President Obama noted yesterday that the bill that passed to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, and trim a big portion of future spending, is a good first step to ensuring the full recovery of the U.S. economy, but that more must still be done. For those unemployed or underwater on their mortgages this is, of course, a very obvious statement. Still, at least the thinking is going in the right direction here. The president also noted that he expects tax reform to come out of a new committee comprised of both Democrats and Republicans that was established by the new legislation and that he wants a "balance approach" that sees the "wealthy" pay more taxes to help reduce the deficit.Obama did not mention that the bottom 48% of earners in the U.S. pay no taxes, and that the top 10% of earners paid 70% of all income taxes. It is disingenuous of the president not to admit that the wealthy are already paying their "fair share" – along with the share of about 50% of the entire nation – when they write their checks to Uncle Sam each year. But honesty is not one of the president’s virtues and, in that, he has plenty of company in Washington, DC.
Noted the president, "Both parties share power in Washington. And both parties need to take responsibility for improving this economy." This is, of course, in stark contrast to the first two years of Obama’s presidency, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House – at that point, it was Democrats’ responsibility to get the economy on track. They failed. But, of course, that is common knowledge to the masses who remain unemployed and for those who will h
ave to wait a decade for their homes to be worth as much as their mortgage obligations. Maybe the latest showdown in DC will lead to some honesty and some real action in the future, but it’s not advisable to hold your breath waiting for that.
