More Tax, Less Iraq, China Pressure

I didn't jump on the deficit reduction story in Washington post story. Why I just have a hard time believing Obama is that stupid. I should just get used to it.

"Obama also seeks to increase tax collections, mainly by making good on his promise to eliminate some of the temporary tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003. While the budget would keep the breaks that benefit middle-income families, it would eliminate them for wealthy taxpayers, defined as families earning more than $250,000 a year. Those tax breaks would be permitted to expire on schedule in 2011. That means the top tax rate would rise from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, the tax on capital gains would jump to 20 percent from 15 percent for wealthy filers and the tax on estates worth more than $3.5 million would be maintained at the current rate of 45 percent. "

Economic Freedom? Less money to grow the economy? Why work if they take it all? Pic your poison.

Obama plans “soak the rich” class-warfare economics

"Raising taxes in a recession is about the surest way to ensure its continuance. We’ve seen this over and over again in American history, including the Great Depression. With the budget deficits where they are, permanent tax cuts are almost certainly political suicide, but better to do nothing than to take capital out of the market."(cont.)

"However, the capital-gains tax is crucial to the economy. Bush lowered it in the midst of the last recession and economic upheaval after 9/11 to prompt investors to put their money at risk. Raising the tax on investment gains will ensure that we see less investment at the moment we need more of it. Jobs get created by investors taking risks, and if the reward on risk taking becomes low enough, they’ll sink their money into safer havens instead of building job-creating businesses."

Cont. From Wash. Post

"To get there, Obama proposes to cut spending and raise taxes. The savings would come primarily from "winding down the war" in Iraq, a senior administration official said. The budget assumes continued spending on "overseas military contingency operations" throughout Obama's presidency, the official said, but that number is lower than the nearly $190 billion budgeted for Iraq and Afghanistan last year. "

Saving money from the war? It is mostly off budget spending. There is nothing there to save. Are you going to keep borrowing that money too and spend it else where? Military cuts now are the same mistake Bush 41 and Clinton made. Funny Obama as Bush redux.

Can You Spell D-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n?... Obama Promises to Raise Taxes On Businesses & Wealthy

"The stock market ought to love that.
Obama must really want to kill off the remaining American businesses.
His second month is shaping up to be another thriller already."

My question is why talk about the deficit now. The tidal wave has been to ignore it "we must spend" Anything to do with China?

China: We hate you, but we hate everyone else more

"China still could dump US debt, but they’d lose their shirts, and nothing else in the market looks better. Beijing has become a little too capitalist to pull a cut-off-the-nose-to-spite-the-face ploy with its main assets. They need the stability to stay in power. Right now, that means they need to ensure that US debt doesn’t tank."

Chinese Pressure? That's just what we need with a pup in the Withe House. The question is it all just rhetoric? I think so. It is more likely an excuse to raise taxes and push through health care and the like.