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Subscribe to RSSAs President Barack Obama issued a withering rebuke to Congressional leaders for failing to hammer out a deal on the debt ceiling, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill both contended Wednesday that compromise legislation cannot get to the president’s desk without substantial concessions from the other side.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said that House Speaker John Boehner “needs Democrats” to pass a budget deal through the Senate, noting that there are a number of conservative Republicans who will not vote for increasing the debt ceiling no matter how much is cut.
And Republican leaders reiterated that a deal that includes tax increases won't pass muster with the GOP.
“Their answer is to increase taxes for everything,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said of his Democratic colleagues.
“We think it’s pretty clear,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “regardless of what we’re able to negotiate here in the short term, that we should put the federal government in this kind of fiscal straight jacket.”
Obama slammed congressional leaders during a lengthy press conference earlier Tuesday. "Call me naive, but my expectation is that leaders are going to lead," he told reporters.
The two sides have agreed to cut about $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion, but haven't made any further progress in the week since formal negotiations broke down. They need to get to $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion to get through the 2012 elections. The smaller figure would last about seven months.
Knowing that math, a Senate Democratic leadership aide said it was "probable" that something in the neighborhood of a seven-month deal is what will ultimately get voted on and agreed to before the Aug. 2 deadline. Then, the two sides could begin negotiations on reforming the tax code, in order to avoid doing this all over again in March of next year.
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Be honest just for once! This 50% does not include "children under 18" Twist the facts to support your leftist agenda! You to Debra Pilla! Kill that goose that lays the golden eeg to get the next egg early. Guess what?! NO more golden eggs!
I must start work now so I can earn enough to pay taxes for that almost 50%!
TES ... please go to work, the country needs YOUR MONEY ... we have enough corporations & wealthy on WELFARE ... their handouts are a lot larger than the blue collars that don't have jobs ... let's see, average bluecollar unemployment check is about $400-500 a week ... average corporate tax break about $2 BILLION ... yeah ... and Cheney (the richest man on Capital Hill in 2006), his NET income tax rate after tax breaks & loopholes ... 19% ... less than a man earning $35,000 a year pays.
REPUBLICANS ... The party WELFARE FOR THE RICH & CORPORATIONS!
Sorry for misspelling in 7:32 posting. I meant "too".
Obama "scolds" congressional leaders?? Like you would scold a child??
I think Odumbo needs to look in the mirror. He isn't fooling anyone.
The reckoning will really be huge in 2012. The Shellacking that the Dems received in November 2010 will just be a sideshow to the total ass-whippin that's coming.
Americans are more than fed up with Obama's B.S........ Don't do anything, just blame the Republicans, just blame Bush. Call everyone a racist. Then go on another exotic vacation with Moochelle.
This is what we voted into the Presidency?? And he wants another term??
Edward ... just look at the GRAPH so generously supplied with this thread ... kind of tells WHERE the National Debt came from ... under which presidents. Let's see, you add the increases in Nat'l Debt from Reagan, both Bushes ... hummmm 10.6 Trillion out of the current 14.5 Trillion. Obama's trying to clean up the drastic MESS your GW left ... and after the voters toss out the REPUBS from Congress in 2012 ... and voters are going to toss out a ton of Republican governors & congressmen in 2012 AND Repubs will lose the HOUSE ... maybe Obama will have a Congress to support him. You see, your Republican Congress has done NOTHING since in 2011 but rage Obama every step of the way ... NOTHING! And they want MORE tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations ... you GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! It'll take decades to undo what your Bush buddy did!
They started this with Grover Norquest's plan to cause a crisis that will "starve the beast" ... implying about Medicare & Social Security entitlements. All Republicans fell right in line ... abandoned their own positions to side with this FAT CAT ... who only wants more tax breaks.
Repubs were for Cap & Trade until Obama agreed with it .... then Repubs decide they're not for it.
Repubs were for PayGo until Obama agreed to go with it .... now Repubs are against PayGo
Repubs were for trying terrorists in court under Bush ... now they're against it with Obama
Repubs were for raising the debt ceiling 7 times under Bush ... now they are against it under Obama
Need I go on and on and on ... ??????
See, there goes ol Mac N Fries, Just like I said.
Blame the Republicans, blame Bush, call everyone a racist.
No leadership from this administration....NONE.
I have already bought the fine wine I will be sipping as I watch Obama make his concession speech. As I watch with glee as the election map states all turn red.
This will be better than the "hanging chads" election. This will be the beginning of the end to the outdated, Democratic party. It will become an insult to even refer to anyone as a Democrat. It will be the same as calling them an idiot.
I've always wondered who these 50%s were who do not pay any income tax; thanks for the clarification. I do not understand why it is ok for those who use the majority of government services (because they are wealthy and need access) do not pay for them. Why should I who is considered poor subsidize their way of life? I just don't understand.
ctborn ... its more Republican BS ... facts aren't important with Repubs ... they create their own facts hoping some people won't challenge them, and when those that do ... Reubs just shrug their shoulders and deny 'em.
Wait until the 2012 Presidential election starts ... Americans are in for a real show ... they've got the likes of Norquist, Kuch Bros, Karl Rove, etc start running their political ads ... all half truths or totally FALSE, but that won't matter. With Repubs, it is WIN AT ALL COST!
I encourage people to check out the old movie 1975 movie called Rollerball with James Caan ... and the events in this science fiction movie take place in ... coincidently 2018 ... and the corporations have taken over Government. The big CEOs provide a game called Rollerball and, as they say in the movie, "Rollerball is a sport to show the futility of individual effort" ... just check out this movie.
CTborn56 You still don't get it. The top 2-3% don't use the majority of government services! Why should they pay more than 50% of taxes. What do you call food stamps, welfare, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, national defense, etc? Even the nonwealthy benefit from these programs!
TES you're obviously the one that doesn't get it. The wealthy pay a larger % of the taxes because of the ridiculous difference in income between the Rich & Poor ... thanks to "trickle down economics" over the years. Geesh! Just proves the point about the failure of Supply-Side Economics.
Using a flat tax of 15% ... if one man's making $35,000 and another makes $3.5 million a year ... of course the millionaire is paying a lot more taxes. The problem is, the RICH & Corporations aren't paying anywhere close to their designated tax brakets because of loopholes their buddies in Congress have given them. You can't keep taxing/penalizing the middle-class or poor to subsidize what is basically "welfare for the rich". When you have 70% of your corporations in the USA NOT paying taxes, something is WRONG. A lot of the problems have been created by our congressional representives ... and Presidents that keep giving "tax breaks to the rich & corporations in hopes that they might create a minimum wage job" ... which by the way, Repubs want to also do away with the minimum wage ... won't that be a hoot? That way they can offer the jobs to low pay immigrants because they say "Americans don't want the jobs" ... BS!
Republicans ... the Welfare Party for the Rich & Corporations
Come 2012 a lot of Repubs in Government positions & the House are going to be looking for JOBS themselves ... the idiots.
Answer: So that we don't just cut out military spending and invite Al Qaida to set up a training camp next door to them.
DUH!
Tess,
And they never will get it. Ignorance is when you are blissfully uninformed and you screw up accordingly.
Stupidity is when you knew better, but you screw it all up anyway. That's the Democrats.
In this country (and any other country) there are producers and there are consumers of resources. If you continue to increase the number of recipients and increase the benefits of the comsumers at the same time you make it less desirable to be a producer, the system cannot survive. The producers will at some time see no benefit to producing and will become consumers of resources. Let's see how long that lasts! You lose my tax money and the taxes paid my employees (which will no longer have jobs)!
Yes. Raise my taxes and not those of the other 97-98%. Kill that goose that lays the golden eggs! Since my income is primarily earned income these examples such as Warren Buffett paying 17% are not a true representation of the taxes I pay. So don't lump all the "wealthy" together!