Would it be accurate to call the Stimulus package the "largest tax cut ever"?

[scheming daemons]

I mean.... it's over $300 billion in tax cuts.


The fact that they are for the poor and middle class overwhelmingly irks the Repukes to no end, and they'll refuse to acknowledge it as such.


But the fact that less than one month into his Presidency Obama has come through on his promise of middle-class tax cuts... and not only that... the largest dollar amount of tax cuts in our history.... is something we should toss into Repuke faces every chance we get.

Their heads will explode.


The $500+ billion in stimulus is, of course, the better part of the package.


But it is no small thing to have $300 billion in tax cuts and none of them going to the wealthy.


Piss off a wingnut today... throw it in their face that Obama cut taxes more than Bush or Reagan. ;-)

[Ian David]

1. Now the Democrats get to be both Santa Clauses! n/t

[ClarkUSA]

2. That sounds good. Include this: "President Obama's stimulus bill gives 95% of Americans tax cuts."

[bobbolink]

5. You wanna refigure that????? POOR PEOPLE WHO DON"T FILE FEDERAL GET ZERO!!!!!

What are we, chopped liver?

Why don't we ever get counted in your little scenarios?

[ClarkUSA]

9. Folks who earn too little to pay income taxes still get a tax cut.

Thanks to President Obama's refusal to compromise, Republicans had to give on this point. According
to Barack, these folks still pay payroll taxes.

[bobbolink]

10. Oh, yes.... how silly of me. A tax cut of 15% on ZERO....

yup, that adds up to a whole big lot .........

OF NOTHING!

[ClarkUSA]

11. UI benefits get raised by $100/mo. & COBRA payments will be subsidized by 65%.

I don't know about you, but I know unemployed folks who're pretty happy about both these provisions.

[bobbolink]

12. Yes, it's ALL about the working class, isn't it????

WHY don't any of you "progressives" care about people who CAN'T work anymore?

Why is THAT NOT a "progressive VALUE" anymore?

It USED to be.... why have you tossed the rest of us overboard?????

[ClarkUSA]

27. Read up on the plan before whining. AP: "Food stamps, tax breaks for poor in stimulus bill"

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090212/ap_on_go_co/stimulus_poor

You whined: WHY don't any of you "progressives" care about people who CAN'T work anymore?

In my experience, very few people "CAN'T work anymore". I'm a liberal/progressive and I know people who are disabled who
can work. Stop whining and do something useful. Be an informed advocate for the poor instead of coming here and being
ignorant of the facts.

[W_HAMILTON]

16. What?

Are your numbers right? I have been listening to the news on TV, but never heard any of this mentioned. They will be helping people out with COBRA payments?

[ClarkUSA]

26. Yes, Virginia, COBRA will be subsidized by 60% in the revised stimulus bill.

It's been in the press. President Obama has mentioned the subsidy during all of his speeches in the past week, minus the
specific percentage subsidy. Also, I read a story mentioning this figure on Yahoo! News in the past few days. I'm sure once
the bill is signed into law, you'll hear alot more about it.

[jmg257]

18. Working people get a REFUNDABLE tax credit. The IRS will send you a check, even if you don't

make enough to pay income tax.

You pay payroll tax, you file your taxes, you get money back, add in the extra $400 or $800 dollars.

[bobbolink]

31. ONE MORE TIME.... NOT EVERYONE IS ABLE TO WORK!!!

It used to be that Dems understood that. That understanding seems to be completely lost, and it has become the Puritan Work Ethic... if you aren't working, (or would work if you had a job), then you are useless and should find the nearest ice floe.

Do away with old people.

Do away with weak and disabled people.

Do away with anyone who doesn't meet your standards.

Geee, we've been there before, haven't we????

NOW, CAN YOU GRASP THAT NOT EVERYONE WHO IS IN NEED PAYS "PAYROLL TAXES"??????

CAN YOU FINALLY COMPREHEND?

[Winterblues]

17. If you were to file you would get a return

That is one of the things that really pisses off the Republicans. There are people that pay zero taxes but still get money back. So it is your fault if you don't file..

[bobbolink]

20. OH FER GAWDS SAKE..... STOP WITH THE BLAMING FAULT, WOULD YOU?

You clearly know NOTHING about it, so just stop with the blaming.. ... That's soooo very RW, and very old.

"There are people that pay zero taxes but still get money back."

ONE more time... that's because they are WORKING!!! OK? Get it now?

There are many who are too old or too disabled to work!

What would you have us do... find an ice floe and get out of your line of sight?????

[tritsofme]

21. Why are you complaining so loudly about a program that helps workers?

Your problems don't make the plight of workers in this recession any less.

[bobbolink]

22. It's all about you, isn't it? I will NOT feel guilty for pressing for justice for poor people.

If YOU can't understand that, and figure that out, then you need to renew your knowledge of the history of the Democratic party.

If you want to pit workers against really poor people, then you are playing right into the hands of the RW.

[tritsofme]

23. You seem to be the only one trying to divide people, with your angry posts.

I personally don't qualify for any of these programs that assist low-middle income earners. So don't accuse me of lusting after government funds for my own advantage or some other such nonsense.

I do however think that putting cash in the pockets of low-middle income earners is a very efficient way to stimulate the economy, and get a lot of bang for your stimulus dollar.

[bobbolink]

24. When people REFUSE to hear, it becomes necessary to make a lot of noise!

There is a WHOLE NATION of people beyond "earners".

Or... do you want us all to just hurl ourselves off a cliff?

Would that make you feel so much better?

[tritsofme]

25. Yes. I want all of you to hurl yourselves off a cliff.

That is my ultimate goal behind thinking help for workers is good stimulus. It makes me feel better.

Thanks.

[bobbolink]

30. Yes, that is exactly it. Thanks for finally being honest about it.

[Winterblues]

28. Have you ever heard of "Earned Income Credit"

You don't have to be working to file a 1040 form nor do you have to be working to get a return from the Government under "Earned Income Credit". It sounds like you just don't care.

[bobbolink]

29. "It sounds like you just don't care." LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!!!

HOW many times do you have to be told----non-working people don't get that stuff!!!!

Clearly, you just don't want to hear it!!!!!

Try telling a 90-year old to get "Earned Income Credit".

DAMN!!!

[blogslut]

3. Weren't Dubya's tax cuts 3 trillion?

?

[scheming daemons]

4. $160 billion

[blogslut]

6. cool

I wonder where I got that 3 trillion figure from? I guess it's time to quit drinking again. :)

[Beetwasher]

7. Can Anyone Explain HOW The Tax Cuts Will Work??

Will it be a reduction of payroll taxes?? IOW, your paycheck will be a bit bigger?

[scheming daemons]

8. Not sure..... I thought it was a tax credit

You get it when you file your return.

[jmg257]

19. Figured it out, I think...

The tax charts will be adjusted this spring. Starting in June, all those eligible earners will see an increase of about $13 per week ($400 tax cut over 2009 income). Next year, it works out to about $7.70 a week.

These are refundable tax cuts; working people who pay payroll tax but who don't make enough to pay income tax overall, will get a check back - they will "owe" negative taxes - and so get the new $400 credit back from the IRS.

[amborin]

13. maybe largest middle class cut...but

"....All sides had to give, and some programs dropped like stones.

That included even President Obama’s signature middle-class tax cut proposal, which he initially promised would give individuals up to $500 and families up to $1,000. In the end, those numbers fell to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples, saving the government roughly $30 billion off the cost of the original plan.

Social security and disability recipients will get a one time payment of $250, down from an original proposal of $300.

One of the single biggest reductions was a cut of $25 billion from a state fiscal stabilization fund that will largely be used for education. The House had proposed $79 billion; the Senate reduced it to $39 billion. The final agreement fell in between, with an added adjustment demanded by House Democrats that will allow states to use some of that money for the renovation and repair of school buildings.

That agreement came only after senators who were crucial to the deal insisted on removing a separate line-item that would have provided $16 billion for school construction.

Other cuts could be found throughout the huge package of tax breaks and new government spending. The Senate had proposed a $15,000 tax incentive for all home buyers, a generous morsel that had real estate brokers smiling. But the final deal falls back to a House proposal that would provide much less money and would limit the provision to first-time home buyers within certain income limits.

Although details were still being worked out, officials said that eligible first-time homebuyers would be able to claim a credit of $8,000.

The House and Senate negotiators also agreed to scale back spending intended to help provide health insurance to the unemployed. The House originally proposed that the government subsidize 65 percent of private insurance, under a law known as Cobra, for one year after the loss of a job. The final deal calls for a 60 percent subsidy, and for only nine months. The House had also wanted to let states offer temporary Medicaid coverage to jobless individuals who did not qualify for Cobra coverage. That proposal was eliminated entirely.

The bill did, however, retain an extension of unemployment benefits, and a Senate provision exempted the first $2,400 of jobless benefits from federal taxes. It also retained a $70 billion provision to protect millions of middle income taxpayers from having to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2009...."

probably not the absolute largest....bush's 1.3 trillion for the wealthy may be the largest

<snip>

"...Even before the last touches were put to the bill, some angry Democrats said that Mr. Obama and Congressional leaders had been too quick to give up on Democratic priorities. “I am not happy with it,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. “You are not looking at a happy camper. I mean they took a lot of stuff out of education. They took it out of health, school construction and they put it more into tax issues.”

Mr. Harkin said he was particularly frustrated by the money being spent on fixing the alternative minimum tax. “It’s about 9 percent of the whole bill,” he said, “Why is it in there? It has nothing to do with stimulus. It has nothing to do with recovery.”

But even as Congressional leaders and top White House officials went through the package with a carving knife, it was clear that the three Republicans who agreed to support the bill in the Senate wielded extraordinary power, and along with conservative Democrats, had put a firm stamp on the stimulus package...."

<

<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/politics/13stimulus-web.html?hp>

[jmg257]

14. Don't forget included is $70 billion for the AMT fix - that IS geared towards the wealthier. nt

[yodoobo]

15. Any tax cut that adds to the deficit is not a tax cut at all

anything that adds to the deficit is just a future tax increase that is increasing as interest accumulates.

I don't mind spinning it as a tax cut to the Republicans, but its important to know the truth.

Of course this also means that Bush's tax cuts were not tax cuts either.

That big TARP bill that Bush passed in December? That was the biggest tax increase in history. We just haven't gotten the bill yet.

No. To get a true tax cut, our taxes must go down, with no corresponding increase in our national debt.