IF I DIDN’T KNOW BETTER, I WOULD THINK HE WAS TRYING TO LOSE THE ELECTION!
Let’s see, just lost a house seat held by the Democrats for the past 88 years. Lost the “no way we can lose” Ted Kennedy senate seat. Lost the house in the last election in a huge way. Lost the New Jersey governorship. Poll numbers are way down. Leadership numbers are way down. The Jewish vote is running away. Independents are out of here. Unemployment is way up. Poverty is way up. Deficits have exploded. The tea party is created. Our debt has been downgraded. His own party is telling him no. His own party is writing op-eds for him not to run. What is a President to do? Yes…come up with the most onerous tax and spend plan one can possibly come up with. So onerous that when the Dems had both houses, they would not have even put this bill to a vote. And you do recall that all these tax proposals were floated during the two years the Dems had unfettered power? So onerous that Dem leaders are tabling it while the President says it must be passed now. So onerous that the Dems know if passed, they are even more toast next November. So why? Why would the President propose this bill knowing his own side doesn’t want it…knowing it has zero chance? One could say it is to use as leverage in the next election. But as I stated, many Dems are completely against it which will provide cover for the other party. So why?
IT’S WHO THE MAN WAS, IS AND WILL BE!
I was told many times to give this President a chance. Just because this President put out an $800 billion stimulus after saying he would not treat taxpayer dollars as monopoly money, I was supposed to give him a chance. I knew better. I knew his thoughts. I knew his past relationships. This President just likes spending and likes high taxes. This President likes regulations. This President likes control. Just remember my thesis on him…spend us into oblivion first…tax later. So we head into an election year…and what does he propose?
ANOTHER $450 billion in spending…in addition to the $800 billion…in addition to the $400 billion…in addition to all the deficit spending…and for what?
Infrastructure? What happened to all the infrastructure spending from the first stimulus? I guess it just wasn’t that important because there is plenty of that money still unspent. Of course, only now is it finally important. In case you did not know, there are already dozens of transportation programs to pay for this. There are zillions of toll roads to pay for this. You know what I am talking about NYC. How about all the diverted transportation money that now goes to museums and such instead of roads?
School construction? If this is so important, why was this rejected by the Democrats in the last stimulus bill?
Green jobs? Do I need to tell you about the recent scandal that is just blowing up?
I can go on but it would be overkill. The President proposes to pay for all this with a litany of additional taxes…and this does not even include what is going to be called the “Buffett Rule!” Since I like Mr. Buffett so much, I am not going to go there anymore. I almost feel bad for Mr. Buffett that he is now being used to try confiscate more dollars to pay for this President’s inefficient and over-the-top spending ways. Imagine, policies that have put this country on its back with deficits as far as the eyes can see…deficits that would take almost 8 years of taxpayer dollars to pay off…yet let’s wash, rinse and repeat. He cannot be this crazy. Taking hundreds of billions more out of the economy to pay for things that just do not work in creating anything and have never ever shown to work is insane.. Lowering deductions for charitable giving? How is that going to go over? Why would he even go there? Why make more people angry? Why affect the soup kitchens, the foundations and all the good work charities provide?
The good news is that this plan is DOA. Frankly, in order to be dead, you had to be alive at one time. I just don’t get it. I don’t get it at all and from what I am seeing, even the friends of this President don’t get it.
So what gives? Is he just trying to lose the election and move on to the ‘I am going to make a zillion dollars giving speeches and writing books” routine? There cannot be any other answer…can there?
Gary Kaltbaum owns Kaltbaum Capital Management, LLC (“KCM”), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The opinions expressed herein are those of Mr. Kaltbaum and may not reflect those of KCM. The information offered in this publication is general information that does not take into account the individual circumstances, financial situation or individual needs of an investor. The information herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we cannot assure its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Any reference to past performance is not to be implied or construed as a guarantee of future results.
I like the idea of the Buffet Rule, just not the implementation of it. If the problem is that Buffet’s secretary pays a higher tax rate on income than he does on capital gains, then let’s LOWER the income tax rates! Alternatively, since taxes on dividends is really double taxation, lower the corporate tax rates dramatically and raise the dividend and capital gains tax rates a similar percentage so that dividends are now taxed at a similar rate to income but the total taxes paid are about the same. The companies will post bigger profits after taxes, and distribute more of those profits to shareholders, which will then be taxed at a higher rate than before. Then Buffett can feel better about paying a higher personal tax rate without changing the amount of money the Government takes in. Another alternative, people could just understand that taxing dividends (or the estate tax for that matter) amounts to double taxation and get over it. Salaries are pre-tax expenses for companies, dividends are post-tax expenses. Is that too complicated to understand?
Let Obama keep doing what he’s been doing. It’ll all but ensure he doesn’t get re-elected and almost surely the next leader would do a better job. Then again that’s what we said about Bush.