Professor Michael Graetz of Columbia University recently estimated in the Wall Street Journal that letting the tax cuts expire will cost the U.S. economy $10 billion a month in added withholding from paychecks.
Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips estimates letting the Bush cuts expire could slash “nearly 10 percentage points” from disposable income growth in the first quarter of next year, and nearly two percentage points from GDP in the first half.
With GDP now at a tad above $14 trillion, the impact could be $280 billion or more in the first six months alone.
In short, the higher taxes could very well push us back into recession — at a time when the economy is struggling under 9.6% unemployment with little if any private-sector job growth.
What’s most worrisome is what it will do to the working taxpayer. His or her take-home pay is about to fall, leaving noticeably less to spend and save.
A married couple without children and an annual income of $80,000 would have an added $221 taken from their paycheck every two weeks, the Bloomberg report says, quoting the H&R Block Tax Institute. That jumps to $558 for couples bringing in $240,000.
Data from the Tax Policy Center show even those with modest family incomes would take a hit. For example, a couple with income of $60,000 and four children can expect to pay $130 more every two weeks to Uncle Sam. It doesn’t get much better for those who make just $40,000. They’ll find about $108 more withheld every other week.
Obama likes to spread the wealth around. You don’t mind, do you? He knows so much better than you do how to spread your money around.
Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history.
Gay activists say the estimate of more than 150 appointments so far — from agency heads and commission members to policy officials and senior staffers — surpasses the previous high of about 140 reached during two full terms under President Bill Clinton.
[…]Gay activists, among Obama’s strongest supporters, had hoped he would be the first to appoint an openly gay Cabinet secretary. While that hasn’t happened — yet — Obama did appoint the highest-ranking gay official ever when he named John Berry as director of the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the nation’s 1.9 million federal workers.
Other prominent names include Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Fred Hochberg, chairman of the Export-Import Bank. Obama also named Amanda Simpson, the first openly transgender appointee, as a senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department.
[…]One Obama nominee who met some opposition was Chai Feldblum, a Georgetown University law professor nominated to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Concerned Women for America accused Feldblum of playing “a major role in pushing the homosexual and transsexual agenda on Americans.” Other conservative groups blasted her role in drafting the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a bill that would ban employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Obama is a strong supporter of that legislation.
Obama made Feldblum a recess appointment in March after an anonymous hold in the Senate held up her confirmation for months.
Another target for conservatives was Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, who was named to oversee the Education Department’s Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools. More than 50 House Republicans asked Obama to remove Jennings from the post after reports surfaced about advice he gave more than 20 years earlier after learning a gay student had sex with an older man.
Jennings conceded that he should have consulted medical or legal authorities instead of telling the 15-year-old boy that he hoped he had used a condom. The Obama administration defended Jennings and declined to remove him.
Comments to this post will be strictly filtered in accordance with Obama’s policies on acceptable speech.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday ordered the expropriation of U.S.-based glass maker Owens-Illinois Inc.’s unit in the South American country.
Chavez announced plans to expropriate the company in a televised speech, saying it operates in western Trujillo state.
The leftist leader criticized the company’s practices in the country, saying it had been “taking away the money of Venezuelans” and exploiting local people. Chavez did not detail his complaints about the company.
There was no immediate reaction from the company, based in Perrysburg, Ohio.
Owens-Illinois also has operations throughout Latin America in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and the Caribbean, focusing on the manufacture of glass containers.
It was unclear how the government would handle compensation for the company’s assets in Venezuela.
Chavez has nationalized or expropriated a wide range of companies, including cement makers, retail stores and steel mills, while seeking to lead Venezuela toward a socialist system.
He said in his speech that more expropriations are planned.
“There’s another list around here,” Chavez said, but added that he would save additional announcements for later.
Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack targeted Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez on Tuesday — and ripped into the Obama administration for not standing up to him.
Mack, the ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, noted that Chavez was continuing a world tour to push his country’s oil exportation.
[…]“While Chavez reaches out to nations across the world to explore and refine Venezuelan oil, what is the Obama administration doing?” demanded Mack, who is rumored to be running for the U.S. Senate in 2012. “The administration is failing to protect U.S. national security interests by ignoring the fact that we currently rely upon Venezuela for approximately 10 percent of U.S. oil imports. Instead of strengthening oil reserves or working with important U.S. allies such as Canada – which is well-poised to increase the flow of crude oil to our refineries – the Obama administration has not made it a priority.
“What’s more, as the administration sits idly by, Chavez continues his quest to nationalize key private-sector industries,” continued Mack. “During his trip to Belarus, Chavez announced the nationalization of two gold mines in Venezuela, and just yesterday Chavez announced the expropriation of the local affiliate of U.S.-based glassmaker Owens Illinois. Chavez acknowledged that his government has “a list with more names” of companies in Venezuela that will be expropriated.
“The Obama administration must get serious about dealing with the inherent threat that Chavez poses to our nation and the region,” concluded Mack. “We must take a hard look at our current energy portfolio and invest in energy projects with countries that respect international legal standards. And finally, for the security of our economy and the free market, Congress must support the pending free-trade agreements by passing them without delay.”
Where is Obama? Shouldn’t he be saying something about this?
Hey Obama! I can nationalize more private corporations than you can!
Oh. I guess they are having some sort of communist competition or something. Maybe trying to see whose country can hit 20% unemployment first?
WINTERY KNIGHT 