be deducted from their campaign coffers. They'll end the spending spree quick enough, once their policies start to affect them personally.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Here's Our Problem With Discretionary Spending
Submitted by Bourbeau on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 4:02pm.
Democrats, and their compliant press, think that every dime being spent today is a sacred cow, can't be altered, suspended or ended. It should, and in many case does, go on forever. Further, they are already trying to coerce the electorate into believing that our money is their money, and it's up to them to decide how much we get to keep. This idea that any country can be satisfied having 1/2 it's population not participating in the income tax process is mind boggling. Even worse, they're taking the percentages with the highest burden and making them feel like they're greedy bastards unwilling to share in the burden at all. We are rapidly approaching a boiling point; the only question left will be, what event will make it boil over.
FABULOUS SPENDITAL AD TARGETING FEMALES?UTUBE
Submitted by cbeyer on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 4:10pm.
This is a link to a fabulous Conservative ad on UTUBE. Check it out and forward it to everyone you know...including liberals. Its very clever and well done!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBoYYc1APr8
Show me a liberal who understands the issue
Submitted by pbthinker on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 6:40pm.
Is there any liberal that understand this issue. The credit card is u p to the limit. You don't go into your boss and hold him up for a raise, you tighten your belt. I haven't seen one liberal willing to say that.
I think Allen's tie is too tight
Submitted by Dave. on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 7:18pm.
It's choking off the flow of oxygen to his four remaining brain cells.
A tax hike will wreck our already failing economy.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November