Senator Obama's Acceptance Speech

I just did some simple math.

The US has a workforce of around 150,000,000 (CIA World Factbook)
If the top 5% make over 250,000 that makes 750,000 people
Lets say their average income is roughly 1 million.
If you increase their taxes by 5% you get 375 billion in new taxes.

While it probably won't cover everything, it will make a huge dent.

Cutting costs in Iraq would also help. Congress has estimated it costs 2 billion/wk which is 100 billion/yr. (Boston Globe)

Obama has also mentioned a windfall tax on Oil companies charging more than $80 a barrel on gas. He states that it would net the government around $15 billion in last year's numbers. (Bloomberg).

He claims that there are $1 trillion worth of loopholes in the corporate tax code that favours special interests that could potentially be closed. (CNN)

He has also mentioned raising taxes on corporations, capital gains and dividends but has not specified details. (USA Today)

 

And where will the rest come from? By taxing you and me.

That will not happen soon enough to pay for BHO's promises.

And since businesses do not pay taxes (their clients pay them because they simply pass the cost of taxes on to their clients), we the consumers end up paying this "windfall profits tax on big oil."

I'd believe that when I see happen from the US Congress. If they could or would do this they already would have. Why didn't BHO try to stop this while he served in the Senate?

Which, just like his proposed "windfall profits tax on big oil" will be passed right along to us the consumers. So how do we win under BHO's proposals?

 

Wrong. When you answer the question of How BHO is going to pay for all his promises without increasing taxes on you and me I'll listen. So far you have not done so. All you have done is offer links to BHO's promises that do not explain how he is going to make those promises happen.

 

First, a great deal of the stock of oil companies is held by middle class Americans in their portfolios and retirement accounts. Taxing "windfall profits" is taking money out of the pockets of the people who Obama says he is going to help.

Second, do we really want the government telling us what a "windfall profit" is? They are pretty bad with money themselves, and it is not the government's job to tell people how much money they can make.

Third, I understand that the profits as a percentage of receipts is actually lower for oil companies than for many other companies such as Microsoft. So they are not really "overprofiting." This is the market at work. If you don't like the amount oil companies are making, quit buying their product.

 

You don't have to like how Obama plans to pay for all of his proposed changes, but I think you should take back the comment that he failed to explain how he is going to do it.

 

Nope. Because he has not open and up front with those explanations. Notice how many different sources you had to sift through to come up with just a few possibilities to answer my question as to how he is going to pay for his promises. Note that not one of your sources came directly from BHO's webite. Why do you suppose that is the case?

 

I found some real numbers and it looks like I severely overestimated the wealth and number of wealthy Americans.

In 2006, the US Census Bureau reports that the top 3.4% of household incomes were in these two brackets:
$250,000 and above in income: 2,240,000 households earning a mean income of $448,687
$200,000 to $249,999 in income: 1,776,000 households earning a mean income of $219,377
A 5% tax increase on both groups would net around $59 billion dollars.

It looks like those households that make > 250,000 only account for 2% of households.

 

Thanks for the data. Now we see that the "dent" is not so huge and that my point about all of our taxes having to be significantly increased in order to pay for all of BHO's proposed promises is correct.

 

Perhaps this is true but the oil executives admitted to making more than normal profits when they stood before congress...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24757944/

 

Why is it a problem for a company (any company) to make profits? Do we really want the federal government to be responsible for determining how much profit is enough? Likewsie, you do not hear the Democratic led Congress complaining about the $33 Billion that the Federal government made off of the sale of oil by the "big oil companies."

Now can we please get back to the subject of the OP?

 

It seems like it. But they change their tune when it comes to protecting th unborn children. Hey we cant have government interfering with that can we?

 

Profits are one thing but HUGE profits when American's can't afford the ride to work is greed. Notice how they got to our screaming point then back off a bit for the elections. I wonder what industry Bush is in? Oh, so none of this is a surprise.

 

How can a Christian vote for someone who wishes to continue allowing baby murder?

 

How can a Christian vote for someone who would cut off funding to feed the hungry or provide medical to the poor?

 

Why does it matter?

No one is running for president that will do that , but one is running that supports the murder of infants.

Why did you dodge the question?

 

Are you refering to the poor in america? The same poor that has tv's vcr's and bling hanging on their neck? That poor. It is not the governments job to funnel money dwindling it along the way to the poor. It is poor stewardship.

 

I think it should be the governments job to provide for he common good, and aiding those in need and I will do all I can to elect those who agree with me.

 

You showing....

You are entitled to your view which is why you support McCain. I have a different view of what my government should be which is why Obama is getting my vote. It's also why 38 million American's tuned him in for his acceptance speech. What we don't want to see is more of this

MONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- President Bush's new budget proposal would cut $196 billion over five years from both Medicare and Medicaid -- programs that provide health care to millions of poor and elderly, federal officials announced Monday.

As you can see, health care is a big deal to many American's and it's probably about time that the conservatives get it. They just don't get it.

 

Please provide me with the quote where I said I support McCain?

And entitlement programs are unconstitutional.

 

What did the federal government do besides collect $33 Billion off of the sale of oil/gas? Who ultimately paid for the $33 Billion in oil tax revenue? That's right you guessed it you and I did every time we paid the taxes on the gas we pumped into our cars. Don't you understand that the federal government shares in the high cost of gas due to the high tax revenue they collect on each gallon sold?