Obama Claims 'Nobody Disputes' Disputed Tax Cut Claim

If Tapper's argument is the best the GOP has in response to Obama's tax plan, this election is over. The argument that Obama's plan will "only" cut taxes for 81% of the nation, rather than 95%, or that McCain's plan "only" leaves out 66 million families, rather than 100 million, is a damning indictment for the GOP. How exactly would McCain defend leaving out 66 million families? Obama needs to stay on the economy stubbornly despite attempts by the media to draw him into a personality contest with Palin. McCain's 7 houses disqualify him from being the economic populist in this contest and I am convinced whomever claims that mantle will claim the white house.

@ Michelle

I'm usually discouraged from posting here because of the absence of meaningful discourse. Glad you dared me. I look forward to a discussion and I hope there is a possibility that we can keep an open mind since we are talking about the future of the country.

==ALL energy professionals say that it is impossible for Americans to release themselves from dependency on oil until at the earliest 2050.==

Not so. As with all other projections, this is a highly flexible time line that depends on who you talk to. My suggestion: let's leave the projection out and focus on the tangible matters for now.

==Yet Obama does not want to drill or put up nuclear power plants. Instead he wants to invest solely in renewables.==

Not so. I believe Obama is open to nuclear plants to a limited extent. The problem with nuclear plants (and this is a very serious issue) is the waste, of course. For nuclear plants to work, you would have to find a way to get rid of the waste very very carefully or else you are exposing local communities to radioactive waste (which translates to cancer and generation after generation of your kins laying in bed and suffering). You could build the plants in very remote areas very far away from people but we don't have the electricity infrastructure (the Grid) to distribute it effectively from remote areas... this is a fact: the nation's Grid is seriously overloaded and is in continuous danger of breaking down completely.. which means a national blackout, which means an economic disaster worse than the Great Depression. So "clean energy" is phrase with very meaningful consequences.

== Well, unfortunately there are projections that say over the next decade, renewable energy only has the potential for covering 20% of our energy demands==

Again, not so. I would like to know where you get the projections because these are very subjective conclusions.

==Plus, renewable energy technology takes time to invent and refine, no matter how much money you throw at it. Once the technology is there, who is going to be able to afford it? Answer: the first couple years only the rich, because new technology is expensive.==

I apologize if i am coming across as too critical but your conclusion there was very mistaken. The major thing about renewable technologies is that most of them have already been invented and are just waiting to be claimed. Surely you are aware of the technological advancements of the 21st century. I can't stress this enough: renewable energy technologies are classified under the easiest technologies to invent (innovate) and of the cheapest to refine. For that reason, the major thing about them is that they are the type that would come cheapest to the middle class and the lower class. BUT, only if we get them out into the public before giant investors claim them, which brings me to my point...

I know this is almost a cliche, but oil people are the ones working the hardest to create a blurry public opinion about an otherwise straightforward matter of renewable energies. They want to take while they transfer their resources from the oil industry to the renewable resources. case in point: T Boone Pickens. The future is inevitable, we are moving from oil to renewables. the critical question is "when?". It can happen now under government watch or it can happen in 10-12 years after oil giants have controlled it the way they control oil today and after our economy has suffered some more. Only THEN would renewables come at a more expensive price to the middle class and lower class.

==It takes time and money to build the infrastructure. Example: Pumps that release hydrogen or natural gas rather than oil.==

Good point and I agree. But do you know of such a thing as Hydrogen power plants? They are plants just like nuclear power plants, except for the nuclear part and without the radioactive waste. The more of them we have the easier it is to build the infrastructure quicker (read: clean jobs). They are part of the Obama renewable energy plan.

==Plus oil is used in more than just gasoline and home heating==

I don't want to make this longer than i have already made it but that was a good distinction. The major thing about energy sources is that you can classify them as direct used and indirect used (eg electricity and oil for heating). The one needing massive attention is the indirect one as it ends up having an impact on a bigger scale.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for inviting an intelligent discourse. Lets all vote based on the issues. PLEASE PLEASE don't vote for a politician or against a politician. They don't know you exist so please lets vote on the issues pretending like the candidates don't even exist.

RealisticLib,

why not? The Dems have actually proven that they can balance a checkbook.

If you think that trickle-down theory has worked well enough as an alternative to
changing basic economic policy....

you must be a Republican

Does anyone think that Obama will actually follow through with this tax cut if elected?

Pity that 95% includes Charlie Rangel!

Er, Mr. Tapper, at the end of posts like this one, you need to make sure you add, "Just sayin'."

Just sayin'. :o)

the capital gains tax argument is about the most redundant stupid waste of time ever.my proposal would be:

if you make under $50 k a year ,you dont pay any cap gains tax on any single year sale of less than 1mil.

over 1mil. cap gains , everyone pays something.

then if you make more than 50k a year you have to pay cap gains tax on a sliding scale (more as your yearly taxed income goes up ,less as it goes down)

those in the highest tax brackets should be required by law to pay almost all of their cap gains profits back into taxes .

retired folks would be taxed on basis of personal property owned at the time of the capital gains: eg; if you own 4 houses dont count on getting big hunks of tax free cash every time you sell one.

its pretty simple logic really ,the richest people already have more than enough money and they shouldnt be allowed to rake in excessive profits they really dont need (and usually dont deserve as well) while this country is struggling economically and financially.

@ Lynne | Sep 6, 2008 1:50:42 PM

Under Obama's plan you would pay no capital gains in your situation. The 28% would be on any amount above the 500k exemption for selling your primary home. No one would pay any capital gains tax on the sale of your home as long as the profit was less than half a million dollars. Anyways, more people are probably worried about avoiding foreclosure these days.

The excessively low capital gains rate of the past 8 years has created perverse incentives which weaken our economy and prevent it from growing as much as it should. In order to have the highest level of economic growth, tax on income derived from Capital and income derived from Labour should be in balance. The current policy is based on the fanciful notion that supply (ie. the new production capacity created by investment) creates it's own demand.

to Michelle...

my advice to the NY folks would be to move somewhere cheaper like nebraska or idaho , or not complain about the wages they make vs the taxes they pay living in the big apple where they have access to everything and anything (which costs extra $$ to provide).

this country is for ny and nebraska people ; all of us ,but not just the rich and elite...

my dogcatcher analogy was supposed to illustrate that we all here in the usa have to share what we have (tax wise) no matter how much we make or where we live, to support this nation equally as we are able ,or it will not survive.

americaisarepublicnotademocracy = has no clue

why dont you go start your own skinflint country? till then you need to read the part in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA constitution where it (basically but clearly ) says the government can tax as needed to secure and defend itself. this country RUNS off of taxes and buddy , you WILL PAY.

you will pay taxes ( on a sliding scale graduated for wealth )for things you personally dont like, that you personally dont want ,and that you dont need BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THAT IS THE LAW OF THE LAND.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT IDEA....GO/MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE!! FAST!

you know cheapskate ,why not just move to haiti ,they have really low taxes...

sad to think this is what america is made of these days.

no wonder the rest of the world is disgusted with the upper/ruling class of america and their intrinsic capitalistic greed/selfishness and ignorance .

i know i surely am.

To Obama: Half the country disputes your tax cut plan, because you are only providing part of the picture. We see the other part.

To bah, the reason your dogcatcher is paid $50 in one area and $20 in another is based on the differences of the cost of living. The cost for the same basket of goods for the $50 dog catcher is over double the basket of goods for the $20 dogcatcher. That's why households in Nebraska can live comfortably on $50,000, while people in NYC need at least double to live the same lifestyle.

Obama does not get the energy crisis.

ALL energy professionals say that it is impossible for Americans to release themselves from dependency on oil until at the earliest 2050. Not just foreign oil, oil. That date of 2050 is also dependent upon the installation of more nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants are the reason Europe is not heavily dependent on oil and why their energy is so cheap. Yet Obama does not want to drill or put up nuclear power plants. Instead he wants to invest solely in renewables.

Well, unfortunately there are projections that say over the next decade, renewable energy only has the potential for covering 20% of our energy demands. What about the other 80%? We can't have oil, nuclear, or clean coal. So what's left? I don't know. Do you?

Plus, renewable energy technology takes time to invent and refine, no matter how much money you throw at it. Once the technology is there, who is going to be able to afford it? Answer: the first couple years only the rich, because new technology is expensive. Only after a few years, when the price goes down, will middle and low income workers be able to afford it. Obama seems to believe that every worker, even those of low and middle income people will be able to afford a 1 yr old hybrid car, a natural gas car when it comes out, then a hydrogen fuel cell car when it comes out. Not likely, in fact not possible.

Obama seems to forget that there is a long transitional period to transfer from one energy source to another. It takes time and money to build the infrastructure. Example: Pumps that release hydrogen or natural gas rather than oil.

Plus oil is used in more than just gasoline and home heating. It is used in plastics that is used to wrap food. This is partly why the cost of food has gone up so high, not just the transportation costs. Oil is used to make the equipment in hospitals. So by not drilling Obama is continuing to raise the cost of food and medical care.

This is all basic Economics and Business 101 material. I dare one person to refute me in a manner that is based on reason. Not just I don't like it, therefore you are lying. If you bring up a logical argument, kudos to you. You have a brain.

When Obama says he is going to raise taxes on the elite, he fails to mention that he is really going to tax low and middle income people too. Obama wants to raise the capital gains tax by a significant margin.

The capital gains tax not only effects corporations, it effects small businesses. Over 70% of workers are employed by small businesses and over 23 million people own small businesses. By significantly raising the capital gains tax, Obama is going to make it harder for those people to work and earn a living. If small businesses do not have as much money, they can't afford to invest for company growth, they can't afford to give their workers raises, and part of the tax burden placed on the business will end up on the consumer. If too much is placed on the consumer, the business will go bankrupt, leaving workers unemployed.

Lets think about this here. Taxes go up, prices of goods go up, inflation goes up, consumers can afford less. Who does this hurt the most? The people struggling to put food on the table.

Who is the bah character? You sound you just through reading the Communist Manifesto. If you don't think you are paid enough then come up with a good business idea and start your own company. You dumb ideas about punishing businesses will just drive more jobs overseas. The last thing we need is more government messing in our lives. If you want someone to take care of you then move back in with your parents. I believe in helping people but let ME decide when and how to help people. Only losers and zeros believe in radical wealth redistribution. People that can't compete are the ones that would rather the government take from those that can compete and give to them.

Good lord... if you were HALF as hard on McCain as you are on Obama, this race wouldn't be a contest. The entire GOP convention was a three day orgy of lies, half-truths, and baseless bombast.

Why be such sycophants? It disgraces the profession of journalism and your network to be so willfully blind to reality. Americans are counting on you to represent truth, NOT give equal time to arguments you know are false or hypocritical.

Perhaps you or some of the other posters on here can straighten out the bank account stuff.

We have a personal residence that we are getting ready to sell and we have owned it for a while. We will have a $300,000.00 gain on this. Presently there is Zero, No Tax on up to $500,000.00 for married folks filing jointly on the profit from the sale of a personal residence.
Obama’s plan is 28% Capital Gains tax, now the way I see this is Obama is going to cost me, a hard working person and average American, Obama is going to cost me $84,000 on the sale of a personal residence and this is money that I was counting on for retirement income.
Explain to me why any one would vote for Obama based on this alone, not to mention the many other issues such as Corruption,lack of experience and crazy preachers

usa ,love it or leave it! ever hear that one?

you go mr. obama , raise taxes on big business and rich people as much as possible.... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what is obviously needed are government applied profitability margins.

there needs to be a cap on profitability and taxation needs to be on a sliding scale with it, ie; your profits go way up ,so do your taxes.

something making a profit of 1000% or so surely needs a large tax applied , ALL hard working taxpaying americans deserve part of that windfall ,as taxes to support this country and its great needs ,whether it be bridges that dont fall down ,proper emergency relief plans or shelters for unwed mothers (all of the above being very important in my opinion).

this simple measure would only apply to corporate profits ,and would go a long way to ensuring overall tax fairness in the market place.

again, anyone who did not like this profitability tax would be completely free to move their business (and themsleves) to russia or france or india or where ever and see how that works.

please note that the practice or moving jobs to other countries to enhance profits while living in the usa and keeping the tax base of the business in this country is HIGHLY IMMORAL and contributes in large part to the tax shortages the government is feeling.

president obama should require all companies having more than %30 of their employees outside the usa to move their profit sucking businesses out of the usa . then he should use the taxes and tariffs he should put in place on those same ,(now international) businesses to re invigorate the sector(s) they left here in the usa , and by giving usa businesses REAL incentives to grow MORALLY AND ETHICALLY, the usa economy would eventually end up ruining the overseas competition and their money grubbing profitability charts.

its simple really. this country needs revenue to run to provide services so that each of us can live and profit (some more than others evidently)
that is why, when we work or run a business we are taxed for wages and profits.

one problem that arises is that there are some deep imbalances in this country as far as wages (and wages for profit) are concerned ,geographically, demographically ,and job quality wise as well.

so you might live somewhere where the avg wage is $50 an hr for dog catcher ,and i live somewhere where the avg wage is $20 for dog catcher.

so maybe your dogcatcher make more than mine ,and he pay more taxes than my dogcatcher...that sounds pretty fair to me. maybe there is an economic slowdown in my area due to layoffs at some big factory , and jobs are hard to find. maybe things are great and the economy is wonderful...

WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING GREAT JUST BEING WHERE YOU ARE IS NO REASON TO FORGET ABOUT OTHERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN PLACES NOT DOING AS WELL. WHEN KATRINA STRUCK NEW ORLEANS ,IN ANY EMERGENCY OR TIME OF NEED ALL AMERICANS SHOULD WORK FOR EACH OTHER. THE REALLY RICH DONT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THEMSELVES ,IN LARGE PART ANYWAY.

I KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WORK 50 HRS A WEEK AND ARE BARELY MAKING IT,NOW WHO IS LAZY ? WHEN ANYONE HAS TO WORK 50 HRS A WEEK AT ANYTHING JUST TO SURVIVE THERE IS A PROBLEM AND IT IS BECAUSE THE RICH ARE NOT PAYING ENOUGH $$ OVERALL TO KEEP THIS COUNTRY RUNNING THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.

THIS COUNTRY NEEDS MONEY TO RUN AND IT SHOULD OBVIOUSLY COME FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BENEFIT THE MOST!

I DONT CARE IF THE TOP RATE IS 95% , MAKE IT SO IF THAT IS WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE MAJORITY.

THE MAJORITY SHOULD RULE! THIS IS A DEMOCRACY RULED BY THE RICH! THE RICH ARE A MINORITY!

people that complain about paying out too much in taxes always have 1 thing in common...greed.

if you feel you are taxed too much in the usa,now or in the future please leave and go "work" somewhere else ,see how that works out.