While Congress is taking yet ANOTHER vacation this year - their fourth in four months, in case you're counting - we're remaining focused on the topic that will face them when they return in early May: the debt ceiling.
Many members of what currently passes for leadership in the GOP still want to use the debt ceiling negotiations to push their social agenda. However, as we explained a little over a week ago - and as others have explained in greater detail since - the debt ceiling is not a mechanism of our government that should be subject to political baseball.
We mentioned on Tuesday that Standard & Poor's, or S&P, one of the world's largest financial services companies, recently gave a poor outlook on the future of the U.S. debt. As S&P has confirmed, they have not yet changed their bond rating on U.S. debt, so much as made it clear, that they have no faith in the ability of our political process to make genuine and effective moves toward fixing our country's long-term debt issues.
In short, at least some of our politicians are being childish, selfish, and ignorant of how credit works on a macro scale.
We are of two minds about S&P's downgrade of our government's long term ability to repay its debt.
Political strategist Paul Begala recently pointed out something we remember very well about the run-up to the Great Recession: "Given that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission called the credit rating companies ‘key enablers of the financial meltdown,’ it’s difficult to know how much credibility... should be given [to S&P's opinions]."
Even if you dispute the legitimacy of S&P, or their forecast, the facts are very clear - and something we fear we may need to repeat constantly in the same way some people nag their friends and relatives to quit smoking.
The facts remain the same no matter how you look at them: our country has been spending more than we take in for too long. Over the last thirty years, the method of financing our government's responsibilities that members of both parties have either pushed or accepted has proven unsustainable.
Addiction and denial are a cycle - in governments as much as in individuals. During the election cycle, we tell voters that we'll always cut their taxes and give them everything they demand of their government. Then - when it comes time to actually pay for our responsibilities - we cough, gag, scream, choke, and insist that everything is fine as we gasp for our collective fiscal breath - then take another long drag of long-term debt financing.
The issue of whether financial agencies like S&P are hacks, or whether they have any credibility left to lose after enabling the massive financial collapse is completely moot. Even a hack finance guru can recognize when a fiscal addict has reached a point where their actions are dangerous and self-destructive.
We do need to stop spending so much: on tax credits for people and corporations that don't need them; like many military hardware programs, that are more wasteful than useful; and on subsidies for companies that obviously do not need them, like oil and gas companies. We also need to bring in more revenue - if a business is in the 25% tax bracket, then the business should pay 25%, not weasel its way down to 1% or less.
As we have said more than once, getting America's fiscal health back is not a cut OR raise revenue choice. Both actions MUST be taken together.
It is time for America to deal with its many addictions - or else.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Truth About Taxes
We hope that you remembered yesterday was the deadline to file your Federal Tax statement for 2010. Truthfully, we don't know of anyone - or anyone willing to admit it, anyway - who hasn't either completed their taxes or filed an extension by this point.
All the same, there are still some folks who forgot to pay their taxes last year - and millions more who are paying less than then they likely ever have.
We're not going to debate the facts regarding taxes; we have them all here. The richest of the rich continued to see their tax rates plummet last year. For the wealthiest 400 Americans, their tax rates have dropped nearly 10% in the last decade.
For the rest of America, the amount they pay in Federal Income Tax is at historic lows, lower than at any time since 1955. Even if we factor in state and local taxes along with federal tax dollars, Americans are still paying a lower percentage of per-capita income than at anytime since the 1960's.
With all of those things being true, our government, at nearly every level, still seems to be having money issues. In short, everyone wants to know: where did all the money go?
If you listen to the partisans on the political right, you're hear our recitation of facts blasted as "Class warfare!" Those dirty immigrants and the lazy unemployed are to blame, according to many of those on the right. If the poor would just suck it up and take jobs that pay less than unemployment (even though they'd need even MORE financial assistance down the road if they did so), the poor should just buck up and accept their status as members of the economic slave class.
On the left, there are those who blame corporations and the ultra rich for every monetary problem that America and other countries are facing. Those on the left may be operating from a larger set of actual facts - for example, that the rich have more tax shelters, and (as we pointed out already) the richest of the rich continue to watch their tax rates drop. Still, the corporate pigs and the greedy rich aren't even the biggest reason why America's collective bank account is short more than a few sheckels.
The biggest reason why we are all still struggling is that we are all STILL recovering from the second worst economic disaster in American history.
We think sometimes - many times, actually - that the collective memory of Americans is no longer than that of a chicken. This disaster we're all still climbing out of didn't happen overnight, and it won't be over like a sitcom or a cheesy horror flick, in a relatively short time.
We also weren't the only ones to suffer.
Our government is powered by the taxes we pay. If we don't earn anything, government doesn't fill it's coffers either. Our government isn't some strange magical creature that steals money from us and gives us nothing. If we have no money to give it, it can't afford to provide all the services we expect from it.
As we've quoted before, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." If we do not pay the price, our society is LESS civilized.
To us, when certain elements in our society raise the battle cry of "Class warfare!" where there is none, that's merely another example that our economy is anything but back to normal.
All the same, there are still some folks who forgot to pay their taxes last year - and millions more who are paying less than then they likely ever have.
We're not going to debate the facts regarding taxes; we have them all here. The richest of the rich continued to see their tax rates plummet last year. For the wealthiest 400 Americans, their tax rates have dropped nearly 10% in the last decade.
For the rest of America, the amount they pay in Federal Income Tax is at historic lows, lower than at any time since 1955. Even if we factor in state and local taxes along with federal tax dollars, Americans are still paying a lower percentage of per-capita income than at anytime since the 1960's.
With all of those things being true, our government, at nearly every level, still seems to be having money issues. In short, everyone wants to know: where did all the money go?
If you listen to the partisans on the political right, you're hear our recitation of facts blasted as "Class warfare!" Those dirty immigrants and the lazy unemployed are to blame, according to many of those on the right. If the poor would just suck it up and take jobs that pay less than unemployment (even though they'd need even MORE financial assistance down the road if they did so), the poor should just buck up and accept their status as members of the economic slave class.
On the left, there are those who blame corporations and the ultra rich for every monetary problem that America and other countries are facing. Those on the left may be operating from a larger set of actual facts - for example, that the rich have more tax shelters, and (as we pointed out already) the richest of the rich continue to watch their tax rates drop. Still, the corporate pigs and the greedy rich aren't even the biggest reason why America's collective bank account is short more than a few sheckels.
The biggest reason why we are all still struggling is that we are all STILL recovering from the second worst economic disaster in American history.
We think sometimes - many times, actually - that the collective memory of Americans is no longer than that of a chicken. This disaster we're all still climbing out of didn't happen overnight, and it won't be over like a sitcom or a cheesy horror flick, in a relatively short time.
We also weren't the only ones to suffer.
Our government is powered by the taxes we pay. If we don't earn anything, government doesn't fill it's coffers either. Our government isn't some strange magical creature that steals money from us and gives us nothing. If we have no money to give it, it can't afford to provide all the services we expect from it.
As we've quoted before, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." If we do not pay the price, our society is LESS civilized.
To us, when certain elements in our society raise the battle cry of "Class warfare!" where there is none, that's merely another example that our economy is anything but back to normal.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Time To Choose Is Now
When it comes to Senator Ben Nelson, The Daily Feltoon staff has been of at least two minds on Nelson for many years - even before we began working together.
In general, as a Senator - and before that, as a Governor - our opinion of Mr. Nelson has been generally positive. He has often made decisions that make sense for those he represents, even if those decisions haven't been fully understood or investigated by the media and the general public.
For those persons who think we're merely partisan, and that we like Ol' Ben just because he's a Democrat, we remind you that Sen. Nelson was once a Nebraska Republican, the kind who have lately been run out of the party. If you think the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is endangered, you should try being a moderate in the present-day GOP. Nelson has said - more than once - he wouldn't change back to being a Republican because they have become too inflexible for someone like him, and we applaud him for his honesty on that subject.
The one thing that has perpetually disturbed us though, about Sen. Nelson's conduct over the years has been his apparent blindness to both history and basic math, in regards to the wealthy paying more in taxes.
When he was state insurance commissioner for Nebraska, Nelson supported several actions that protected the wealthy at the expense of the working class. Recently, that record came up again when Nelson expressed support for legislation which would protect insurance brokers from having to pay their fair share of the Affordable Care Act, aka the health insurance reform law.
Nelson's defense of the rich at the expense of the rest of us doesn't stop there.
When President Obama made brutally clear last week a point we've made for years - that fiscal responsibility for our government will require BOTH budget cuts AND tax increases - Senator Nelson stepped forward again to protect those of his constituents who are on the upper end of the income scale.
We do not have an issue with anyone being wealthy. We have more than a few friends who are better than comfortable, and to be honest, none of us is exactly starving. Most Americans also aspire to be wealthy someday, even if most will never achieve that goal.
The problem with Sen. Nelson that we see, as his 2012 re-election race approaches rapidly is not the good things that he's done in the past, or even his growing support by such far-right wing backers as the Koch Brothers.
It's his continual standing up for the wealthy, at the expense of everyone else, and in the face of basic math. As President Obama pointed out last week, even if America made insane amounts of cuts, we are simply not bringing in enough revenue as a nation. We are not collecting what we say we do - and some politicians keep attempting to collect more money by taking it from those who have the least.
Mr. Nelson, and his staff can most certainly do simple math. His actions in the Senate have proven that more than once. If he does not do the budget calculations, however, there are many things he may not be able to count on over the next year and a half.
The winning number of votes in Nebraska, in both primary and general elections, for example, might not be so easy to come by this time around.
In general, as a Senator - and before that, as a Governor - our opinion of Mr. Nelson has been generally positive. He has often made decisions that make sense for those he represents, even if those decisions haven't been fully understood or investigated by the media and the general public.
For those persons who think we're merely partisan, and that we like Ol' Ben just because he's a Democrat, we remind you that Sen. Nelson was once a Nebraska Republican, the kind who have lately been run out of the party. If you think the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is endangered, you should try being a moderate in the present-day GOP. Nelson has said - more than once - he wouldn't change back to being a Republican because they have become too inflexible for someone like him, and we applaud him for his honesty on that subject.
The one thing that has perpetually disturbed us though, about Sen. Nelson's conduct over the years has been his apparent blindness to both history and basic math, in regards to the wealthy paying more in taxes.
When he was state insurance commissioner for Nebraska, Nelson supported several actions that protected the wealthy at the expense of the working class. Recently, that record came up again when Nelson expressed support for legislation which would protect insurance brokers from having to pay their fair share of the Affordable Care Act, aka the health insurance reform law.
Nelson's defense of the rich at the expense of the rest of us doesn't stop there.
When President Obama made brutally clear last week a point we've made for years - that fiscal responsibility for our government will require BOTH budget cuts AND tax increases - Senator Nelson stepped forward again to protect those of his constituents who are on the upper end of the income scale.
We do not have an issue with anyone being wealthy. We have more than a few friends who are better than comfortable, and to be honest, none of us is exactly starving. Most Americans also aspire to be wealthy someday, even if most will never achieve that goal.
The problem with Sen. Nelson that we see, as his 2012 re-election race approaches rapidly is not the good things that he's done in the past, or even his growing support by such far-right wing backers as the Koch Brothers.
It's his continual standing up for the wealthy, at the expense of everyone else, and in the face of basic math. As President Obama pointed out last week, even if America made insane amounts of cuts, we are simply not bringing in enough revenue as a nation. We are not collecting what we say we do - and some politicians keep attempting to collect more money by taking it from those who have the least.
Mr. Nelson, and his staff can most certainly do simple math. His actions in the Senate have proven that more than once. If he does not do the budget calculations, however, there are many things he may not be able to count on over the next year and a half.
The winning number of votes in Nebraska, in both primary and general elections, for example, might not be so easy to come by this time around.
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