2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumObama should drop the 2008 phrase "a little bit more"
Saying the wealthy should pay "a bit more" is sufficient, it hardly reeks of eating the rich.
I am no wordsmith but 'a bit more', should be spelt out immediately as the 90s rate. To quote Mae West 'Don't leave a man wondering, he's sure to find the answers somewhere else', especially if those 'somewhere else' taxation 'answers' go all the way to hints about Stalin and the French Revolution. The Clinton rate, just make the number clear and familiar.
The 90s rate, the Clinton Administration, prosperity and a budget deficit turned into a surplus. Obama is setting the same rate after all. Then explain the 'Buffet Rule'.
A few words about the titanic battle Bill Clinton faced raising the top rate over united Republican opposition, and the political price he paid for sound policy, would not go astray either. Clinton set the tax scales, Republicans took credit for the outcome. Well, they OWN Ryan Paul's marvelous budget.
BTW, I am well aware many DU'ers would like to see the top rate raised a lot more, but it is just as important IMO is that the Romneys of this world don't get away with paying 13%.
yourout
(7,534 posts)denem
(11,045 posts)It sounds timid, not decisive.
Beartracks
(12,821 posts)"I think if we could all be just a little bit more respectful..."
"I think you may be stretching the truth just a little bit, Senator."
"The wealthy should pay a little bit more in taxes than they currently do."
That's not exactly telling it like it is. I know everyone is supposed to automatically "know what you mean" when you use that kind of nicety, but it could leave others thinking you simply don't grasp the seriousness of a situation, and still others thinking about how to purposely "misinterpret" what you say.
Don't you think that we, as Americans, deserve a little bit better?
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