Obama's Plan

President Obama has just released a booklet titled, "The New Patriotism".  In this booklet, complete with some flattering photos of him showing his constant and all-knowing concern for his adoring fans Americans, there are ten sections:  Economy, Manufacturing, Energy, Small Businesses, Education, Tax Plan, Health Care, Retirement and Moving America Forward.   This is his plan for American, if we kindly elect him for another four years.

Here are a few snippets (in red) and, of course, my thoughts.  

President Obama’s policies have helped manufacturing rebound, creating nearly 500,000 jobs in the last 31 months.

We own a small manufacturing business.  I have no idea what policies this is talking about. As far as the increase in jobs, it all depends on private vs government jobs, the timing, and a lot of other tedious factors which, if I listed them all, you and I would both collapse in boredom.  Just know that numbers and stats are easily skewed to make any argument look good.

Obama will strengthen our schools by recruiting 100,000 math and science teachers, training 2 million workers for real jobs at community colleges, and cutting tuition growth in half.

How will he pay for this?  Did you know that whenever the government subsidizes something, its cost will go up?  This includes education.  The rate of increase of college tuitions has far exceeded the rate of inflation.    

By eliminating special loopholes and tax breaks that benefit big business and the wealthiest – as part of a balanced deficit reduction plan that also cuts spending we can’t afford – we can grow our economy without burdening our children and grandchildren with debt. 

Isn't this exactly what Gov. Romney proposed, which Obama criticized for its lack of specifics .... ie. what loopholes?  

President Obama has put forward a specific, balanced plan of spending cuts and revenue increases providing more than $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, without ending guaranteed benefits in Medicare or slashing Social Security. 

In 2008, candidate Obama promised to cut the deficit, which feeds the national debt, in half.  As we all know, the debt has now topped 16 trillion.  So cutting 4 trillion from the deficit over the next decade, doesn't even bring the debt down to the 2008 level.

"I said I would cut taxes for small businesses - who are the drivers and engines of growth - and we've cut them 18 times.  

Again, as a small business owner, we are wondering about those 18 tax cuts.  

Upon taking office, President Obama inherited the largest deficit in history, 

largely caused by putting the costs of two wars on a credit card.

President Obama would commit half of the money saved from responsibly 

ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to reducing the deficit and the other 

half to putting Americans back to work rebuilding roads, bridges, runways, 

and schools here in the United States.

If the cost of the wars was put on a "credit card", then with the end of those wars, how is it that we now have money to spend?   There is no money!   Doesn't this mean that all those roads, bridges, runways, and schools must ALSO go on that credit card?   This is the same rationalization I use when I return a $20 sweater to the store, then use that credit to buy a $20 pair of jeans, and then say that the jeans were free.

President Obama's plan keeps middle-class tax cuts in place and reduces the deficit by finall asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.

The top 1 percent of income earners paid 38.7% of income taxes in 2009, and the top 20 percent paid 94.1%.  This means that 80 percent of the population pay only 5.9% of the nation's income tax.   Is THAT fair?  (If only Steve Jobs had given his money to the government to spend on Solyndra, or the Volt, or entitlement programs, .... instead of building Apple and creating all those darn jobs.)

"Asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes?  Most Americans would call that common sense."

This statement is misleading and our president knows it.  It is the classic apples and oranges comparison.  It does not explain the difference between income tax and capital gains tax.

Income is what we receive in our paychecks.  Capital gains is what we earn by investing our savings.  Those investments -- or in other words -- loans to others for starting new businesses, building homes, or other ventures ..... create jobs.  The returns we receive by investing our savings are capital gains.  If the tax on those returns goes up, money gained from investing goes down and as a result, we are more motivated to just stuff our savings into our mattresses .... so to speak.  Therefore, less money will be circulating and available for lending and growth.

Remember, all savings came from money that was previously earned and taxed as income.  Raising the capital gains tax discourages job growth.  Comparing the billionaire's income tax to the secretary's income tax, the billionaire pays a much higher rate.  Comparing the billionaire's capital gains with the secretary's capital gains, the tax rate is the same.

His statement above, is comparing the billionaire's capital gains tax (apples) to the secretary's income tax (oranges).  

Apparently Obama does not want us to understand this.  Maybe this is because the truth does not help his argument.

If you vote for Barack Obama, you are voting for his plan.  You really ought to read it.

P.S.  Please excuse the screwy font -- spacing, size, etc.  "Blogger" (the site) and I don't always get along.