Boehner’s priorities
John Boehner, the Orange Man, the Speaker in waiting, has been very vocal about his top priorities. Let’s list them:
(1) Extending tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 a year. This would benefit, well… the rich.
(2) Repealing the Affordable Care Act, because it will “ruin the best health care system in the world and bankrupt our country”. Well, the US healthcare system might indeed be the best in the world…if you are rich. But for everybody else, it ranks way down the list, and for millions, it hangs them out to dry. But God forbid that anybody would be forced to help subsidize the healthcare of others to achieve near universal coverage.
(3) Lightening the burden on Wall Street. Orange Man does not hide the fact that we wants to weaken the rule-making that underpins the Dodd-Frank Act: “it’s going to require a significant amount of oversight — so that ..the American people will understand, just what this bill will do to our financial services industry.” And expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be under attack. Again, the rich will benefit.
See any common themes here?
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What baffles me is that republicans are acting as if the current recession/depression/whatever did not take place in spite of tax cuts for the wealthy.
I understand that conservatism favors the rich, in the sincere belief that doing so helps the poor, moreso than state charity does. And I’ll even grant that there is empirical evidence that this is the case.
But certainty the Bush years have ably demonstrated that tax cuts for the rich aren’t a cure-all. You can favor the rich and the economy can still fail.
At this point it’s just tax cuts for the sake of tax cuts and to hell with the consequences.
Epic fail.
This all relates to the repeal of the abortion regime, correct?
Interesting assessment. To contrast,the current Democrat controlled administration granted tax breaks to General Motors that could calculate up to $45 billion. I thought only Republicans gave tax cuts and granted favors to big corporations? How will these tax cuts affect the deficit? Do any poor people own General Motors? This will put a dent in available funds for entitlements.
By the way, you are all wrong about Boehner’s priorities. His MAIN priority is to deny Obama reelection:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101104/ap_on_re_us/us_bipartisan_challenge
““The only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things,” McConnell said in a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation.”
Perhaps I’m young and naive, but I could have sworn there was a time when policy and politics were two distinct things.
Well minion, We are The United States of Amnesia. So I guess we have to relive the Republicans all over again.
Cyn,
The money loaned to GM has either been repaid by cash and with interest or has been repaid in stock which the government is expected to sell over the next two years at a profit. I should let Obama manage my 401(k), which is not doing as well.
Rand Paul on election day:
“There are no rich. There are no middle class. There are no poor. We all are interconnected in the economy. You remember a few years ago, when they tried to tax the yachts, that didn’t work. You know who lost their jobs? The people making the boats, the guys making 50,000 and 60,000 dollars a year lost their jobs. We all either work for rich people or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone. Let’s not punish anyone. Let’s keep taxes low and let’s cut spending. ”
One more time:
“There are no rich. There are no middle class. There are no poor. We all are interconnected in the economy.”
What’s the likelihood that war with Iran looms on the horizon? I would say there’s a six in ten chance we commence bombing just in time for Obama’s reelection campaign.
Does this blog really still claim to be non-partisan?
OK I admit I have only been reading it for the past couple weeks. Maybe there’s a conservative-leaning post once in a while…?
“What’s the likelihood that war with Iran looms on the horizon? ”
Now that the torture loving GOP is back in power, I’d say it’s near 100%.
Agellius, plenty of conservative-leaning posts, in the anthentic sense, but no phony Republicath ultra-liberalism masquerading as conservatism!
“John Boehner, the Orange Man,”
How very charitable of you!
There was a congressman who asked the CBO to give multiyear revenue estimates of a 100% income tax. The revenue projected moved up every year. This is fantasy of course. Immediately, people would start evading the tax and the government collapse but the CBO people (who are generally quite smart) are not permitted to take into account the second order effects of too high tax rates.
So what stops the soft socialists outside of government from doing so?
The Affordable Care Act will cause an increase in mortality over time as the best no longer sign up for medical school, older doctors retire early, and most of the rest of the pack settle down to be clock punchers instead of pursuing the vocation of medicine. This process cannot be reversed too soon and I pity your shortsightedness in not being able to see the long-term consequences out far enough.
For a time I worked for a company whose only product was providing experts in regulatory compliance. We did *nothing* to enhance the safety and well being of anyone. We shuffled papers and I supported the computers of the paper shufflers in an operation that ran on two continents and sent teams all over the world (FDA Part 11 compliance if you’re interested in the details). People openly defied the law because compliance costs exceeded the fines to certify that a q-tip factory was in compliance. I could not blame them. Regulation like that should be cut. Can you reasonably say otherwise?
When you find an accurate and consistent model for second order effects, I’m sure the CBO will be interested. When Republicans have tried offering dynamic models in the past, they have not faired well. Your model of doctor reaction to health care reform is cute. I’m quite confident there is some Econ 101 prof smiling because of it.
“I understand that conservatism favors the rich, in the sincere belief that doing so helps the poor, moreso than state charity does.”
Thanks, Phos. This article had been bugging me all day, on just that point. I wouldn’t have said “favor”, but I appreciate the acknowledgement of good-will.
“But certainty the Bush years have ably demonstrated that tax cuts for the rich aren’t a cure-all. You can favor the rich and the economy can still fail.”
By analogy, I “favor” the brass section of an orchestra. A good brass section can drive the orchestra’s crescendos. You can’t have a great orchestra without it. In 2008, our orchestra fell apart. Say, smallpox decimated it. No amount of brass can make up for a wave of smallpox. But it’d be wrong to try to solve the orchestra’s problems by firing the brass section.
phosphorious,
Let’s not put all the blame on the GOP, however odious and inane their foreign and domestic policies. Obama is the one that has backed off any legitimate economic progressivism and has started to cast his presidency as a foreign policy presidency, with his uppping the ante in Afghanistan, his extension of presidential powers even beyond what Bush had asserted, and so forth and so on.
If we commence an aggressive war against Iran, it will be because Obama and his advisors have decided that this will be the best way for him to be reelected. They are unable or unwilling to attack the plutocrats at home–since many of these are their allies–and so they will have to create a projected enemy for the populace abroad, so as to deflect their anger at the still failing economy, etc. Iran will be the scapegoat for the next American election.
I can’t wait to see how this war is “justified.”
But as far as the Catholic Right is concerned, it’s all good. Boehner says he’s anti-abortion, and that’s all that matters. Not that he’ll do anything about abortion, although if the Republicans succeed in repealing health care for the poor, the Catholic Right will claim that he saved millions of the unborn.
MM:
Ahh… right. How about plain old Republican-leaning posts then?
Oh Please, Stop referencing “Hells bible” as gosple truth!
Everyone knows the rabidly anti catholic NYT has absolutely no credibility….
Certainly you can find more credible sources for your diatribe…..
@TMLutas
The Affordable Care Act will cause an increase in mortality over time as the best no longer sign up for medical school, older doctors retire early, and most of the rest of the pack settle down to be clock punchers instead of pursuing the vocation of medicine. This process cannot be reversed too soon and I pity your shortsightedness in not being able to see the long-term consequences out far enough.
Do you have any empirical evidence for this assertion? My experience in several European countries suggests that medicine is still regarded as a respected and highly rewarding profession, but in personal and economic terms.
Regardless of party, I am confident those given power at the national level will violate subsidiarity.
Rememeber that calling people disparaging names, such as “the Orane Man”, diminish the source of the name calling, not the target.
I’m not really sure it is name calling. The man has orange skin! It’s factual!
Yeah, so VN policy now is to refer to people by their skin color?
If bright orange, yes! Is that racist? Is Boehner from some weird oranged-tinted race I should know about and show more respect for?
No, not more respect. Just the appropriate respect for a fellow human being, as a blogger on a site that correctly criticizes bullying and lack of civility.
If Boehner is Orange, can we agree that Pelosi looks like Skeletor, and Bawney Fwank has a lisp?
Barney does indeed have a lisp, but it doesn’t detract from his superb wit!
I think he looks more like an oompa lumpa. He is orangie like they are. He really looks like them, if you think about it.
I have no doubts that John Boehner is a faithful and sincere Catholic. I hope my friends on the Left appreciate that.
And, regardless of any policy disagreements they have, John Boehner has no doubts that Bart Stupak is a faithful and sincere Catholic. I don’t think you would have any trouble getting John Boehner to say that he thinks Bart Stupak is a more prayerful and serious Catholic than himself.
I hope my friends on the Right appreciate that.
No, Ooompa loompas are cute and cuddly, not jaded and cynical.
Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-doo,
I’ve got a country to destroy for you.
Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-dee,
I’m John Boehner better listen to me.
What do you get when you cut off healhcare?
Once that is done we can deal with welfare.
Corporate pockets getting terribly fat?
Less regulations
What do you think will come of that?
Oompa Loompa do-ba-de-dee,
Things are gonna change come January.
Oompa Loompa Do-ba-dee-doo
The Party of ‘no’ will be working for you.
The New Speaker of The House is Orange and The POTUS is Black; Orange and Black,the color of Uniform of The Cincinnati Bengals.
That portends great success.
Who has the greater will?
The Orange Man will try and recycle Keynesian Crap
while the Black Socialist will try and continue his stealth socialism B.S. while America will continue the slide into third-worldism.
The Bush Tax Cuts should go – permanently – but that would make Rush angry and we can’t have that…
David Stockman is right -
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reagan-insider-gop-destroyed-us-economy-2010-08-10?pagenumber=1
but neither side has any courage or conviction.