Payroll Tax Cut Passes US Senate 89-10 … Will Obama Veto?

The payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits has passed the US Senate 89-10; however, the extension is only for two months. Now President Barack Obama has been put on the hot seat to see whether he is all talk and no action. Obama claimed that he would veto the bill if it contained provisions for the XL Pipeline. Guess what Barack, the Senate Dems caved and the bill contains the Keystone XL Pipeline.

By an 89-10 vote, senators approved the plan as part of a final round of action that will conclude an acrimonious year of legislating in the divided Congress. Seven Republicans, one independent and two Democrats voted against the plan. The House is expected to take up the proposal in the coming days, where some top Republicans have voiced concern about a short-term extension.

The vote came moments after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) conceded that senators did not have an official cost estimate of the plan, an admission that served to underscore the frantic nature of the talks and the much-criticized legislative process employed by this Congress. The Congressional Budget Office later said it would reduce the deficit by $3 billion over the next decade.

So what will President Obama do with regards to the Keystone XL pipeline? Obama claims that he is for job creation, we shall see. The ball is in Obama’s court, so-to speak. How does Obama justify killing 20,000 jobs when he claims to be pro-job creation? Obama always talks about the jobs he has created and saved, as if such a metric was measurable. If Obama kills the Keystone XL pipeline project, we can now track the jobs that Obama has killed.  Heck, I would like to know how Obama and Democrats claim they are for social security and then cut the very funding of it with the payroll tax cut?

Barack Obama & Democrats Drop Millionaires Paying for Extending the Payroll Tax Cut (Update: $1 Trillion Spending Agreement Reached for 2012)

Big Obama and Democrat concession on payroll tax cuts …

What can only be described as a victory by Congressional Republicans and a blow to President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats, Obama and Democrats cave on charging millionaires to pay for extending the payroll tax cut. Controlling just the House, Republicans are dictating the narrative as Obama and Dems caved, some are not surprised and upset with Obama and his Democrat minions. However, what do you expect, the GOP has been saying this for 3 years, Obama is no leader.

In what would be a major concession, President Obama and Senate Democrats will drop their insistence that a surtax on millionaires pay for extending the payroll tax cut, a Democratic source tells CNN. This would be part of a new Democratic offer.

On another note, will the government shut down? Signs point to no, there will most likely be a last second deal avoiding a shutdown.

UPDATE I: Just as we predicted above, there will be no shut down of the government, Congressional leaders reach spending deal to avoid government shutdown. Does Obama now have his excuse to head to Hawaii?

One Trillion Dollars!!!

Congressional negotiators signed off Thursday evening on a $1 trillion spending agreement for 2012 for federal agencies, barely 27 hours before a deadline that could have led to a government shutdown.

After dropping minor policy prescriptions that President Obama opposed, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees gave final approval to the plan after a four-day standoff related to Obama’s demands to extend the payroll tax holiday for 160 million workers.

I’m glad to see that Congress got the message from “we the people” in stop spending money, NOT! Like the Lonely Conservative, I am ill as well. This Congress just does not get it and the reason why I say, they and this President get no tax increases to seal with any deficit. They have shown that they are all incapable of reducing spending and the burden on the American people. The 2012 elections cannot come fast enough and do not be surprised if Democrats lose control of the presidency and the Senate … also, establishment Republicans lose as well and some in positions of power are not there after 2012. Enough is enough.

House Passes Payroll Tax Cut Extention with Keystone XL Pipeline … Will Obama Veto?

The US House of Representatives passed the payroll extension  234-to-193. H.R. 3630 was supported by 224 Republicans and 10 Democrats, that included the addition of the Keystone XL pipeline.  President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill. The question remains, why would Obama not want to further a “shovel” ready job project that would put many back to work? Isn’t this what he claimed his presidency was about, putting people back to work?

Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Tuesday passed a bill extending a cut in Social Security payroll taxes for 160 million Americans for another year. But the Democratic majority in the Senate vowed to reject the measure because of objections to other provisions, including one to speed construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The 234-to-193 vote set the stage for negotiations between the House and the Senate that were likely to continue into the weekend.

Now we shall see whether President Barack Obama backs up his words and vetos the bill since it contains the Keystone XL pipeline. The Lonely Conservative thinks that he will not have to play Grinch, as US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do so instead.

As it turns out, Obama may not have to veto anything, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry  Reid (D-NV), who said that if Republicans include anything in the bill the Democrats don’t like he will allow the government to shut down. He’s tying the tax cut extension to the omnibus funding bill. The Hill reported:

Who shall blink first and who will get the blame if the payroll tax cuts are not extended?

Correction, Price Tag to American Tax Payers for Occupy Protesters is Now Over $20 Million

Yup, once again we are witness to the facts that the Occupy protesters are nothing like the Tea Party.

Hold the phone, earlier this week it was reported that the Occupy protesters had cost the American tax payers $13 million. Needless to say, it ha been adjusted up. Good grief, as per the calculations at Verum Serum and some adjustments by the Gateway Pundit … the price tag continues to climb at the expense of the American tax payers. This Occupy protest movement is nothing more than a drain upon America. What else should we expect from an Obama endorsed movement, except that what would cause a drain on America.

• Occupy Asheville – $170,000
• Occupy Atlanta – $652,000
• Occupy Austin – $110,000
• Occupy Boston – $575,000
• Occupy Charlotte – $105,000
• Occupy Chicago – $49,000
• Occupy Cincinnati – $128,000
• Occupy Des Moines – $7,800
• Occupy DC – $870,000
• Occupy Denver – $365,000
• Occupy Eugene – $20,000
• Occupy Fresno – $110,000
• Occupy LA – $120,000 plus estimated $400,000 to repair the lawn
• Occupy Long Beach – $40,000
• Occupy Minnesota – $400,000
• Occupy Nashville – $4,500
• Occupy New York – $7,000,000
• Occupy Oakland – $2,400,000 for police overtime alone
• Occupy Philadelphia – $500,000
• Occupy Phoenix – $200,000
• Occupy Portland – $750,000 3.5 million + $50,000 to repair damaged parks
• Occupy Providence – $9, 000
• Occupy Raleigh – $60, 000
• Occupy Sacramento – $300,000
• Occupy San Diego – $2,400,000
• Occupy San Francisco – $100,000
• Occupy St. Louis – $2,200
• Occupy Seattle – $625,999

– Total: Over $21,273,499

Imagine that, these so called protesters of the people have cost the American people over $21 million and there is no end in sight to the violence and destruction from these hooligans.

Occupy Protests Have Cost America Tax Payers at Least $13M … and Counting

OBAMA AND OCCUPY PROTESTERS, PERFECT TOGETHER: So who are the Occupy Wall Street protesters hurting? The answer, the American tax payers.

According to the AP, the Occupy protesters have cost American tax payers $13 million. NICE. The OWS protesters continued demands for $’s they did not earn from the 1% have actually wound up costing the 99% tax payers. UNREAL. Their continued crimes, arrests, arrests and arrests, vandalism, theft, rape, assaults, STD’s, TB, defecating, threatening to burn cities and unruly behavior toward police have cost the tax payers dearly.

During the first two months of the nationwide Occupy protests, the movement that is demanding more out of the wealthiest Americans cost local taxpayers at least $13 million in police overtime and other municipal services, according to a survey by The Associated Press.

The heaviest financial burden has fallen upon law enforcement agencies tasked with monitoring marches and evicting protesters from outdoor camps. And the steepest costs by far piled up in New York City and Oakland, Calif., where police clashed with protesters on several occasions.

In other words, had the Occupy protesters never been a thought and never had one protest, American tax payers would be $13 million dollars richer. In other words, the US would be better without #OWS. As the Gateway Pundit stated, “we knew they were crude and violent, now we know they are costly.” Check out the VIDEO below of some more pleasant Occupy protesters who are in need of a bar of soap for their bodies and their mouths.

VIDEO Warnings: Adult language

No wonder President Barack Obama endorses and supports the Occupy protesters, both believe in wasting American tax payers hard earned money. Take a good look at the VIDEO above of the reason why Obama ran for office.

Just curious, how much money have the Tea Party cost Americans?

Warren Buffett Tells Congress To Raise Taxes On Wealthy … NO, STOP THE SPENDING!!!

Warren Buffet continues at ask Congress that the rich need to pay more taxes. Is mega-rich really those who make $1 million?

Even in the ABC News story, they point out that Buffet’s request to raise taxes on the rich of those who make more than a $1 million a year would only produce $100 billion in taxes over 10 years.  That does not even come close to putting a dent into the US national debt. Tax expers say that this does not even come close to doing much of anything.

THE ANSWER IS NOT TAXING MORE … ITS REAL TAX REFORM AND ITS STOP SPENDING!!!

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the country, wants to pay more taxes and thinks his super-rich friends should too.

Buffett, who is estimated to be worth more than $47 billion, called on Congress to commit to “shared sacrifice” and raise taxes on people earning more than $1 million. Buffett said the rich are “coddled” by Congress “as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species.”

“While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks,” Buffett wrote in a Sunday New York Times Op-ed.

Of course I would ask the following question of Warren Buffett, if you are begging the government to tax and and the uber-rich more, why are you fighting the IRS in back taxes? One would think that if you think you should pay more taxes, you would not owe back taxes. I would think you would be happy to pay the bill.

The answer is not one of increasing taxes, the answer is to reduce government and entitlement spending and increasing the tax base, not tax %. Also, we need tax reform, not tax increases.

In the end, it’s just more liberal hypocrisy.

Merry Christmas from Barack Obama … Taxing All Christmas Trees 15¢, Bah Humbug (UPDATE: Tax Delayed)

The Obama Administration will tax your hopes and dreams next … oh wait, they already have.

Have these people no shame? What do Americans need in the midst of an economic downturn, 9% unemployment and out of control federal debt … A Christmas tree tax of course! How in the hell does one create a Christmas tree tax? By the way, are we supposed to call them Christmas trees, or are they Holiday trees? Try and figure this circular logic out. The out of control intrusive federal government is taxing Christmas trees in order to market the image of the trees? HUH?  The mere presence of the tax is going to give the trees a negative image. But what else can we expect from an Obama administration that would find a reason to tax everything and anything.

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board.  The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)).  And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

As Conservatives4Palin states, just when did this country become so screwed up? When did we need a government to tell us how to “enhance” our Christmas trees?  Further, when did we need them to charge us for it? Agreed! What won’t they tax?

As Weasel Zippers states, Caesar Obama Hath has issued a Christmas tree tax.

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.” — Luke 2:1

UPDATE I: Christmas Tree Tax Delayed … I guess the Obama Administration will delay the tax until after Christmas?

Priceless … Even Warren Buffett Does not Support Obama’s “Buffett” Rule

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT OBAMA AND BUFFETT HAVE A DIFFERENT DEFINITION AS TO WHO IS CONSIDERED RICH AND WHO SHOULD BE PAYING MORE TAXES.

How disingenuous is President Barack Obama on jobs and the economy? Even billionaire Warren Buffett does not endorse Obama’s “Buffett Rule”. Buffett was not referring to individuals making $50 millions, he was referring to ultra-rich. As Buffett said, he was only referring to about 50,000 people … not Americans who make $250 K a year.  Heck, Buffett does not even think those that make $50 million a year are rich.

From Real Clear Politics:

CNBC: “Are you happy that the way it is being described. Is the program that the White House has presented a million dollars and over your program? ”

Warren Buffett: “Well, the precise program which will — I don’t know what their program will be. My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low. Not just high incomes. Somebody making $50 million a year playing baseball, his taxes won’t change. Make $50 million a year appearing on television, his income won’t change. But, if they make a lot of money and pay a very low tax rate, like me, it would be changed by a minimum tax that would only bring them up to what other people pay.”

CNBC: “Does that mean you disagree with the president’s new jobs proposal which would be paid for by raising taxes on households with incomes of over $250,000.”

Buffett: “That’s another program that I won’t be discussing. My program is to have a tax on ultra-rich people who are very tax rates. Not just all rich people.

However, in typical fashion, Barack Obama has taken a plan form someone and “bastardized” it.  Because I always get $250,000 and $500,000,000 confused all of the time.  Buffett never intended to tax millionaires more, he was referring to a select group of ultra, ultra rich … but Obama never met a tax increase he didn’t like and looks to put indivuals who make $250 K in the same class as the uber-rich.

UPDATE I: This post was done after the Buffett fundraiser that is referenced in the above VIDEO. Needless to say the fundraiser was a bust and described as a disappointment.

Illegal Worker Immigrants Cost the US $4.2 Billion in Tax Credits

So illegals don’t cost the United States anything, eh?

Let alone the costs and burdens to schools and hospitals, add another $4.2 billion in tax credits that were amazingly collected by illegals through a tax loophole. President Barack Obama loves to rail about the corporate jet tax loophole, how come Obama isn’t doing anything to close money going to illegal workers? Think this is a new phenomenon? Five years ago, illegals collected $1 billion from the “additional child tax credit.

Undocumented workers collected $4.2 billion in a certain tax credit last year, up from less than $1 billion five years ago, according to a new audit.

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked only at a tax benefit known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable credit meant for working families. The audit found that as a result of vague U.S. law — as well as an expansion of the tax credit in stimulus legislation and other measures — the number of illegal workers collecting the money has skyrocketed.

Read more

Response to Obama’s Debt Limit Campaign Speech … Charles Krauthammer: “I Thought I Was Cynical Until I Heard Obama’s Speech”

The Barack Obama debt ceiling speech … At a time when leadership should have been the call of the day, instead President Obama used the prime time audience to do a political speech blaming others as the buck stops elsewhere.

So what was the reaction to Obama’s speech? It was purely partisan and meant as a campaign speech pandering to Independents with poll tested buzz words like balanced approach, compromise and even going so far as to make a comparison to Ronald Reagan. Charles Krauthammer went so far to say, I thought I was cynical until I heard that speech.” Do we really need a President who is going to make a prime time speech and just use poll tested words to pander and beg for support to a plan he does not even have?

Charles Krauthammer Nails Obama on what was a terrible, partisan speech

VIDEO Hat Tip: The Gateway Pundit

How comical and pathetic is it that Obama would say that Americans should not be made collateral damage when that is exactly what the Obama Administration has done for the last 2+ years.

Everyone, including those Independents who Obama was pandering to last night need to remember one little factoid, Obama originally wanted a clean debt limit increase with nothing attached. In other words, he wanted a blank check with no mention or caring for any decrease in the United State’s debt. That was reminded to all during Speaker Boehner’s rebuttal speech last night as he stated, “that ain’t going to happen”. The results of last nights competing speeches … BOEHNER 2 – OBAMA 0.

In the end, the debt limit debate will be decided by the American people in 2012.