Whatever happened to tax and spend?

[bascule]

I've been criticizing the Republicans for years for being "borrow and spend", and now it seems like the Democrats are no better:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/04/spending.earmarks/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

 

I really hope Obama starts taking a stand and reducing spending or raising taxes, but maybe I'm just hoping too much that Obama will be (Bill) Clinton.

[Pangloss]

Well he is most definitely raising taxes. The new budget proposal (which came out a lot earlier than I was expecting) repeals the Bush tax cuts and adds another $300 billion or so in new tax hikes as well, mainly from eliminating the deduction for charitable giving and off changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (if memory serves).

 

There are also some big cuts in discretionary spending, a surprising amount of which is outside of defense spending (non-defense discretionary has grown to be basically as large as defense). But we'll see what Congress has to say about it.

[iNow]

We'll also probably see some large taxes in the environmental sector... think carbon caps. I see it more as a shift of existing tax targets than a lack of raised taxes (also, I'm quite looking forward to seeing what my paycheck looks like after April 1 with the reduced payroll taxes).

[CaptainPanic]

Just to get this clear for me: these are actual expenses, and have nothing to do with all the bail-outs which are effectively a loan or a purchase of a share of a company (although it's not so sure that this money ever comes back)?

[bascule]

Well he is most definitely raising taxes. The new budget proposal (which came out a lot earlier than I was expecting) repeals the Bush tax cuts and adds another $300 billion or so in new tax hikes as well, mainly from eliminating the deduction for charitable giving and off changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (if memory serves).

 

There are also some big cuts in discretionary spending, a surprising amount of which is outside of defense spending (non-defense discretionary has grown to be basically as large as defense). But we'll see what Congress has to say about it.

 

It will also be interesting to see how this affects the deficit.

 

Cutting spending and raising taxes is great, but it isn't going to help if the Democrats keep passing half-trillion dollar spending bills.

[ecoli]

Cutting spending and raising taxes is great, but it isn't going to help if the Democrats keep passing half-trillion dollar spending bills.

Cutting spending and not raising taxes is even better!

 

Though I agree with you (raising spending and not taxing it very bad).

 

I'm wondering how all these new taxes on the "rich folk" is going to affect investments. Though I guess Obama's going to take care of that by making investments for them... whether or not the market likes the product of those investments.