XPost: uk.politics.misc   
   From: kingkongg@iglou.com   
      
   "Pedophile Rich Anderson of Newmarket Ontario"    
   wrote in message news:Xns9FE4E8220826Cew@94.75.214.39   
   > n State of the Union, Obama renews call for tax hike on wealthy   
   > konrad yakabuski   
   >   
   >   
   > Reprising a tactic used by iconic Democratic presidents Franklin   
   > Roosevelt and Harry Truman, President Barack Obama is proposing   
   > wide-ranging measures aimed at ensuring a "fair shot" for all   
   > Americans by attacking the roots of U.S. income inequality.   
   >   
   > In his final State of the Union address before he faces voters this   
   > fall, a newly combative Mr. Obama called Tuesday for a major overhaul   
   > of the U.S. tax code to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay at least   
   > 30 per cent of their income in taxes.   
   >   
   >   
   > "Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires," Mr. Obama said.   
   > "You can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a   
   > billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most   
   > Americans would call that common sense."   
   >   
   > The speech - which included proposals to revitalize U.S.   
   > manufacturing, help distressed homeowners and invest more in green   
   > energy, infrastructure and job training - laid out the themes of Mr.   
   > Obama's re-election pitch against a Republican opposition hostile to   
   > government intervention, income redistribution and tax increases.   
   >   
   > "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of   
   > people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get   
   > by," the President said, "or we can restore an economy where everyone   
   > gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays   
   > by the same set of rules."   
   >   
   > Mr. Obama's speech came just hours after his possible GOP rival in   
   > November, Mitt Romney, released tax filings showing the onetime   
   > corporate buyout mogul and his wife paid an overall tax rate of less   
   > than 15 per cent on income of $42.5-million in 2010 and 2011. Mr.   
   > Obama and his wife paid a rate of 26 per cent on 2010 income of   
   > $1.7-million.   
   >   
   > "When I get tax breaks I don't need and the country can't afford, it   
   > either adds to the deficit or somebody else has to make up the   
   > difference - like a senior on a fixed income, or a student trying to   
   > get through school, or a family trying to make ends meet," the   
   > President said. "That's not right."   
   >   
   > The cornerstone of Mr. Obama's "fair shot" proposals - which recall   
   > Mr. Roosevelt's New Deal and the Fair Deal of Mr. Truman - is the   
   > so-called Buffet Rule that would set a minimum 30-per-cent tax rate   
   > for millionaires. The idea was inspired by billionaire Warren   
   > Buffett, who lamented that he paid a lower effective tax rate than   
   > his secretary.   
   >   
   > While Mr. Obama first floated the Buffett Rule several months ago, he   
   > used Tuesday's speech before a television audience of as many as 50   
   > million Americans to provide the specifics of his proposal, which   
   > faces an icy reception from Republicans in Congress.   
   >   
   > Currently, lower tax rates on capital gains, dividends and interest   
   > payments - which account for a large share of income earned by the   
   > wealthy - mean the richest Americans often pay proportionally less in   
   > taxes than their middle-class counterparts.   
   >   
   > For instance, a worker earning between $35,000 and $85,000 in salary   
   > pays a marginal tax rate of 25 per cent, in addition to a Social   
   > Security payroll tax of 4.2 per cent. The rate on capital gains, the   
   > primary source of Mr. Romney's income, is only 15 per cent.   
   >   
   > Mr. Obama's tax proposals stand in stark contrast to those of GOP   
   > front- runners Newt Gingrich and Mr. Romney, setting the scene for an   
   > epochal election battle fought over the size and role of government.   
   >   
   > Mr. Gingrich would eliminate all taxes on capital gains, effectively   
   > reducing the tax rate on many of the wealthiest Americans, including   
   > Mr. Romney, to zero. Mr. Romney would eliminate capital-gains taxes   
   > for American households making less than $200,000.   
   >   
   > Mr. Obama described his proposals as "a blueprint for an economy   
   > that's built to last." But in a "prebuttal" to the speech, Mr. Romney   
   > delivered a critique of the President's policies that accused him of   
   > "building a European-style welfare state."   
   >   
   > Instead, Mr. Romney reiterated his plan to "cut, cap and balance" the   
   > federal budget, permanently extend Bush-era tax rates for the wealthy   
   > that are set to expire at the end of 2012, and accelerate the   
   > construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas.   
   >   
   > House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's guest list for the   
   > President's speech included four people whose livelihoods depend on   
   > the pipeline's approval, underscoring "Republicans' commitment to   
   > keep pushing for the Keystone project and the 20,000 shovel-ready   
   > jobs that go with it."   
      
   Mr Obama noted that there many more millionaires today.   
   Some idiot pundit said the middle class is not progressing at all.   
   So where do all those new millionaires come from?   
   Illegal immigrants maybe?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)