Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Taxes Taxes, Republicans and and obedience to Norquist
Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 6:39 AM
Is it dawning on some Republicans that budget solutions must include some new tax money, preferably from those best able to pay?
Maybe. Looks like some Republicans are starting to chafe at the pledge they made to Grover Norquist never ever to vote for a tax increase.
By Mr. Norquist’s count, 219 House members — enough for a majority — and 39 senators have committed to the pledge. But some of those members who signed on, many of them years ago, have started to back away, apparently leaving him several votes shy of the majority he would need to block any tax increase.
No indication that any Arkansas Republican has gone wobbly. Poor though we are, Arkansans understand that if the poor bear a disproportionate burden long enough - and the wealthy are sufficiently comforted - we'll all eventually be trickled upon.
ALSO: If your sympathies lie with the 2 percenters that President Obama has targeted for a tax increase, the New York Times has a sympathetic accounting of the plight of families making more than $300,000 a year should taxes rise. A key issue is whether rates will change on unearned income - capital gains and dividends. The article contains a useful scrap of information worth filing away for when the Republicans, now in the Arkansas legislative majority, make their run to again comfort the rich with a capital gains tax cut, already taxed at two-thirds the rate of earned income. If anything, these numbers are more pronounced in Arkansas:
An analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that in 2011, people in the top 0.1 percent of earners saved an average of $356,000 in federal income taxes because of the preferential rate for capital gains. Middle-income Americans were spared an average of just $23 because of the lower taxes on capital gains, the study found.“Capital gains are extremely concentrated by income,” said Len Burman, a former Treasury official who has written extensively about taxes on investment income. “There’s no source of income more focused on the very, very wealthiest. A lot of people own stocks indirectly through their 401(k)’s. But most Americans can’t afford to own any shares directly.”
Speaking of...
-
Open line: State's Obamacare planning advances
May 28, 2013The line is open. Final thoughts: * MORE MONEY FOR OBAMACARE: A legislative committee voted 23-9 today to continue accepting federal money to plan for implementation of federal health care expansion. /more/
-
Guns and fetuses: A legislative review
May 16, 2013Crazy Davy Carter, the House speaker who is a potential Republican candidate for governor, won headlines all over today for remarks at a legislative conference in Hot Springs that Republicans need to move beyond guns and abortion to focus on issues more important to average Arkies. /more/
-
Flash: Texas grows enlightened on women's issues
May 7, 2013Interesting story from Texas on the Texas legislature. Republicans, who control nearly everything in Texas, apparently suffered huge blowback from their war on women in the last legislative session that cut health care to women in the battle to destroy Planned Parenthood. /more/
-
Morning report: Taxes, oily birds, power lines
April 29, 2013A slow start this morning. A couple of things popped up: /more/
-
Dumas: Obamacare covered a sorry legislative record
April 23, 2013Ernie Dumas writes this week that the 2013 legislature's approval of Obamacare, against long odds, made up for a multitude of sins. /more/
-
Guns, fetuses, God and Obamacare: The legislature wraps it up
April 23, 2013At 9:17 a.m., the House adjourned until a formal close May 17. The Senate should follow in short order, if it hasn't already. /more/
-
Now the legislature cuts up the swag
April 22, 2013If no detours develop, the Arkansas legislature should finish tomorrow and go home. Today and tomorrow will be primarily devoted to passage of the revenue stabilization act, which guides overall state spending, and — much more important to individual members — approval of expenditures from the General Improvement Fund, a surprlus account. /more/
-
What, me worry? Beebe to sign tax cuts
April 19, 2013Gov. Mike Beebe said today that he'd sign a raft of tax cut bills — heavily tilted toward the wealthy — that could reduce state income by $140 million or more in three years. /more/
-
Morning report: Won't you go home Arkansas legislature?
April 19, 2013The Friday morning warmup: * THE RUSH TO ADJOURN: "Deliberative" is not a word that applies to the death rattle of the Arkansas legislature — not when the Senate rushes out, with virtually no debate, $150 million or so in tax cuts on everything from baling wire purchases to multi-million-dollar windfalls on unearned income for corporate capitalists. /more/
-
Blanche Lincoln speaks out for rights of Arkansas women
April 12, 2013It's a measure of how cynical people had become about former U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln that an opinion piece she's posted on Huffington Post has people wondering what her ulterior motive might be. /more/
- More »
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
More by Max Brantley
-
David Stewart to fill Fayetteville judge seat
David Stewart, retired director of the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission and a former municipal judge in Little Rock, has been appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe to serve as Washington County District Court judge in Fayetteville until a successor can be elected to replace the late Rudy Moore Jr., who died last month.
- May 9, 2013
-
Arkansas unemployment rate dropped in April
The Arkansas unemployment rate in April was 7.1 percent, down from 7.2 percent the month before.
- May 17, 2013
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Jury in Hastings trial seated
I'm San Francisco employment attorney Spencer smith. I have Spencer smith solve too many cases…
- on June 19, 2013
-
Re: Open line
>> I remember well being told by a priest that a wife was to be…
- on June 19, 2013
-
Re: Open line
eLwood - Fleet Street has a long tradition of yellow journalism, the Daily Mail is…
- on June 19, 2013
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
