Mistake to raise taxes on so-called wealthy?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama is making it perfectly clear. He wants the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire. By his definition, "wealthy" translates as couples making more than $250,000 a year or individuals making more than $200,000.
Speaking in Cleveland earlier today - the president said the country can not afford the $700 billion price tag associated with these tax cuts over the next 10 years. He says tax rates for the wealthy should go back to what they were under President Clinton.
However, Mr. Obama does want the tax cuts to be made permanent for middle class Americans, or those making less than $250,000.
Of course, given the shaky economy and the president's sagging poll numbers - it's not clear he will get what he wants here.
Critics suggest that letting the Bush tax cuts expire, even only for the wealthy, could be "a blow to a very fragile economy." Some Republicans want a permanent extension of all the Bush tax cuts. And Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner was out today ahead of the president's speech calling for a two-year freeze of all tax rates.
So what do most Americans think? A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows 51 percent of those surveyed say the tax cuts should be continued only for families making less than $250,000. 31 percent say they should be continued for all Americans, and 18 percent say the tax cuts should expire for all Americans.
Here’s my question to you: In our weakened economy, is it a mistake to raise taxes on the so-called wealthy?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Taxing basics like food to fill local budget shortfalls?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Phoenix, Arizona has approved a two percent sales tax on food. The city has a $240 million budget shortfall. So instead of laying off city workers, they have decided to tax people on what they eat. This is getting ridiculous.
It's estimated the tax on everything from milk to meat to vegetables will bring in tens of millions of dollars a year.
The tax is scheduled to last five years. The mayor says the city council could reverse its decision after hearing from the public in upcoming budget meetings.
Phoenix had been at risk of cutting close to 1,400 jobs - including 500 police and firefighters - along with closing libraries, senior centers and after-school programs.
Supporters of the tax say it's critical to keep emergency responders on the streets; and it can mean the difference between life and death. You could make the argument that eating also means the difference between life and death.
Guess who gets hit the hardest with a tax on food? The working poor, seniors and others on fixed incomes.
This tax will cause even more pain for the people of Phoenix during an already difficult economic time. Grocery shop owners worry what the food tax might do to their bottom line.
There's already an 8.3 percent sales tax on non-food items at grocery stores; and two percent of that goes to the city. But Phoenix wants more...
Here’s my question to you: Is taxing a basic necessity like food the answer to filling local budget shortfalls?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Gas Tax Hike?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Prices at the pump could be headed higher, but don't blame Big Oil or OPEC this time.
A transit panel set up by congress is proposing a huge hike in gasoline taxes - by as much as forty cents a gallon over five years. The money would be used to repair aging roadways and bridges and ease congestion on highways. The National Surface Transportation Policy And Revenue Study Commission suggests raising the current tax of about 18 cents a gallon for unleaded gas about 5 to 8 cents a year, for 5 years. The tax would then be adjusted for inflation.
The panel was set-up following that bridge collapse in Minneapolis to give recommendations on how to fix U.S. roads, ports and mass transit systems.
It is estimated the cost of doing all this work would be $225 billion a year for the next fifty years... Which means we'll probably do the same thing we've been doing for the last 50 years when it comes to maintaining our infrastructure... Mostly nothing. So here's the question: Should the gasoline tax be raised by 40 cents a gallon over five years to pay for improvements and repairs to the nation's infrastructure?
Here’s my question to you: Should the gasoline tax be raised by 40 cents a gallon over five years to pay for improvements and repairs to the nation's infrastructure?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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