Obama starts to break campaign promises

[Kulindahr]

^Obama's whole premise was that the Bush tax cuts were wrong and that the rich were not paying their fair share. He is now back peddling from that under the realization that as prez he, not George Bush, will be held responsible for the economy. Therefore he is smelling the coffee, if u will, on the reality of taxation and economics. Perhaps not a complete break of a promise but none-the-less a dramatic attitude change.

I didn't see anything that says he's back-pedaling, either. If he's decided not to ask for legislation right off the bat, it may be in order to spend more time getting a picture of things before making major changes. Automatically attributing political motivations to him is a bit unfair.

Obama could only be back-peddling if he said that the tax cuts were fine. The only issue regarding the tax cuts is if he will initiate legislation to repeal Bush's tax cuts or let them expire the year after he takes office. Either way, the taxes of the wealthy will increase, thus being inline with Obama's stance during the campaign.

Right!
What he ought to do is have legislation to replace the Bush tax cuts: leave the bottom three brackets alone, and raise the others -- adding a new one on top, with a rate back what it was before Reagan. Then provide relief by raising the individual exemption by a good chunk.

Anyway -- no broken promise here, merely someone with probably more information that before deciding on the pace of changes to come.

 

[Kulindahr]

^
Wait -- when did he say "I want to spread the money around"?

So far, it hasn't been shown that he specified when he was going to raise the rates / let the Bush tax cuts end. Without that, he's not even back pedaling.

BTW, I heard Bill Clinton say that he doesn't want to be involved at all, so apparently Obama won't have to deal with pressure from that tax-raiser.

 

[justapixel]

They said that the increase wouldn't happen just yet


right?


That is not breaking a campaign promise, that is planning WHEN to fulfill whatever promises he made.

Can I borrow $1,000 from you? I promise to pay it back next week.

Next week, I will say I will pay it back later. I would not be breaking my promise to pay it back because I plan on paying it back someday.

If this happened, would you still be my friend???

 

[naked gent]

Well it is good. Prob is if Repubs do it they are called stupid and liars, if Obama does it he is called a good leader. Objectivity is priceless.

The last republican who changed his mind about taxes because of current economic conditions was George H.W. Bush and it was other republicans who called him stupid and said he was a liar.

The problem as you put it rests entirely with republicans.

Not to butt in, but the internet and the dot com bubble. Huge new invention often leads to economic boom.

Funny I thought higher taxes prevented job creation and innovation......especially in those start up companies.

 

[smelter]

Can I borrow $1,000 from you? I promise to pay it back next week.

Next week, I will say I will pay it back later. I would not be breaking my promise to pay it back because I plan on paying it back someday.

If this happened, would you still be my friend???

As a lawyer would say, 'this assumes a fact not in evidence'.

 

[NickCole]

Of course I'm not surprised; I know nothing Obama says can be trusted.

But as I've been saying for months (and McCain was saying during the campaign), now is not the time to raise taxes.

 

[naked gent]

Of course I'm not surprised; I know nothing Obama says can be trusted.

Well he did say he would cut taxes on the middle class.......you figure he'll be raising taxes on the middle class soon?

 

[NickCole]

^ I don't think I'd use McCain as an accomplice to a bad idea.

He knew it's a bad idea to raise taxes while Obama campaigned on raising them.

Or maybe McCain was telling the truth and Obama was lying.

Hard to say which.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Well he did say he would cut taxes on the middle class.......you figure he'll be raising taxes on the middle class soon?

He's not going to cut middle class taxes. He's going to raise them. But technically, it wouldn't be a raise. It's just be the expiration of Bush' tax cut. Personally, I think thats better than raising them even more, or cutting them, at this time.

 

[Passion4Muzik]

Of course I'm not surprised; I know nothing Obama says can be trusted.

But as I've been saying for months (and McCain was saying during the campaign), now is not the time to raise taxes.

He knew it's a bad idea to raise taxes while Obama campaigned on raising them.

Or maybe McCain was telling the truth and Obama was lying.

Hard to say which.

This is a prime example of people not being fair and ready to condemn a man before knowing all of the facts. The title of this thread is inaccurate. As I pointed out, the article doesn't even say Obama broke a promise. Read the article and research the facts before slamming Obama.

 

[naked gent]

He's not going to cut middle class taxes. He's going to raise them. But technically, it wouldn't be a raise. It's just be the expiration of Bush' tax cut. Personally, I think thats better than raising them even more, or cutting them, at this time.

Well his stated position during the campaign was to only allow the two top rates to expire and leave the others where they are.

If you're right those currently in the 15% bracket (which is the majority of tax payers I believe) will be returned to the 25% bracket which I don't think will happen.

I assume he wants to be re-elected.

 

[NickCole]

Bullshit. You know very well the history and the facts.

You shed the truth like a snake sheds its skin, NickCole. You have become utterly shameless -- it's a very queer transformation you've made.

The first two quotes are from 2000 and 2001 when the economy was very different and --I agree with McCain-- tax cuts were the wrong choice. This is the only one of your little quotes that's relevant to this discussion because it's from this past campaign:

Originally Posted by McCain 2008
I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already.… And if we don’t make the tax cuts permanent, then they will experience what amounts to a tax increase.” [Republican Presidential Debate, MSNBC, 1/24/08]

McCain wanted to keep the Bush tax cuts in place. Obama wanted to roll them back. Now Obama's apparently going to keep them in place. Which part of that can't you understand?

 

[NickCole]

^^ If you could rebut my points, you would.

 

[rotary]

In other news- he's done a 180 and is now allowing lobbyists in the White House, despite his promise made during the election to get rid of them.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/12/obama_softens_ban_on_hiring_lobbyists/

Change you can believe in.

 

[Kulindahr]

In other news- he's done a 180 and is now allowing lobbyists in the White House, despite his promise made during the election to get rid of them.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/12/obama_softens_ban_on_hiring_lobbyists/

Change you can believe in.

have to love the wording of the title

"Obama softens ban on hiring lobbyists"

"Softens" is reasonably accurate, if you read the article. His rules are still pretty strict -- utterly different than McCain's practically making lobbyists part of his family. Based on that article, I wouldn't call it "a 180", either -- more like a 45.

It's troubling that he even softened his position, though. I have to wonder just what jobs he needed done that in all the country, only some lobbyists could do.

 

[evanrick]

Id rather have Obamas broken promises over McCains shattered dreams any day.

 

[NickCole]

Id rather have Obamas broken promises over McCains shattered dreams any day.

You say that without even knowing the results of his broken promises.

It's that kind of wishful thinking masquerading as informed conclusion that led many to become Obamabots. Personality politics is shallow; you better hope Obama's personal luck is big enough to extend throughout an entire nation.

 

[NickCole]

Especially when you just not that long ago claimed you were going to wait and see what occurs.

I have waited to see what occurs.

What's occurring this week and up to now is what I --and others-- are commenting on.

And I'll note that both the New York Times and Bill Greider have been Obama supporters.

 

[NickCole]

Obama's making important choices setting the course of his administration; if he waited until January 20 (and I don't think he shoud) to announce these big decisions, I'd wait to comment on them.

This week he's holding daily press conferences, purposefully making news with these announcements. This is the Current Events and Politics forum. We comment on current events. Your objection is silly.

 

[Fucker29]

39.6% - 35% = 4.6%

If you can not do that simple math, I do not have any faith in any thing you say.

Oh the irony...