A lot of the Republican States are also adopting these principals when doing their budgets. They are not being transparent as to where the money is going. It is all very vague. I think our economy is doing bad because prices keep going up but, our paychecks are not going up. We can survive but, we cannot afford to buy any goods that are not a neccesity. More and more though people are having a hard time even surviving. Our focus should be on those people and not on the rich.

"I'm taking less water out of the bucket, but that's okay, because I'm going to seal up some holes in the bucket."

"Which holes?"

"I refuse to say at this time, but trust me, at some time, in the future, I will address those holes."

"Well there's a big hole right here that we could patch easily."

"You socialist! how dare you patch that hole, that hole leaks water to people who deserve it."

"But it seems like they have enough water already."

"Exactly, they already have too much water, so if we give them water, it will trickle down to the people who need it."

"Why can't we just pour some water on the people who need it?"

"You marxist! you have to let the free hand of the market distribute the water."

"But we would be putting the water into the market, we'd just be prioritizing people who really need it, besides, we dumped a huge amount of water on those people who are higher up a couple of years ago."

"That's different, when you give water to people who don't need it, you're investing, but when you give it to people who need it, you're engaging in socialism!."

"You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."

The media/SuperPacs and Congress keep lying about the loopholes. See http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/how-washington-forgot-where-the-buffett-rule-came-from.php?ref=fpa for more info on the 'coverup'. This is the whole problem with fixing this country period. These guys think we don't NEED to have a discussion on ANY issue because they will TELL us how it 'is'...

The corporate elite and privileged super-rich won't pay their fair share in taxes, so they must face accountability. Americans are fed up with the special treatment lavished on Wall Street and the One Percent by our elected lawmakers while the hard-working folks of this country are called names, insulted, and forced to take the brunt of "deficit reduction." Wall Street gets government bailouts and record profits while real Americans are laid off and have the government benefits long promised to them ripped away. http://www.sunstateactivist.org

The biggest loophole is the one that allows 50% of Americans to PAY NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX AT ALL!

(now that I have your attention, that is Ryan's complaint, not mine.)

The more decent paying jobs, the more people making enough to pay taxes. Florida has no state income tax that might inconvenience the wealthy. Instead they nearly doubled the cost of driver's licenses and auto registration and state ids. This harms those who can least afford it.

Republicans don't actually believe that no one should ever have their taxes raised. They are perfectly willing to raise taxes on non millionaires by killing the Mortgage Interest Deduction in order to cover the cost of further tax cuts for the top 1%. They also seem terribly interested in locating people who make so little that they don't qualify for income taxes and making them pay too. Because in their minds, "fairness" apparently means that people who make almost nothing should pay more taxes than General Electric.

So this bill the Dems hope to have a vote on early next week will be renamed "The Buffet Rule To Fix The Romney Loophole And Reduce The Ryan Deficit" bill?

"mystery meat" I remember mystery meat - it was an end-of-the week ingredient of a casserole served in the dorm - the casserole bowl was green so we called it "green pot". Still, you knew it was perfectly good meat - just a left over.

Ryan's unnamed special interest loopholes bring to mind "pink slime" rather than "mystery meat".

States are opening up their taxes for corporations. States are allowing corporations to keep State taxes they collect from their workers. so instead of worker getting options in the company their taxes go toward profits. In NJ 178 million was kept by Goldman, and Verizon, and not paid to the states. Same with the Ryan plan.Keep giving millionaires more tax cuts and talk about closing loopholes. I guarantee that will be ones enjoyed by the middle class. Don't Republicans realize that we have bridges and roads to repair, teachers, fireman, police and essential workers are being laid off. Why?

So the rich can get more!

I'm going to be pedantic, but I think it's important: "Paul Ryan's House Republican budget plan appears to add an additional $5.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade."

I know Steve just made an easily-made boo-boo, but "deficit" should be "debt."

Pedantic post concluded.

DisgustedWithItAll - his plan fits with of my comment in 10.1 - massively increase a company's debt load, then cut employees and or their benefits, sell off divisions (privatize SS etc.), cut maintenance (roads, bridges) in order to cover payments on the debt.

Adam_Selene

As a parent I get a tax credit to offset raising my kids. Now not all adults within child bearing age get this credit just in case they may consider the possibility of having a child eventually. Further, once my children reach the ripe old age of adulthood(17 yrs) it is assumed that I no longer have large child raising costs and my credit ends.

So, why can't we apply that thinking to Businesses and Corporations, why not give them tax credits for running a business here, that hires here, and provides benefits here. If you are hiring outside the US...no credit for you...if you are not building businesses that employ workers and just investing...no credit for you.

Why can the government invent ingenious ways to oversee what the average worker gets credited and whether it should apply but if you are a large corporation raking in millions then you just get the money on the off chance you will actually employ people and invest in economic growth?

Loopholes don't help anyone but the person using them.

There is no way that the special interests are going to allow Congress to close loopholes, particularly those that benefit business. Those loopholes allow companies to pay far less than the effective rates and in some cases get subsidies from the government. If Congress attempted to move to close the loopholes and cut tax rates, the lobbyists would be all over DC. Even if Congress was able to close loopholes and cut tax rates, the lobbyists would begin the process of trying to carve out exceptions in the tax code to exempt income from tax. What is taxable is always defined in the tax code and by creating exemptions from taxable income, the business gets the same effect as a loophole. In effect, business would still have a significantly lower effective tax rate.

Ryan and the Republicans want to continue to shift the tax burden to the middle class and poor by eliminating domestic programs and hiking the taxes. I cannot foresee the wealthy sitting idly by and watch Congress eliminate the difference in tax rates for earned income and income from investments even if the tax rates were lowered. These different tax rates help subsidize the wealthy because they can shield their incomes from the higher rates and the wealthy are not going to give up the preferential rates on investment income. Ultimately, what will come out of a new tax code is a simplified tax code that is still riddled with different rates and treatment of incomes. The wealthy and business community will give up nothing because the "loopholes" will be buried in the statutes by definitions of income.