Wonkbook: Debt ceiling deal so far $2 trillion cuts, $400 billion tax increase

[neverforget]

or loophole closures. WOW! Is this how Democrats and Obama negotiate?

Just so I get this straight:
We can cut taxes on the upper income and not pay for them;
We can fight 2 wars and not pay for them;
But it's the poor and middle class who will bear the burden of paying for it in this bullshit deal.
But the thing is, Republicans walked out on this deal!!!! Why? Because they know they can get more! :crazy: :puke:
Who the fuck is fighting for us? Because if this is how Democrats and Obama fight, then we are fucking doomed.
:argh: :wtf:
Via Ezra Klein

Wonkbook: The debt-celing deal so far
A bit more information has trickled out over the last few days detailing the exact state of the budget negotiations when they collapsed. Both sides, as they often said, were shooting for about $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. They'd already agreed on around $1 trillion in spending cuts and were making good progress on the rest of it. But Democrats insisted that $400 billion -- so, 17 percent -- of the package be tax increases. And that's when Republicans walked.

Specifically, the Obama administration was looking at a rule that lets businesses value their inventory at less than they bought it for in order to lower their tax burden, a loophole that lets hedge-fund managers count their income as capital gains and pay a 15 percent marginal tax rate, the tax treatment of private jets, oil and gas subsidies, and a limit on itemized deductions for the wealthy.

It's almost not worth going into the details on those particular tax changes because the Republican position has held that the details don't matter: well-designed tax increases won't be looked at any more favorably than poorly designed tax increases. The point, Republicans say, is that there can't be any tax increases, full stop.

For now, Democrats are holding their ground. "Do we perpetuate a system that allows for subsidies in revenues for oil and gas, for example, or owners of corporate private jets, and then call for cuts in things like food safety or weather services?" Press Secretary Jay Carney asked. But at some point, this will cease to be a clean choice between two budget plans and begin to be a question over whether we can raise the debt ceiling. And that, Republicans are betting, is when the Democrats will stop holding their ground.

[Parker CA]

1. Fair and balanced, just like FOX. I'm very curious to see what comprises those $2T in cuts. Nt

[neverforget]

4. We know Medicare is being cut according to Sen Baucus (D-MT)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/23/985364/-Baucus:-There-are-Medicare-cuts-in-debt-limit-negotiations

"I'm disappointed that Leader Cantor's withdrawn," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus during a hearing on health care spending. "I think we should stay at the table. I think we should keep working, difficult as it is, and try to balance between Medicare cuts—additional Medicare cuts—so long as there is commensurate additional revenue. We need balance here."

[DJ13]

2. The deficit ballooned to cater to the wealthy

The people who benefited should be the only group to suffer in paying it back.

Anything else is a robbery.

[neverforget]

3. Robbery is a kind word for it

[neverforget]

5. kick

[neverforget]

6. kick for the evening crowd