Phillip Hodges Godfather Politics
In an interview with CBS that aired while most Americans were
watching some big game they call the “Super Bowl,” Obama reiterated
that he wants to raise additional revenue by closing “loopholes and deductions”:
“Well, I don’t think the issue right now is raising rates.
The question is, if we’re going to be serious about reducing our
deficit, can we combine some smart spending cuts, ‘cause there’s still
some waste in government; can we reform our health care programs in
particular, because we spend a lot more on health care than every other
country does, and we don’t get better outcomes, so there’s a lot of
waste in the system, and there are things that we can do to reduce
health care costs; and can we close some loopholes and deductions that
folks who are well-connected and have a lot of accountants and lawyers
can take advantage of, so they end up paying lower rates than a bus
driver or a cop, can we close some of those loopholes?”
“If we combine those things together, then we can not only
reduce our deficit, but we can continue to invest in things like
education and research and development that are going to help us
grow…without raising rates again.”
“There is no doubt we need additional revenue coupled with
smart spending reductions in order to bring down our deficit, and we can
do it in a gradual way so that it doesn’t have a huge impact.”
First of all, he says, “If we’re going to be serious
about reducing our deficit…” Well, they’re not serious, so everything
after that conditional phrase is irrelevant. They don’t even acknowledge
that they have a spending problem. Obama’s buddy Paul Krugman said there is no debt problem, nor is there a deficit problem. In fact, during this sluggish economy, it’s wise to run a deficit and increase spending.
Their thinking is that if they decrease spending, that would
only contribute to unemployment because of all the government jobs that
would be eliminated. So they have to find ways to expand
government, thereby creating jobs for people who lost their private
sector jobs (most likely because of government regulations and a
government-created depression).
He wants to close loopholes and deductions that allow those
“rich tax cheats” to dodge higher taxes. He said that it’s not fair that
a bus driver has to pay a higher tax rate than a rich guy who has
“connections” to good tax accountants. But Obama should be happy that
he’s helped create a whole industry of accountants whose job it is to
find ways for people to avoid paying higher taxes. That’s creating jobs.
But Obama doesn’t want those kinds of jobs. He wants people
working government jobs, and once you become a prominent government
worker or politician, then you can become a tax cheat (like Tim Geithner).
Later in the interview, Obama lamented that these rich people
dodge the tax system by keeping their money in offshore bank accounts
in the Cayman Islands. Well, Romney isn’t the only one with money in the
Cayman Islands. Obama does too. So, what Obama really meant to say was
that we need to demand that the rich pay their fair share unless that
rich person works for the government (and preferably a Democrat) or a
corporation that makes large contributions to Obama and his buddies.
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