White House photo
Warren Buffett and President Obama in the Oval Office.
The U.S. House of Representatives has a lengthy to-do list. Among the measures the chamber has to tackle before the end of the year is the farm bill, the Violence Against Women Act, postal reform, the soon-to-expire wind tax credit, and trying to avoid a dangerous fiscal cliff. Instead of rolling up their sleeves, however, House Republicans have decided to wrap up early and go home.
But before they go, the GOP majority has a couple of cheap stunts to vote on instead of real work.
The House on Wednesday passed Republicans' own version of the Buffett Rule, which allows wealthy Americans to voluntarily pony up to reduce the deficit.
The bill, labeled the Buffett Rule Act, passed by voice vote, meaning Democrats and Republicans agreed with it. Under the legislation, which would still need Senate approval, taxpayers could check a box on their taxes and send in a check for more than they owe to the IRS.
"If Warren Buffett and others like him truly feel they're not paying enough in taxes, they can use the Buffett Rule Act to put their money where their mouth is and voluntarily send in more to pay down the national debt, rather than changing the entire tax code to inflict more job-killing tax hikes on hard-working Americans," said Rep. Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who wrote the bill.
It's worth emphasizing a nagging detail: the law already allows Americans to send the Treasury extra money to pay down the debt. Yesterday's stunt made Republicans feel better about themselves, but instead of real work, they tackled a symbolic gesture to create an opportunity that already exists.
But the larger problem is just as annoying. Republicans, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), keep pushing this notion that the very wealthy who support measures like the Buffett Rule in the interest of tax fairness should just "shut up" and donate to the debt if they so choose.
Let's not lose sight of how deeply foolish this is.
It's not that complicated, but GOP policymakers are still struggling with the basics.
The problem that Buffett and other wealthy people are trying to solve by calling for higher taxes on their class isn't simply that they as individuals would like to be contributing more towards the tax burden, but can't. Rather, the problem as they've identified it is a society-wide one: We need a massive boost in revenues to keep society functioning at acceptable levels and to address profound and intractable fiscal problems that threaten the country's future.
This problem will not be solved if Warren Buffett writes a check. Buffett's point is that the scale of the problem requires his class as a whole to chip in a bit more to solve it.
We're a massive, modern nation with a vast economy, a large debt, and by modern standards, low taxes. We face real challenges, but they're not the kind of challenges individuals can hope to resolve on their own, piecemeal. Whether Republicans understand this or not, we need cooperative solutions built around shared action.
Making additional tax contributions voluntarily -- in other words, asking for a little more only from those willing to pay a little more -- is ridiculous. The wealthy can afford modest tax increases, which in turn can help pay down the debt Republicans pretend to care about, while shielding many of those who can least afford to take another hit.
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Well . . . at least the bill had nothing to do with banning abortion. It didn't, did it? Did someone check the amendments?
Congrats on beating Fox News (O'Reilly and Hannity). Props to you and your team. :))))
During the congressional recess, the Capital Building should be done over in a circus theme to truly welcome the clowns back.
Tax reform is a very real issue that nobody seems to want to tackle.
Obama made a mistake in putting Buffett front and center on this however, since he is a notorious tightwad and his company Berkshire Hathway routinely disputes their tax bill so much that they still owe taxes from 2002. It had the unfortunate result of making Buffett the story, and not the tax problem.
"Whether Republicans understand this or not, we need cooperative solutions built around shared action."
Which two words in that sentence are the words the GOTP hate - cooperative and shared! Both words denote socialism, communism, marxism, anti-colonial sentiment. Those words infringe on our "Liberty & Freedom" and cannot be tolerated in the selfishly, me first society that we now live in. /snark
I find myself wondering now whether willingness to share toys as a child could possibly be a predictor of adult social and political preferences.
Empty meaningless gestures are the best Republicans can do. After the elections, the Republicans may regret sitting on their hands and it will be too little too late to redeem themselves. If Dems will control the White House, Senate and House after the elections, they have no reason to cooperate with Republicans who may try to pass bipartisan bills to salvage their image. Dems should bottle up any legislation unless Republicans are going to make big sacrifices that will hurt them with their base. For instance, tax hikes should be the price for any legislation regarding the automatic cuts in spending in January and the Bush tax cuts being renewed. Otherwise, Dems can sit back until January and let the Republicans try to continue obstructing legislation. I don't think they are going to want to do that if they lose the elections so that gives Republicans an incentive in the lame duck session to get contentious legislation passed that will anger their base.
If the Democrats win the House and keep the Senate, they should cancel the lame duck session, let it all run out. The fiscal "crisis" goes over the cliff, which anyone who watches Lawrence knows is a Good Thing, since the Congress comes back and retroactively fixes things with tax cuts the Norquist Rule forces Republicans to vote for.
I would not risk more filibusters unless Reid is ready to go all the way and end them in the new session. The lame duck is the best chance to force Republicans into doing things they do not want to do because it will anger the base, but their rich benefactors may force them to do. That is called "divide and conquer" because it pits two Republican factions against each other and will create more problems for the Republicans as they try to reqroup for midterm elections.
Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), keep pushing this notion that the very wealthy who support measures like the Buffett Rule in the interest of tax fairness should just "shut up" and donate to the debt if they so choose.
Media hero Chris Christie doesn't seem to know that, by definition, if it's voluntary, then it's not a tax.
By the way, what is wrong with our media when a guy who tells people he disagrees with to "shut up" is deemed to be some kind of a political savior?
It is ridiculous and it shows just how Republicans have become plainly stupid.
The Gov't is not a charity!!
USA shouldn't beg for donations to take care of the military,infrastructure,Education etc.
It's worth emphasizing a nagging detail: the law already allows Americans to send the Treasury extra money to pay down the debt.
Kudos to Republicans for, yet again, solving a problem that doesn't exist.
As a citizen of Louisiana, I find it depressing that if you dig into virtually every stupid idea, there is a congress-critter from Louisiana in there somewhere.
I have several good friends who live down there and I keep asking them why they waste their time on the swamp. Let the smart/good people of N'Awlins move out, leave the upstate hillbillies behind, and let another hurricane move in.
And Congress wonders why people think so low of them. Hey guys! It might have something to do with your level of STUPID!!!!!
If republican's lawmaker's are so worried about Warren Buffet,why do'nt they donate a large portion of their undeserved salary to reduce the debt.
"Yesterday's stunt made Republicans feel better about themselves, but instead of real work, they tackled a symbolic gesture to create an opportunity that already exists."
Actually, no. They still have that anxious feeling in the pit of their stomachs. What it did was give them hope that they might have fooled some particularly ignorant inattentive Americans that haven't already sucked in the intoxicating airs of stupidity coming out of the GOP gasbag message masters.
You want to talk about the economy?
Ok CONS, let's do some ARITHMETIC...
First, Name the Obama POLICIES and the AMOUNTS that you say added trillions to the debt.
Then, deduct that amount from the current $16 TRILLION.
The balance = GOP spending.
Remember the following…
Expenses to FIX the GOP unfunded and failed policies like the stimulus are still GOP spending and NOT Obama's fault so DO NOT count those.
INTEREST on the GOP TRILLIONS of debt is NOT for Obama to be responsible for either, it is GOP spending too.
Also, Bailouts are LOANS to repair more GOP screwed up policies, Bush was going to make those FREE as his going away gift to the Banks and Wall Street.
Do not go back before Reagan because there was NO DEBT PROBLEM before that, he took office when the debt had ONE trillion and could have been tackled and fixed with comprehensive tax reform but he did not.
Entitlements are a tiny fraction of the debt and they always bring their own revenues thru premium deductions.
Saying that the Democrats had a “majority” doesn't count either, because we all well know the filibustering, obstructing, uncompromising, DO NOTHING GOP has had the “CONTROL” and those failed policies were drafted by the GOP and all passed with GOP majorities of votes going back to Reagan.
The CONS will NEVER have those numbers on the Democrats because they DO NOT exist.
I bet all you will get from the Fox-Rush-bots is NOTHING but diversions and ridicules.
This is NOT blaming the GOP or BUSH.
This is ARITHMETIC !!!!
Let's not lose sight of how deeply foolish this is.
Is there anything a Republican can do, including suggesting lunch, that is not deeply foolish (given their dietary sensibilities, two double cheeseburgers for the typical "Republican lunch" is deeply stupid)?????
If our government is a la carte, then I want all of my taxes back that went to the Iraq war.