Letter: Republicans not only ones to blame for fiscal cliff problems by Susen Trail
Editor:
Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Reid gave a speech from the Senate floor calling House Speaker Boehner a dictator for not allowing debate on the fiscal cliff deals in the House.
On Aug. 1, 2012, the House passed another bipartisan bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, extending all cuts. Like most House budgets sent to the Senate, Leader Reid shut it out.
The last Senate budget, April 29, 2009, included $831 billion stimulus spending, passed by supermajority Democrat Congress. All spending is automatically continued, plus a baseline percent increase, plus an increase for inflation every year until Congress passes another budget.
Boehner and the Republicans offered $800 billion in tax reforms, 57 percent of annual deficit. Obama turned it down for tax hikes for the “rich,” $84 billion, 6 percent of annual deficit. But those cuts also closed loopholes for millionaires, net revenue gain of $23 million. We won’t even get 6 percent.
Democrats called for tax hikes just on millionaires. Before Boehner could get it to the House for a vote, Reid and Obama said NO.
Obama’s starting point: his 2012 budget proposal (his fourth to be unanimously voted down by Congress) plus $50 billion new spending. Every concession Boehner makes, Obama ups the ante. Now he wants unlimited power to borrow (online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324731304578193770576333616.html).
Democrats claim we are at the lowest revenue point in history. 2012 is 4 percent under the highest revenue point in history, 2007 (six years after the first tax cuts were enacted.) But spending is up 40 percent (http://www.whitehouse.gov/ omb/budget/historicals/ table 1.1.).
And it’s all Republicans’ fault?
Susen Trail, Wausau
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.