Sherrod Brown proposes middle class tax cuts

[OzarkDem]

He plans to pay for the tax cuts by revoking tax subsidies given to the energy companies and repealing the estate tax cut. Sounds like a good idea to me, a tax cut to help jump start the economy...

snip


Using the front porch of the north Columbus home of Thomas and Amy Bulgrin as his backdrop, Brown amped up the conflict today by trotting out a proposed package of tax cuts for middle-class families. He easily spent an equal amount of time hammering DeWine, accusing him of voting for subsidies "that went to pay the $17,000-an-hour salary that the CEO of Exxon-Mobil makes."

Brown said his tax-cut proposal would apply to families whose incomes are between $30,000 and $150,000 a year. The proposal includes:

- A new-baby tax credit that would provide $1,000 for each of the first three years of a child's life.
- A child-care tax credit that would nearly double the current top tax break, raising it to $2,100.
- A college tuition tax credit that would consolidate the Hope and Lifetime Learning credits and current college tuition tax deduction into a "super-sized" deduction of $10,000 a year -- or a $3,000 credit -- for books and tuition for up to four years.
- A first-home tax credit amounting to $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for married couples.
- An elder-care tax credit that would expand the current elder-care credit to more than $1,200 a year.



http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_openers/archives/2006_09.html#180231

[YOY]

1. Love that Sherrod...

Nice guy and not a bad idea.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. Can you believe this place nearly had him drawn and quartered?

And had a DLC candidate crowned as their hero in his place?

It wasn't that long ago.

[YOY]

10. I was in the fray there

The whole time people were painting Sherrod as some kind of Liebermanesque substitute for whats-his-face.

Since I actually know Sherrod (and have seen the guy in action, I was appalled.

[liberal N proud]

2. And how will the evil side spin this one?

They will most likely use the "redistributing wealth" claim. Telling the moronic public that Brown wants to take your money and give it to the people who have not "EARNED" it.

They have already tried to claim that Sharrod has voted xx number of times to raise taxes. They claim he has voted to raise taxes on gasoline, Social Security and others.
I know where they get this rhetoric, but most of the idiots in the crowd do not.

[OzarkDem]

3. They'll have a hard time spinning it

He's absolutely right, the costs of the tax "incentives" (they haven't paid taxes in years, we're now just sending checks to them) for the oil and energy companies as well as the repeal of estate taxes is incredibly expensive. Repealing just those two would probably leave a lot of room for tax cuts AND affordable health care for everyone.

The other lie Dems need to point out (and many do) is that the declining economy shows the Bush tax cuts aren't working. They don't stimulate the economy at all - they just encourage companies to invest overseas.

[cmd]

5. Here's how the bush tax cuts are working in our county

In August 2000, the food pantry at the Twin City Christian Service Center at Uhrichsville served 64 families. In August, that number rose to 263 families.
(snip)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of its 2005 American Community Survey, which polls about 3 million households annually. For Tuscarawas County, the overall poverty rate for 2005 was 7.3 percent, compared with 9.4 percent in the 2000 census. The poverty rate for families changed from 7.2 percent to 5.1 percent for that same period. And for families headed by single mothers, the rate changed from 26.6 percent to 24.1 percent.

In addition to the food bank figures’ departure from those census numbers, the Tuscarawas County Department of Job & Family Services also has seen increases in the number of people receiving aid. In fiscal year 2000, the monthly average number of families receiving Ohio Works First cash assistance was 317. In June 2006, 470 families received OWF assistance. For those same periods, Medicaid assistance for families went from 1,574 to 3,556, and Medicaid assistance for the disabled or elderly individuals or couples increased from 2,226 to 2,732. Also, the number of households using food stamps rose from 1,921 to 3,398.

And those families and individuals aren’t just sitting around waiting for their government checks to come in, according to Michelle Tope, an eligibility supervisor in the county JFS office.

“We’re seeing more people working and needing our benefits than we’ve ever seen before,” she said, pointing to the increase in lower-paying, service industry jobs and higher living expenses as possible reasons for the upturn.

http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=58141&r=1

[Dhalgren]

4. I understand the politics of this. I know that buying votes is a tried

and true American tradition. And this does put the shoe on the other foot with the fascists, but I am not in favor of any tax cuts at this point in our country's travels through hell. We are in the sorriest shape our country has ever been in and we are going to have to raise taxes, soon and a lot, if we are ever to work our way back to solvency. It strikes me as disingenuous of any politician to say that we can cut taxes, period. We may never have the sense and maturity, as a people, to do the things and make the sacrifices necessary to save our lives, but someone, somewhere, needs to start telling the truth.

I hope that this ploy works and that Brown is elected, but I don't favor the tactic...

[OzarkDem]

11. He plans to pay for it

by reversing some of Bush's tax cuts - it pays for itself. Its difficult to fathom just how much tax money Bush has given away or squandered in Iraq and to campaign donors. Its huge. A tax incentive like Sherrod's is easily paid for and still provides an economic jump start.

[Dhalgren]

12. Tax cuts don't "jump start" anything - that's just Reganomics talk

Roll-back all of the tax cuts to the 1999 level and start putting people to work at a decent wage. FDR didn't cut taxes, he increased taxes and put people to work. We need to pay down out national debt and work our way out of this hole. No one needs tax cuts, the nation needs tax increases - and a slashing of the Pentagon's budget. It may be awhile before the Pentagon can be cut down to reason, but new tax cuts may be "good politics", but it isn't good for the country. Just my opinion...

[OzarkDem]

13. Clinton used them successfully

They work if they're used as a temporary economic stimulus, not a long term cut. It could help stimulate the economy or help people pay down debt to counter the rise in interest rates.

Sherrod's proposal does include rolling back Bush's non-productive tax cuts, ie those to energy companies and the estate tax as well as tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Combined with getting out of Iraq and having UN and other nations pick up more of the tab for peacekeeping activities, a lot of funds would be generated to help balance the budget and begin erasing debt.

[Dhalgren]

14. We'll just have to agree to disagree, here.

But, in any case, I am pulling strong for Brown! :toast:

[beyurslf]

7. Why is the credit for a married couple buying a house twice that for a

single person? Is the couple charged more for the house? Do they need to buy twice the house?

[MadHound]

8. Nice to see that he's leaving childless couples out in the cold,

For the most part. I went down that list, and the only thing that would be possibly be applicable to me is the elder care tax credit. Already have bought and sold my first house(and did so when I was making less than $30,000), and the rest doesn't matter since I don't have children.

Rather than dabbling around in more tax cuts for anybody, let us raise the tax rate on the rich instead, pegging it back at the rate of the pre-Bush era. Oh, and cutting military spending would be a fantastic idea also.

Tax cuts are fine in a time of plenty, but the our economy is far from healthy, and oh, there's that little matter of 8.5 trillion debt we owe. Let's take care of that, then we can again talk about cutting taxes.

[cmd]

9. For the good of the order

Hooray for Sherrod. He has spend his entire career fighting for the working people in Ohio. I support his plan. I will not be having a new baby, I will not have a use for the child-care tax credit or the college tuition credit. I'm already a home owner and am so old I will never have use for the elder-care tax credit. There is nothing in the bill for me, except that I care about the well being of others. Does that make me foolish or does it make me a Democrat?