America's tax problem- What is the freaking problem? Also Socialism in America takes a hit!j

[Kantor]

Aielyn said:

Kantor said:
Okay, granted, the tax increases are less severe than what would have taken place over the fiscal cliff, but they are still there, and Congress will have to go through this whole fiasco again in two months because they still haven't cut spending.

And the2real4mafol's signature is full of leaves.

Spurgeonryan's has quite a few as well.

 

The vast majority of Americans didn't get a tax increase. Less than 1% of Americans earn over $400,000 a year. That's a pretty big difference from every American that earns a wage getting a tax increase. And in fact, the tax increase that was set to happen was built into the Bush tax cuts, and delayed by Obama for a couple of years after that. So in fact, it's a permanent (that is, without a time limit) tax cut for everyone (yes, even those earning over $400,000 a year - look into the mathematics of how taxes work). It's a matter of high comedy that you Americans have let the Republicans convince you that this is somehow a massive tax increase by Obama.

As for spending cuts, it's not like they've cancelled them. They're just delayed by two months, because apparently, they realised that more dealing was needed to actually come to a suitable compromise, and since spending is such a snarl of issues, it'll take more than a couple of nights to actually address it.

Oh, and as for leaves, I have display of signatures turned off, so for me, the picture you posted is the first sign of leaves, as far as I can see.

Yes, thank you, I am aware of how progressive taxation works.

And the partial expiry of the Bush tax cuts isn't what I was referring to. To quote directly from the BBC article:

However, the deal did also allow some tax rises to go ahead, namely:

• the expiry of a payroll tax holiday, expected to raise $95bn in additional annual revenue
• allowing the Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning over $400,000 to come to an end, with the top rate increasing from 35% to 40%
• higher taxes on dividend income, capital gains and inheritance for these same top earners
• phasing out certain income tax deductions for individuals earning more than $200,000

The first is certainly a tax increase on everyone.

And yes, they'll have to get around to cutting spending eventually, but they postponed it for a year and a half back in 2010, and now they're doing it for another two months. How long can they keep kicking this can down the road? Will they still be passing bills to delay spending cuts by six months at a time ten years from now?