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Mitt Romney Debt Speech Ignores Key Facts

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Tom Raum - May. 16 (News Analysis) - When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decried the "prairie fire" of U.S. debt Tuesday, he ignored some of the sparks that set...

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U.S. GDP Growth Q1 2012: Economic Growth Slowed To 2.2 Percent On Cutbacks In Government, Business Spending

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Aul Wiseman, Christopher S. Rugaber - Apr. 27 (News Report) - Government spending cuts are weighing on the U.S. economy in a way that hasn't been seen in generations. Those cuts have reduced growth for six straight quarters – the longest stretch since 1955. Reduced government spending subtracted 0.6 percentage point from the first quarter's growth.

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Fall Preview: Obama vs. Romney (and Ryan)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Eugene Kiely - Apr. 07 (Fact Check) - President Obama says Mitt Romney has embraced a budget that could throw hundreds of thousands of children out of Head Start classrooms, eliminate air traffic control services in some places, and “ultimately end Medicare as we know it.” Romney says that’s just “rhetorical excess”

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Obama Slams Ryan Budget: Social Darwinism

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Sarah Seltzer - Apr. 03 (News Report) - President Obama came out swingin on economic issues today in a speech, in a preview of the showdown we're soon to see as the election heats up. A particular target of his rhetoric? GOP budgetary darling Paul Ryan, whose plans amount to "Social Darwinism," the President said.

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The Crisis Congress Continues

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Rep. Keith Ellison - Mar. 29 (News Analysis) - The last 400-plus days of House Republican rule have been like riding a bumpy road littered with shattered policies that ironically resemble broken down vehicles on a highway. The GOP’s transportation bill crisis suggests a trend that is just the latest in a long string of crises that have only damaged our economy and—to some degree—our standing in the world. Worse yet, their serial crises display a philosophy toward government that has nothing to do with actual governing. Instead of actually working to solve problems the GOP is pursuing an ideological agenda that is nothing less than legislative malpractice.

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Quake catastrophe like Japan's could hit Pacific Northwest, new data show

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

MSN.com - By M. Alex Johnson - Mar. 29 (News Report) - While most Americans probably think the San Andreas fault running through California poses the greatest threat of unleashing a killer mega-quake, data from the Japanese quake indicate that the distinction actually belongs to the Cascadia fault line, which runs through southern Canada, Washington and Oregon to Northern California, Anderson said at the conference.

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Progressive Caucus Budget: The Fairest and Most Responsible Budget Proposal in Congress

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

ctj.org - Mar. 28 (News Report) - The CPC budget plan, which Citizens for Tax Justice and other organizations helped prepare, would also — end the tax preference for capital gains and stock dividends, — enact the higher income tax rates for millionaires that were proposed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, — enact the President’s proposal to limit the value of tax deductions and exclusions to 28 cents for each dollar deducted or excluded, — end the rule allowing corporations to “defer” U.S. taxes on their offshore profits, — close tax loopholes for oil and gas companies, — enact a financial crisis responsibility fee (a bank tax).

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Ryan Budget Plan Would Cut Income Taxes for Millionaires by at Least $187,000 Annually and Facilitate Corporate Tax Avoidance

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

ctj.org - Mar. 22 (News Analysis) - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has introduced a budget plan that, if implemented, would reduce revenues so significantly that they would be inadequate to pay for the federal spending under the Reagan administration, let alone the spending required in the years ahead. The Ryan budget would provide income tax cuts for millionaires averaging at least $187,000 in 2014. The plan would also reduce corporate income taxes and would increase the (already considerable) incentives for corporations to shift profits and jobs overseas.

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Super Tuesday guide: Finding truth in the attacks

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Becky Bowers - Mar. 04 (Fact Check) - As 10 states prepare to vote on Super Tuesday, here’s PolitiFact’s guide to the multimillion-dollar ad blitz. With the field down to four Republican contenders, campaigns and super PACs are attacking their opponents with hot-button allegations about supporting Planned Parenthood, Obamacare and even Nancy Pelosi that are designed to strike fear in the hearts of Republican voters. There's been some piling on. We've seen several examples where two (or more) candidates have made the same attack. The one candidate who hasn't been attacked much: Ron Paul. He's has been busy attacking others — but we didn’t find ads attacking him. ... >>More

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Nobody Understands Debt

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Paul Krugman - Jan. 02 (News Analysis) - 'In 2011, as in 2010, America was in a technical recovery but continued to suffer from disastrously high unemployment. And through most of 2011, as in 2010, almost all the conversation in Washington was about something else: the allegedly urgent issue of reducing the budget deficit. This misplaced focus said a lot about our political culture, in particular about how disconnected Congress is from the suffering of ordinary Americans. But it also revealed something else: when people in D.C. talk about deficits and debt, by and large they have no idea what they're talking about - and the people wh

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After the Deficit Committee, A New Propaganda Push from the War Profiteers

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Robert Greenwald ,Derrick Crowe: - Nov. 29 (News Analysis) - Failure of a special congressional committee to strike a deficit-reduction deal is expected to unleash desperate lobbying by U.S. arms makers to get lawmakers to block $600 billion in automatic cuts. Unfortunately for them, War Costs' new video exposes t

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Theft in progress: Big Ag raids the treasury—with help from Congress

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Grist - By Tom Laskawy. - Nov. 17 (News Analysis) - by Tom Laskawy. If the straight-up taxpayer swindle taking place in the supercommittee isn’t making you angry, you’re probably not paying attention. I’m talking about the attempt by agribusiness and a group of willing farm-state representatives to put billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of industrial farmers during the ongoing super committee Farm Bill negotiations. According to The Hill , the moment of truth is upon us: The supercommittee is indeed poised to rewrite the Farm Bill behind closed doors and with no input from reform-minded congresspeople, let alone the public. Many of us have knew this was going on, but the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found some new developments that are nothing short of shocking. EWG reports that the new “shallow loss” subsidy which would protect commodity growers from small price drops via a “taxpayer-paid guarantee of getting no less than 90%[!!] of their income.” This new subsidy is now considered ...

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Super Committee Democrats Offer To Scrap Bush Tax Cut Debate In Exchange For $650 Billion In Revenues

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Sam Stein - Nov. 11 (News Report) - Under their latest proposal to the deficit reduction super committee, Democrats would agree to undertake comprehensive tax reform that included a pledge to avoid letting Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy expire.

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Taxation in the United States

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wikipedia - Sep. 30 (Special Report) - The United States is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes are imposed in the United States at each of these levels. These include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. Taxes are imposed on net income of individuals and corporations by the federal, most state, and some local governments. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and allowed a credit for foreign taxes. Income subject to tax is determined under tax rules, not accounting principles, and includes almost all income from whatever source. Most business expenses reduce taxable income, though limits apply to a few expenses. Individuals are permitted to reduce taxable income by personal allowances and certain nonbusiness expenses, including home mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and medical and certain other expenses incurred above certain percentages of income. State rules for determining taxable income often differ from federal rules. Federal tax rates vary from 15% to 35% of taxable income. State and local tax rates vary by jurisdiction, and many are graduated. State taxes are generally treated as a deductible expense for federal tax computation. Certain alternative taxes may apply. Payroll taxes are imposed by the federal and all state governments. These include Social Security and Medicare taxes imposed on both employers and employees, at a combined rate of 15.3% (13.3% for 2011). Social Security tax applies only to the first $106,800 of wages in 2009 through 2011. Employers also must withhold income taxes on wages. An unemployment tax and certain other levies apply.

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Progressivity in United States income tax

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wikipedia - Sep. 25 (Special Report) - The United States federal income tax is considered to be progressive because rates of tax increase as taxable income increases. In general, the U.S. income tax is progressive, at least with respect to individuals that earn wage income. The lowest earning workers, especially those with dependents, pay no income taxes as a group and actually get a small subsidy from the federal government because of child credits and the Earned Income Tax Credit.[citation needed] "Progressivity" as it pertains to tax is usually defined as meaning that the higher a person's level of income, the higher a tax rate that person pays. In the mid-twentieth century, marginal tax rates (the rate applied to the last bit of income) in the United States and United Kingdom exceeded 90%. As recently as the late 1970s, the top marginal tax rate in the U.S. was 70%. In the words of Piketty and Saez, "... the progressivity of the U.S. federal tax system at the top of the income distribution has declined dramatically since the 1960s".[1] They continue, "... the most dramatic changes in federal tax system progressivity almost always take place within the top 1 percent of income earners, with relatively small changes occurring below the top percentile." Progressivity, then, is a complex topic which does not lend itself to simple analyses. Given the "flattening" of tax burden that occurred in the early 1980s, many commentators note that the general structure of the U.S. tax system has begun to resemble a partial consumption tax regime.[2]

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Contract labor: Pay, benefits often double that of feds

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

federaltimes.com - By Sarah Chacko - Sep. 19 (Investigative Report) - A new study says contractors cost more than federal employees doing the same work oftentimes, far more. The study, released last week by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), is perhaps the most detailed look yet at the long-argued question.

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Violence Spikes in Iraq as U.S. Considers Ways to Extend Occupation Past December Deadline

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 19 (News Report) - Today, roughly 46,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, along with more than 64,000 private contractors. This week, as Iraq suffers its deadliest violence of the year, there is increasing speculation that the Obama administration will extend its occupation of the war-ravaged nation. Earlier this month, the Iraqi government authorized talks on whether to approve keeping thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond a withdrawal deadline of December 31.

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After Months of Partisan Wrangling, Wall Street & Pentagon Emerge Victorious on Debt Deal

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Michael Hudson - Aug. 02 (News Analysis) - The deal includes no new tax revenue from wealthy Americans, provides no additional stimulus for the lagging economy, and will cut more than $2.1 trillion in government spending over 10 years, while extending the borrowing authority of the Treasury Department.

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Looking back at trues and falses in debt ceiling debate

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Aug. 01 (News Analysis) - As the debt-ceiling debate slouches towards the finish line, we thought we’d offer readers a collection of links to our recent coverage of the debate.

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Debt Limit Debate Round-Up

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Lori Robertson - Jul. 29 (Fact Check) - The last few weeks have been filled with debate, accusations, stalemate and false claims about the debt ceiling and how -- and whether -- it should be raised. As the Aug. 2 default deadline looms, here's a look at the less-than-factual talking points ...

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The Bush Deficit

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Jonathan Cohn - Jul. 26 (Special Report) - 'Critics of President Obama never tire of blaming him for today's high deficits. But if blame belongs with one president, it belongs with Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. The chart in this article, which the New York Times created based upon figures from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, illustrates this point very clearly. But it's worth reviewing the history here, because while it's familiar to most of us who follow politics it doesn't seem to get a lot of attention in the political debate.' Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic

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Boehner: GOP ready to act alone on debt deal

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

yahoo.com - By Ben Feller - Jul. 24 (News Report) - Scrambling to head off disaster, House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday readied a plan to prevent the first government default in U.S. history and said Republicans would act alone if Democrats didn't go along.

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Why Is the Most Wasteful Government Agency Not Part of the Deficit Discussion?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By David Morris - Jul. 18 (News Analysis) - When debt ceilings and deficits seem to be the only two items on Washington’s agenda, it is both revealing and tragic that both parties give a free pass to military spending. Representative Paul Ryan’s much discussed Tea Party budget accepted Obama’s proposal for a pathetic $78 billion reduction in military spending over 5 years, a recommendation that would only modestly slow the rate of growth of military spending. Indeed, the Republican government battering ram appears to have stopped at the Pentagon door.

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Voters Blame Bush More Than Obama for the Economy

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Holly Bailey, - Jul. 16 (Poll) - 'Voters are increasingly displeased with President Obama's handling of the economy, but a new poll finds most Americans still think George W. Bush is responsible for the nation's dismal financial state.'

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Fiscal FactCheck

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Jul. 15 (Fact Check) - Washington's spending has recently been higher as a percentage of the nation's economic output than at any time since World War II. But by the same measure, Washington's revenues are the lowest in more than 60 years. So does the U.S. have "a spending problem," as Republicans keep repeating in the current debate over how to reduce the nation's record deficits? Or is the problem that taxes are not high enough? Those questions frame a long-running partisan debate, and as usual we won't offer an opinion one way or the other. But for those seeking their own answers, we can offer some fiscal history and factual context.

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