Geithner: 'Privilege of Being an American' Is Why Rich Need Higher Taxes

Dems got congress in 2007. The last year the Republicans had full control of Congress was 2006 (which happened to be the very peak of the housing bubble).

So lets compare the last year the Republicans had full control of Congress as a baseline with the most recent year, 2011:

Spending - Democrat controlled Congress:
2006 2,655.4
2011 3,601.0

Increase over 5 years: 30.2%

That is a 30% increase over 4 years the Dems had total control over Congeress. A big increase, no doubt, but they've had a financial crises and collapsing economy and the biggest recession in 80 years to deal with and that cost a lot of money.

But enough excuses, right? Surely the fiscally responsible Republicans were *much* better than the spend happy Dems. And they had a decent economic period that didn't require Tarp and bailouts and stimulus and stuff like that. Let's see their model of spending stinginess:

Spending - Republican controlled Congress.
2001 1,862.9
2006 2,472.2
Increase over 5 years: 32.71%

My oh my. What a surprise!

Spending increased faster under the Republican Congress than it did under the Democratic Congress, even with stimulus, recession, financial collapse, bailouts, Tarp, and everything.

And the only reason the debt increased faster is because Clinton left Bush a $236 billion surplus and bush left Obama a trillion dollar deficit, , and an economy tanking straight for a depression.

And here we have a conservative who has the freaking gall to criticize Obama and call him "incompetent" based on his spending?


Bunch of (*)(*)(*)(*)ing hypocrites.

 

Yea, like a crackhead has a "crack problem"...

 

Not the analogy I'd use, but somewhat. We are addicted to low taxes.

 

Yes we DO have a REVENUE problem.

There is no possible way that the USA can take in all the money obama wants to waste.

However if we just want to arrive at a responsible fiscal policy, then our present problem is spending not revenue.

 

Gee....keep thinking about it. It may come to you yet

 

This guy is the biggest disgrace in the history of the Treasury of the united states.

 

Socialism is for the people, not the socialist.

 

Ubama is the greatest creator of debt in our history.

 

How much would you like to pay?

 

Got a link for that?

 

Yea, maybe because its our own money and we want to KEEP IT

 

What I find incredibly funny is that a man with prodigious intelligence such a Timothy Geithner can somehow not think of a tax policy that maximizes revenue while lowering the burden upon all Americans. After all, he is a financial whiz, and a brilliant economic mind specifically in regards to international finance. Either he along with all the other great financial minds have a solution to our tax problems, and they are concealing their cognition for selfish reasons, or they are not as smart as people perceive them to be.

 

2 and 3............

 

I feel the same way. Its amazing to me that with how supposedly "smart" the democrats are, the only thing they can come up with is to throw money at the situation.

economy is bad...throw money at it
schools suck...throw money at them
housing sucks...throw money at it.

I could go on and on, but the fact of the matter is, anyone can throw money at a problem, a real leader finds solutions.

 

I guess Milton Friedman's theories along with self-interest have corrupted my party's technocrats beyond repair. We should have stuck with Keynes, at least he was opposed to structural deficits and debt.

 

And this from a guy who cheated on his taxes...and don't tell me it was someone else's fault.

The guys are stupid but they aren't THAT stupid. You can be sincerely dumb but you know enough to try to keep your own money.

term limits. These guys are corrupt and have been for a long time. power does that. power and unaccountability.

 

Hey, I have an idea. How about we implement a derivatives and securities tax. It increases transparency over the financial sector, regulates these financial products without exorbitant laws, allows government to restore successful financial regulations such as Glass-Steagall while eliminating failed regulations such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act, generate unprecedented federal revenue, eliminate the tax burden on almost every corporation and individual, all while eliminating deficit and debt reduction problems. Sorry, this is too much of a threat to the likes of Geithner, Bernanke, and their Wall Street cronies.

 

I do not think you can attain such a position of power and be so blind to reality. Self-interest has to be the determining factor of Geithner and Co.'s policy recommendations.

 

Of course. The billionaires want to buy a new bigger megayacht and more homes.

So what if our kids are left with billions in debt to deal with?

At least the very richest have gotten a lot richer.

And that's a lot more important, isn't it?

 

Sure: http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/HistoricalBudgetData.xls

 

Maybe the government should quit the spending. Get rid of the 100 or so unconstitutional agencies and unelected bureaucrats. How about we start there? Defund things like NPR, PP, The Endowment of the Arts. Things that have nothing to do with our survival.

 

I agree the Govt needs to trim spending.

Maybe we don't need the 1% to get 4x richer while the Govt goes $15 trillion in debt.

Things that have nothing to do with our survival.

 

Can you read my avatar irie? Now, go away.

 

Did you have anything relevant to add to the discussion, or are you just spouting nonsense as usual?

 

Since the government has no business controlling the legally obtained wealth of it's citizens (let the government confiscate the money they can prove was gotten illegally) it would be wiser for the government to concentrate it's time and energy on controlling what it can (it's unconscionable spending and growth) instead of going after the wealth of others.

But then, if Obama stopped beating his little drum people would stop hating the rich, and they'd start to look at his morally vacuous economic record. And he can't allow that to happen.