Ray Jay wrote:Steve:Meanwhile, all the fat cats (those making $250K) are flitting about in their private jets:
There's an interesting dance going on here. Obama wants to raise taxes in 3 ways:
1. Limit the deductibility of private jets.
2. Reduce favorable tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
3. Limit deductions for individuals making more than $250,000 per year.
Obama emphasizes only the 1st two in his talk.
Now the Republicans have to respond. What they could say is that they agree with Obama on #s 1 and 2. However, they are reluctant to say that because of political concerns. This enables Obama to get away with his simplifying description.
Instead, the Republicans say no tax increases and enable Obama to blame them for the deadlock. I think the Republicans are going to have to give in on #s 1 and 2 or they will lose the PR battle.
I have a slightly different take.
On 1:
Just a few months after lawmakers scolded auto executives for flying to Washington in private jets, Congress approved a tax break in the stimulus package to help businesses buy their own planes.
The incentive -- first used to help plane makers recover from the 2001 terror attacks -- sharply reduces the up front tax bill for companies who buy assets like business planes.
The aviation industry, which is cutting jobs as it suffers from declining shipments and canceled orders, hopes the tax break in the economic-stimulus bill just signed by President Barack Obama will persuade more companies to buy planes and snap a slump in general aviation that began last year.
In other words, to "stimulate" the economy, encouraging private jet building was seen as a good investment. Now that the planes are built, Obama wants to punish people for using them--and has highlighted it (mentioning it 6x in that presser).
2. What will happen when those breaks are removed? Will oil and gas companies simply eat the loss? Of course not, they'll pass it on to consumers. But wait, didn't the President just release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve sans the supposedly requisite "emergency?" Why was that? Oh yeah, to reduce prices. So, now, he wants the prices to go up again?
3. Actually, I think it's couples making $250K a year and individuals making $200K a year--depending on where you live, that's not exactly "millionaire and billionaire" territory.
However, taken together, those revenues would be what? I would be shocked if they even approached $100B a year.
I disagree with you that this somehow puts pressure on Republicans. They should do the math--it's a trifling sum--and ask Obama how he's going to cut a trillion a year in spending. I saw Krauthammer say the first two, projected over one hundred years, are equal to the deficit . . . from February of this year.
The President said leaders need to lead.
We're still waiting for you, Mr. President, to lead.