This isn't the first time the CBO has said this, far from it. This is what hey said would happen to the deficit after the Lameduck Tax Deal was cut:

Beohner, Ryan and the GOP have now made a habit of attacking the CBO, except when they say something they like.

The fact is of course that the CBO has completely trashed their budget proposals and said that rather than eliminating the deficit by 2016 - Ryan's Budget would't even begin to address the deficit until 2021 after massively increasing it with giant tax cuts.

In addition to acknowledging that seniors, disabled and elderly people would be hit with much higher out-of-pocket health care costs, the CBO finds that by the end of the 10-year budget window, public debt will actually be higher than it would be if the GOP just did nothing.

Everything the GOP wants to do about the Debt and the Economy, would make both problems worse, not better.

But the big problem is that doing what the CBO suggests- which, again, IS NOTHING - isn't even on the table.

The CBO projection is based on elimination of all of the Bush Tax Cuts, not just those for people making over $250,000 but Everyone. In order to meet his long held pledge that he would not raise taxes on the middle-class, the law needs to be change and those cuts extended for those who continue to struggle to make ends-meet and find decent paying jobs. But further, to reach the level of balance the CBO suggests without raising these taxes we would need to add even higher taxes for the wealthy, possibly including even higher tax brackets far about 39%, even 42% or 45% brackets for those making $500,000 or more than $1 Million per year.

For those who argue doing this will put the breaks on the economic recovery, I have several questions.

1) Why didn't that happen in 1993 when President Clinton and Congress raised the Top Marginal Rate to 39% in the first place, which resulted in 22 Million Jobs and a Budget Surplus?

2) Why didn't raising taxes hurt the Economy when Reagan did it and the top marginal tax rate was 50%?

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3) Tax Rates are already at their lowest point in 50 Years - lower even than during Reagan - why isn't that working to "explode the economy" yet?

3) U.S. Corporations have just made the third quarter of record breaking profits in a row - you don't think they can afford another 3%-5% in taxes they aren't even paying?

American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or noninflation-adjusted terms.

(Reuters) - Most U.S. and foreign corporations doing business in the United States avoid paying any federal income taxes, despite trillions of dollars worth of sales, a government study released on Tuesday said. The Government Accountability Office said 72 percent of all foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2005. More than half of foreign companies and about 42 percent of U.S. companies paid no U.S. income taxes for two or more years in that period, the report said.

4) Since those Corporations and so-called "Job Creators" are clearly doing so well - why aren't they making jobs already? Cowardice?

The last time that any Republican President Balanced a Budget was during Eisenhauer Administration in the 50's and the top marginal tax rate was 90%.

The simple fact is that we Have To Raise Taxes on the Wealthy and the reason is this. All the tax cuts, tax breaks and deductions in the world don't mean anything when base tax rates are low. If your basic tax rate is low at a certain point you can max out on deductions where taking advantage of another deduction for say - hiring U.S. Workers instead of workers overseas - doesn't help anymore because you're effective tax is already Zero.

Anyone whose filled out a tax form knows this.

This is partially why the 17 Tax Cuts for Small Business that have already been enacted haven't been all that effective. Nothing from Nothing, Leaves Nothing.

And right now doing nothing is our best choice, but baring that - lets at least Do No More Harm.

Vyan



Let me just add, since this has survived for a second day that the reason that Eric Canton stormed out of the Debt Ceiling Talks was because Democrats were asking for exactly what I suggested they need to ask for - more money from the Rich.

Democrats want to close tax loopholes that benefit oil companies, and eliminate a tax preference that gives corporate aircraft a friendlier depreciation schedule than commercial aircraft. Additionally, Van Hollen said, Democrats were proposing to phase out tax deductions and certain credits for people making more than $500,000 a year. These would be paired with a reduction in the tax burden on lower earners, by eliminating existing limitations on their deductions. [...]

“The message Republicans sent was…unless we accept their lopsided approach…they’re prepared to tank the economy,” Van Hollen said.

Apparently, they can do math too.