gdp's Comments

Florida Sentinel Bulletin : Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:50:28 +0000

Tammy Frisbee of the Hoover Institute told Engage America that the decision to uphold the ACA will cost taxpayers "hundreds of billions of dollars through the ACA's creation of a huge entitlement program of insurance subsidies, a massive expansion of Medicaid, and other new taxes on income, savings, and investment" http://eng.am/Ljob3J

Daily Camera.com: : Guest column: Key questions for candidates on debt - Boulder Daily Camera

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:04:28 +0000

A Bowles-Simpson type “grand bargain,” which leaves no sacred cows untouched, is the best way to get our economy back on track.

Daily Camera.com: : Joe Dion: What\'s a trillion? - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 1 Jun 2012 02:23:24 +0000

Florida Sentinel Bulletin : Pres. Obama Plunges Into Campaign, Tears Into Romney

Mon, 7 May 2012 20:55:54 +0000

If we are serious about reigning in government spending, then tax breaks for special interests must go. Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center points out, tax breaks fail the duck test, “If it looks like spending and quacks like spending, it is spending– even it resides in the Internal Revenue Code.” http://bit.ly/GVrWuY Who has heard of a tax break they didn't love? In order to right the ship we need to share some sacrifices, starting with tax breaks.

Daily Camera.com: : Kathleen Brewer: Taxes are not a bad thing - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 7 May 2012 14:16:08 +0000

The real problem with capital gains is the treatment of “carried interest.” The carry allows private equity managers overseeing an investment deal to receive their compensation as tax-advantaged capital gains instead of as salary, which is taxed as ordinary income. http://bit.ly/xsYfBg As the Daily Finance's Bruce Watson explains “The money wasn't generated from income that he had already paid tax on. Think of it as being sort of like a tip skimmed off the top of all the money that his company makes for its investors.” http://aol.it/z9mdIZ So instead of saying the rich need to pay more, we need to be overhauling the tax code using a Bowles-Simpson like plan so that it promotes economic growth and collects the required amount of revenue to support the needs of our country.

Daily Camera.com: : GOP backs off big cuts to Medicare, Medicaid - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:30:43 +0000

If we are serious about bringing government spending under control then removing tax breaks is the first place we should start. Without a doubt tax breaks are a form of government spending. As Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center points out, tax breaks fail the duck test, “If it looks like spending and quacks like spending, it is spending– even it resides in the Internal Revenue Code.” http://bit.ly/GVrWuY Removing a few tax breaks is only the first step in the right direction. Americans deserve full scale tax reform along the lines of the Bowles-Simpson plan, which would increase tax fairness and corporate competitiveness by lowering the marginal rate and removing tax expenditures. http://bit.ly/noTDPF

Daily Camera.com: : GOP derails Senate \'Buffett rule\' taxes on wealthy - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:37:53 +0000

The real problem with our tax system is the treatment of “carried interest.” The carry allows private equity managers overseeing an investment deal to receive their compensation as tax-advantaged capital gains instead of as salary, which is taxed as ordinary income. http://bit.ly/xsYfBg The reason I am not in favor of the Buffett Rule is that it wouldn't do anything to fix this problem specifically; it would just put a band-aid over it, and a very flimsy one at that. http://bit.ly/IGp8od Instead of saying the rich need to pay more, we need focus on overhauling the tax code using a Bowles-Simpson like plan so that it promotes economic growth and collects the required amount of revenue to support the needs of our country.

Daily Camera.com: : Ron Gager: We are carrying Mitt Romney\'s tax burden - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:09:28 +0000

Romney did pay a very low tax rate and that is because he makes most of his money as capital gains/carried interest which is currently taxed at 15%. But that does not mean that 29% is a trojan horse, it is very much the average federal tax rate millionaires pay. http://bit.ly/yyLJDp The real problem is the treatment of “carried interest.” The carry allows private equity managers overseeing an investment deal to receive their compensation as tax-advantaged capital gains instead of as salary, which is taxed as ordinary income. http://bit.ly/xsYfBg As the Daily Finance's Bruce Watson explains “The money wasn't generated from income that he had already paid tax on. Think of it as being sort of like a tip skimmed off the top of all the money that his company makes for its investors.” http://aol.it/z9mdIZ So instead of saying the rich need to pay more we need to be overhauling the tax code using a Bowles-Simpson like plan so that it promotes economic growth and collects the required amount of revenue to support the needs of our country.

Big Government : The Obama White House Is Campaign Central

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:44:39 +0000

It is a sad time when political tactics outweigh the importance of getting the American economy back in working order. http://nyti.ms/wgYE2J Far and away, Bowles-Simpson is the most sensible deficit reduction proposal floating around Capitol Hill. If Congress had implemented the Bowles-Simpson plan when it was first proposed then the tax code would already be simpler, fairer, and better suited to support economic growth. http://bit.ly/noTDPF A Bowles-Simpson “grand bargain,” which leaves no sacred cows untouched, is the best place to start getting our economy back on track.

Big Government : Election Year Bamboozle: Obama Tries to Fake It on Corporate Taxes and ObamaCare

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:34:10 +0000

Giving manufacturers a lower tax rate than other industries gives the tax code an ability it shouldn't have, the ability to pick winners and losers. Another problem with the corporate tax reform proposal is that it would put a minimum tax on foreign profits. This change would move the U.S. in the opposite direction of how our international trading partners treat foreign income. Experts agree that these are not the types of reforms Congress should make to the corporate tax code. http://bit.ly/wkIlN5

Big Government : Obama: Lower Corporate Tax Rate Will Boost Job Creation

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:04:17 +0000

Some of the reform the President proposes makes sense (like reducing the tax rate), but other components do not. The first problem is that the proposal calls for adding some special-interest tax breaks to the tax code (giving manufacturer’ a lower tax rate) which only leads to more tax unfairness. The second problem is that by putting a minimum tax on foreign profits, the US would be moving in the opposite direction of how our international trading partners treat foreign income. Experts agree that these are not the types of changes Congress should make to the corporate tax code. http://bit.ly/wkIlN5 The most sensible way to reform the corporate tax code is by rebuilding it from scratch using the Bowles-Simpson plan as a guideline. With Bowles-Simpson type reform Congress can simplify the tax code, improve fairness, and spur economic growth by increasing the competitiveness of US companies. http://bit.ly/noTDPF

Daily Camera.com: : AP source: Obama seeks corporate tax rate cut to 28 percent - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:43:57 +0000

Daily Camera.com: : Congress sends payroll tax cut to Obama - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:39:23 +0000

This payroll tax holiday is just a political maneuver which won't solve our long-term jobs problem because tax holidays don't work. http://eng.am/zVZZPI Many economists, including Bruce Bartlett and Howard Gleckman, have said that this payroll tax holiday is not the best way to solve our long-term problem. http://nyti.ms/qu39cL The biggest reason the payroll tax holiday is poor policy is that it is not specifically targeted to those with the most need; higher income earners also receive the tax cut. http://bit.ly/uvIDMJ Not only will this temporary tax cut become be a problem for years to come, but promoting continued reduced payment into Social Security is the same as telling people it’s a good idea to borrow from their retirement and spend the money now. http://onforb.es/tfw4BN

Daily Camera.com: : Top bargainers announce payroll tax cut deal - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:43:43 +0000

The bottom line is that economists like Howard Gleckman and Bruce Bartlett agree that extending the “temporary” payroll tax holiday is not the best way to stimulate the economy because it is poorly targeted and won’t be paid for. http://bit.ly/uvIDMJ According to this chart from Ezra Klein, the 2011 payroll tax cut only accounted for 0.2% of growth in GDP last year. http://wapo.st/vJuYMH If last year’s payroll tax cut only raised GDP by 0.2% in a year how can economists like Mark Zandi argue that extending the payroll tax holiday for another year will increase GDP by a whole 1%? http://bit.ly/wetadR Would extending the payroll tax holiday for 2012 really will have differing effects on economic growth? Not likely. http://eng.am/zVZZPI

Breitbart.com : House GOP have backup on payroll tax

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:39:34 +0000

The bottom line is that economists like Howard Gleckman and Bruce Bartlett agree that extending the “temporary” payroll tax holiday is not the best way to stimulate the economy because it is poorly targeted and won’t be paid for. http://bit.ly/uvIDMJ Also, according to this chart from Ezra Klein, the 2011 payroll tax cut only accounted for 0.2% of the 1% growth in GDP due to personal consumption. http://wapo.st/vJuYMH If last year’s payroll tax cut only raised GDP by 0.2% in a year how can economists like Mark Zandi argue that extending the payroll tax holiday for another year will increase GDP by a whole 1%? http://bit.ly/wetadR Would extending the payroll tax holiday for 2012 really will have differing effects on economic growth?

Big Government : New Congressional Budget Office Numbers Once Again Show that Modest Spending Restraint Would Elimina

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:31:03 +0000

At the report briefing, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf said that the longer Congress waits to determine the best course of action, the worse off the economy gets. Elmendorf also said that huge increases in taxes or deep spending cuts would severely hamper economic growth in the near future. The best policy Congress could choose to implement would be the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan. Not only would the plan both raise revenue and cut spending, but it would also simplify the tax code, improve fairness, increase U.S. competitiveness abroad, and spur economic growth. http://bit.ly/noTDPF

Big Government : State of the Union Open Thread

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:21:24 +0000

While the President made some fair points in the State of the Union, he suggested nothing in the way of a long-term economic plan, which is why he left many economists and tax experts unsatisfied. http://onforb.es/yKwumo The only suggestions the President did make were to create a slew of temporary tax breaks for particular industries which economists, like Howard Gleckman, say only help the tax code pick winners and losers. http://onforb.es/xL0ltO Even in this political climate the best path forward is to establish a long-term economic plan with tax reform a central component. The Bowles-Simpson plan does just that by simplifying the tax code, improving fairness and spurring economic growth. http://bit.ly/noTDPF

Big Government : The Cato Institute Fact-Checks, Responds to President Obama's State-of-the-Union Address

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:14:50 +0000

Daily Camera.com: : State of the Union: Obama says American dream in peril, fast action needed - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:47:16 +0000

Daily Camera.com: : Virtual Editorial Board: The State of the Union - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:02:51 +0000