Obama promises to slash spending by $2 trillion after spending $787 billion on the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. Now Congress (Pelosi) is gearing up to spend $634 billion over ten years for healthcare which he says is going to be paid for by taxing the rich. Of course, that is assuming there are any "rich" left by 2012.
Jobless claims rose to 667,000. The number of laid-off Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits topped 5.1 million, fresh evidence the recession is increasingly forcing employers to shed jobs. Those shed jobs are mostly the small businesses that go unnoticed among the many large layoffs.
Of the cost of expanding health care coverage is to come from a $318 billion increase over 10 years in taxes on the wealthy.
Pelosi defined that for him as couples making more than $250,000 per year and individuals making more than $200,000. Those that have small businesses fall into that range. If these "rich" people are smart, they will incorporate to buy vehicles and other perqs for their business or work and take a lower salary for themselves as they do more of their own work rather than keeping people employed.
The tax increase is supposed to occur by reducing the benefit the wealthy get on tax deductions. Taxpayers in the current top tax bracket of 35 percent would see their tax deduction for every $1 given to charity drop from 35 cents to 28 cents.
Perhaps most of them will remain charitible, even though the Federal government is not.
What part of the $634 billion is the $14 billion per year for SCHIP or "Social
Security Act to extend and improve the Children’s Health Insurance Program?"
The answer to budgeting for that was to increase the tax on tobacco products. That will work if people keep smoking or do not start smuggling tobacco like illicit drugs.
Then there is the landfill of those investments in mortgage loans. Chairwoman Pelosi has a Mortgage relief bill set for House vote Thursday. In the future, if you are in foreclosure you will resort to bankruptcy to force reductions in their monthly mortgage payments under this bill. Minorities are claiming the these were preditory loans.
Fincancial analyists are saying, though, that this particular misery is being spread evenly throughout the economic spectrum. Those with higher incomes made less secure lones, as well, on higher cost homes.
Winston Churchill's view was, “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, the gospel of ENVY. It’s inherent virtue is the equal sharing of MISERY.”
When President Carter was campaigning he framed the Misery Index as a measure of government. It is the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates.
Last month the unemployment rate was 7.1%. Inflation projections, according to the Labor Department’s projected Consumer Price Index, are for a 0.6 percent decline in prices this year and 1.6 percent increase in 2010. The Bloomberg economic survey for 2009 is less than the 2 percent forecast for next year. So, the assumed Misery Index is 7.7 right now. Remember that marker.
In 2008, the average was 3.8% and the high was 5.6% in July and the unemployment rate was 6.0% in the third quarter for a total of 11.6%. So, if you believe the Labor Department's projection for 2009, President Bush had a 11.6 Misery Index and President Obama is looking forward to a Misery Index of 7.7. Time will tell.
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