Dems Dig-In on Tax Hike Demands

Dems Intractable in Their Quest for Tax Hikes After Deepening Debt By $3.6 Trillion 

• Democrats have dug in their heels on a deal to raise the debt ceiling by demanding new tax increases. Democrats are demanding these tax increases amidst a weak economy—an idea that no less than President Obama himself said would hurt our economy two years ago.
• Democrats have become defensive, and their heated rhetoric shows that they know their demand for tax increases is unpopular.  
• Democrats maxed out the government credit card by adding $3.6 trillion to the national debt over their two years of one-party reign in Washington. They demanded more spending then, and now they want America’s workers and families pay for it.

BACKGROUND:

Democrats have dug in their heels on a deal to raise the debt ceiling by demanding new tax increases. Democrats are demanding these tax increases amidst a weak economy—an idea that no less than President Obama himself said would hurt recovery two years ago:
“HOYER ON DEBT CEILING: DON’T EXPECT A SINGLE VOTE” WITHOUT TAX HIKES: “The Democratic House leader in charge of counting votes on legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling warned on Monday that he couldn’t guarantee a single vote from his party if revenues weren’t part of the deal. His counterpart on the Republican side echoed that prediction if revenues were part of the deal. …

“A spokesman for Hoyer confirmed that the Maryland Democrat said he could guarantee ‘no Democratic votes on a package without revenues.‘” (Sam Stein, Jennifer Bendery, and Michael McAuliff, “Steny Hoyer on Debt Ceiling: Don’t Expect a Single Vote Without Revenues,” The Huffington Post, 7/11/2011)

DEMOCRAT LEADER PELOSI: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said reductions in ‘tax subsidies’ for companies must be part of any deal to cut the U.S. budget deficit and increase the federal debt ceiling. …
“‘You can’t cut your way out of the deficit,’ California Democrat Pelosi said. ‘You have to have revenue on the table.'” (Alison Fitzgerald,  “Pelosi Says U.S. Debt-Ceiling Deal Must Reduce Tax Subsidies for Companies,” Bloomberg, 6/27/2011)

ASSISTANT DEMOCRAT WHIP JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): “WE CANNOT GET AN AGREEMENT WITHOUT” TAX HIKES. ” ‘We cannot get an agreement without revenues’ being raised, and absent that ‘I don’t think we can get to what our goals are,’ Clyburn said on Bloomberg Television’s ‘Political Capital with Al Hunt,’ airing this weekend.” (James Rowley, “Clyburn Predicts Last-Minute Debt-Limit Deal to Cut Up to $6 Trillion,” Bloomberg, 5/27/2011)

FLASHBACK: OBAMA IN 2009: “YOU DON’T RAISE TAXES IN A RECESSION.”“Normally, you don’t raise taxes in a recession, which is why we haven’t and why we’ve instead cut taxes. So I guess what I’d say to Scott is – his economics are right. You don’t raise taxes in a recession.” (Stephen Hayes, “Obama vs. Obama,”The Weekly Standard, 7/11/2011)

Democrats have become defensive, and their heated rhetoric shows that they know their demand for tax increases is unpopular:

SLATE: OBAMA “ACTIVELY ANTAGONIZING” GOP: “[Obama] is trying to convince House Republicans to agree to something their supporters will hate with someone they hate—and he’s adding to the degree of difficulty by actively antagonizing them.” (John Dickerson, “Guilt Trip: Obama Tries to Persuade Republicans to Support a Deal on the Debt Ceiling by Shaming Them,” Slate, 7/11/2011)

OBAMA: GOP USING DEBT CEILING AS “A GUN AGAINST THE HEADS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO EXTRACT TAX BREAKS FOR CORPORATE JET OWNERS.” “Here’s the more basic point. Never in our history has the United States defaulted on its debt. The debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners or oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars…” (Remarks from President Obama, Twitter Town Hall, 7/6/2011)

SEEKING POLITICAL COVER, OBAMA SAYS HIS TAX HIKES WON’T TAKE PLACE UNTIL 2013, AFTER HE SEEKS RE-ELECTION: “That is a reasonable proposition. So when you hear folks saying, well, the President shouldn’t want massive, job-killing tax increases when the economy is this weak — nobody is looking to raise taxes right now. We’re talking about potentially 2013 and the out-years.” (“Press Conference by the President,” The White House, 7/11/2011)

Democrats maxed out the government credit card by adding $3.6 trillion to the national debt over their two years of one-party reign in Washington. They demanded more spending then, and now they want America’s workers and families pay for it:

DEMOCRATS INCREASED DEBT BY $3.6 TRILLION IN TWO YEARS: “In January 2009, the national debt stood at $10.6 trillion. Fueled by the so-called stimulus, this debt grew by $3.6 trillion in just two years. The magnitude of this amount is difficult to grasp without a comparison. Under Mr. Obama, government has been borrowing $4.6 billion each and every day. That’s more than it cost to construct the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. In other words, the amount of future productivity being sapped from the American economy would be sufficient to construct a new 160-story skyscraper every day of the year.” (Editorial, “Obama Spending Hits New Records,” The Washington Times, 3/8/2011)

AND OBAMA’S TREASURY LOST TRACK OF HOW MUCH DEBT CHINA OWNS:“When the Treasury Department revamped its rules for participating in government bond auctions two years ago, officials said they were simply modernizing outdated procedures.

“The real reason for the change, a Reuters investigation has found, was more serious: The Treasury had concluded that China was buying much more in U.S. government debt than was being disclosed, potentially in violation of auction rules, and it wanted to bring those purchases into the open – all without ruffling feathers in Beijing. …

“The incident calls into question just how clear a handle the Treasury has had on who is buying U.S. debt.Chinese entities hold at least $1.115 trillion in U.S. government debt, and are thought to account for roughly 26 percent of the paper issued by Washington, according to U.S. government data released on June 15.” (Emily Flitter, “U.S. Caught China Buying More Debt than Disclosed,” Reuters,6/30/2011)

NO WONDER ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA’S HANDLING OF BUDGET DEFICITS: “Another ominous sign for Obama: By nearly 2-1, voters disapprove of how he’s handling the federal budget deficit, expected to hit a record $1.5 trillion this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.” (Dave Lichtman, “Poll: Approval of Obama on Economic Policy Hits New Low,”McClatchy News, 6/28/2011)