Geithner: Fortunate Americans should bear slightly larger burden of the privilege of being an American
Replaying the same old song. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was interviewed this morning on CNBC and one of the discussions was taxes. He thinks fortunate Americans should pay more, but the press never asks how much more would be enough.
During the interview (video & transcript), Geithner was asked the following.
Interviewer: Mr. Secretary, one more thing, you’ve proposed, what, $2.1 trillion in gross revenues that the president has in 2022 in the budget. And yet it seems like almost all the additional revenue is taken up with additional spending. Where’s the real deficit reduction?
Geithner: That’s not the fair way to judge the net impact of the president’s proposals. The president proposed $4 trillion in deficit reduction over a ten-year period. that’s $3 trillion on top of the agreements we reached last august to cap the rate of growth in defense and nondefense discretionary spending. And that additional 3 trillion deficit reduction comes with a balanced mix of revenues for tax reform.
About half is through tax reform revenues and through hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars in savings across the programs of the government from farm subsidies to even medicare and medicaid reforms. And if congress were to enact those proposals, then we would put the U.S. much closer to a sustainable fiscal position for the next decade and that would make broader confidence in the american economy stronger.
So, it’s a balanced package. It’s roughly 2 1/2 spending cuts for every dollar of revenue increases. Of the incremental $3 trillion that we haven’t already locked in, about half in revenues and half in spending cuts. It’s a balance.
Lies! There are no spending cuts! The total outlays keep going up and up … I’m not blind, I can read. Geithner continues, with my emphasis in bold.
Why is that the case? Because if you don’t try to generate more revenues through tax reform, if you don’t ask, you know, the most fortunate americans to bear a slightly larger burden of the privilege of being an American, then you have to — the only way to achieve fiscal sustainability is through unacceptably deep cuts in benefits for middle-class seniors or unacceptably deep cuts in national security or unacceptably deep cuts in things that are very important to how we grow in the future like infrastructure or education or innovation.
Outright threats to seniors, national security, and education. That’s right out of the game plan for every Democrat from Washington, D.C. to your local town council. I’m sick of the threats, they have been all used up.
In 2006 and and 2011 the federal government total outlays on-budget were $2.23 trillion and $3.1 trillion respectively. Total outlays were $2.65 trillion and $3.6 trillion. That’s an increase of 36 percent in just 5 years.
Just from 2008 to 2009, the federal budget total outlays on-budget skyrocketed 20 percent.
And the White House OMB estimates federal spending on budget will grow another 12 percent between 2012 and 2017. Of course, if Democrats and liberals have their way, it will be a lot more than that, and Geithner thinks the most fortunate Americans should bear a “slightly larger burden of the privilege of being an American.”
I’ve discussed this over and over again. How much more do you think you can get? The president’s Buffett Rule optimistically estimates the extra revenue generated would be between $35 billion and $50 billion. With total outlays in 2013 estimated to be $3.8 trillion, $50 billion amounts to a rounding error … about 1 percent or so.
Were we unable to educate our kids five short years ago? How about provide for the national defense? Were seniors dying in the streets? Mr. Geithner, I challenge you, the president and all members of Congress to do better. To do right. Don’t feed us lies.
In the meantime, the Democrat-controlled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continue to leave more than 20 pieces of legislation – that will improve the nation’s economy and have been passed by the House – in limbo and won’t act on them. They won’t even present their own budget.
Click here to pick up the video interview at the point of the transcript above.
Update: I had originally spelled Geithner’s last name incorrectly, and I thought I fixed them all when I published, but I must have did a find and replace and still used the wrong spelling.
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Maybe if some of the “most fortunate” politicians paid their taxes, the rest of us wouldn’t have to pull their load.
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If they have a scapegoat, it takes the onus off of them.? Or so they hope.
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Okay, now repeat after me… “Millionaires, billionaires, eeeevil Wall Street traders; millionaires, billionaires, eeeevil Wall Street traders”… now repeat until rabid.? Foaming at the mouth yet?? Looking for torches? clubs? wanna assemble an angry and unruly mob?? Now you’re ready to vote. ? Go to it monkeys… but first bathe in Barracks Bubbling Brain and Body Wash- then you’ll know what to do.
Wow, the President’s budget claims a $4 trillion deficit reduction over 10 years.? The President has increased our deficit by $7 trillion in only 3 years.
Did I miss something?
When we ran a deficit of just under $1.3 trillion in 2011 and it’s projected to hit that mark in 2012 I’m left to assume that the baseline for his figures is something astronomical.? I cannot see how an expanded bureaucracy with Obamacare will see any reduction in the deficit without confiscating money that would otherwise be spent in the private sector, stimulating the economy.? The numbers and rhetoric add up to HUGE tax increases for all.? The idea of balancing budgets on the backs of the rich is just to fool us into thinking our tax increases are fair.? It is an assault on job creators and with a participation rate of 64% of all eligible workers in the labor force as it is we do not need to be punishing those who would otherwise be employing some of that 36% not participating.? Funny how the participation rate remains at a 25 year low while the drop in the unemployment rate is touted as evidence that things are turning around.? The actions of this administration demonstrate a lack of concern.? I want a job, not a hand out.
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I economic step forward, two steps back in economic grave….
I can’t believe that the typical Obama voter is buying into this class-warfare schtick that Super Clown has been selling. ?In spite of Geithner’s remarks, and Obammy’s manipulative arguments as well, those “Fortunate Americans” have been paying more then their fair share for as many years as the federal government has been extorting monies from the Americam taxpayer. ?This president lies through his teeth with such ease that there’s no way of knowing when he’s actually telling the truth, but this wealth redistribution scheme that he’s been selling is one of his biggest! ??
It’s depressing to know that the class envy crap is effective… and frustrating to realize that it is from this maligned group of people defined by success would emerge private sector job creators.? Punishing them only protracts the unemployment situation.? Of course the agenda may be to create an opportunity for labor unions and union shops by stifling? non-union job growth through punitive taxes levied on those most likely to create those jobs… essentially punishing them for being successful.?
I think what bothers me more about Geitner is not his failure to pay his taxes, but that while working overseas for IMF, he signed an affidavit that he paid certain taxes.? Then IMF reimbursed him for the amount of the taxes he was supposed to have paid – but didn’t.? Don’t know if that counts as a felony or misdemeanor.? Either way, it’s tawdry.? I did send this info to my Congressman and received the “we cannot do without his talent” letter. I also read that he messed up the IMF responsibility he had and almost destroyed a country’s economy.? He’s so eerie.
Geithner is just a symptom of the moral rot that infects the cabinet and all of his czars.
Get ready for the “most fortunate American” level to be redefined. Very soon it will be, number, please . . . $100k, $90k, $80k, . . . $50k? A house . . . a car? What?
“Anyone that has more than I do”;? an extension of the current situation…..
I think if we continue to add to our debt, we will gradually have to go to the barter system. Heck, it worked in the Middle Ages,didn’t it. I’ll give you one pig for my 2 chickens.
LOL it should have been YOUR two chickens.? I guess I must be one of the rich people paying my fair share.
Did he say that Iran is sabre rattling?? The US are sabre rattling. If you read the IAEA report is clearly states that they do not have evidence that Iran are building any nuclear weapons. We are the ones over there drumming up this crap.