Obama Adds Work Requirement To His “Tax Cut” Plan

• October 23, 2008

I still shudder a bit at calling Obama’s tax plans a “tax cut plan” as I don’t consider higher taxes for people who pay the most taxes and a check in the mail for people who pay nothing or next to nothing in taxes a “tax cut.” But after hearing some of McCain’s criticism about his plan essentially being welfare, Obama’s tweaked it a little bit.
Now, if you want to get that check from the government, you have to be working.

ABC News’ Teddy Davis, Hope Ditto, Arnab Datta, and Ferdous Alfaruque Report:
Facing criticism from John McCain that his tax plan constitutes “welfare,” Barack Obama recently added a work requirement to one of his proposals.
“They started saying this was welfare,” said Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee. “So, just so they would absolutely not be able to say that, we decided that for the last two percent we’ll simply add a work requirement.”
Goolsbee discussed the change to Obama’s universal mortgage credit while debating McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday.

Video of Goolsbee’s comments available here.
I frankly don’t see how this turns Obama’s plan from a bad idea into a good idea. Narrowing the tax base, and essentially buying votes with IRS checks funded by people who are already paying most of the taxes, is not a good idea. Not only does that punish our most productive and innovative citizens even more than they’re already being punished, it also actively rewards America’s least productive, least productive citizens. Work requirement or not.
This plan stinks. It’s wealth redistribution and it has no place in American politics.

Tags: Politics

http://Array carrick

Certainly this makes it a better idea than the blank check for low-lifes that it was better.

I think a poor policy, but better than the pure socialistic redistribution of wealth he had going on before.
JPGR

My concern with this, other than the fact he changes his tax plan to avoid accurate criticism, is that the lowest 2% could be the ones that can’t work.
I’m not sure this makes sense, but wondering aloud. If unemployment is 6% for example, 2% is not able to work, 2% don’t want to work (includes homeless by choice..they do exist, and lazy people), then 2% for the temporarily unemployed due to job loss. So how do you decide who the lowest 2% is? They all get government help in some form already, if anything the temporarily unemployed would see a period of time until unemployment benefits kick in. Does this ‘work requirement’ mean lazy people? People who can’t work…can’t work. Unemployed are required to show efforts to find work already aren’t they? The lazy are the only ones left.
robert108

Just another campaign promise from a lying leftie. I’m still waiting for Clinton’s “middle class tax cut”.
robert108

Don’t forget, boys and girls, that any tax plan that confiscates more than what it takes to run the Constitutional requirements for limited govt is a redistribution plan; they take it from the private sector and redistribute it to the political class, who use it to buy votes from selected Americans.
http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/ goon

This is redistribution of wealth and there is no other way they can spin this. This is not a tax plan. Now I heard on the radio yesterday that NOBAMA said that he wants to return to the Clinton years tax rates. Not good that would be very bad… NOBAMA is all over the place trying to back track and tell everyone that he isn’t a Marxist.
Howard

Obama’s first, second, and third priority is to get elected. If that means pandering to large numbers of unemployed, under employed, those on welfare, illegal aliens, and malcontents, he’ll be happy to throw them a few crumbs as a way to get their votes. He will also turn democracy and capitalism on it’s head, and villainize the affluent and successful in our society, in order to rally the masses behind him. With evangelical zeal Obama will convince his followers to replace reason with hope and belief … to blindly follow him … never challenge him … and embrace his words as gospel. In the real, and unforgiving world of economics however, when you immediately gratify everyone by feasting on the goose that lays the golden eggs, the economy looses it’s ability to continue generating growth and wealth. Obama is promising everyone a piece of the pie, whether they helped bake it, or not … but, only in a socialistic, or communist state do the non-contributors demand to share equally in the property that belongs to others. Immediate gratification is like a drug to the malcontents, but in the big picture, every farmer knows that you never eat your seed crop. If Obama gets elected, America will turn into a third world country, with massive government welfare programs, unable to generate jobs for it’s citizens, and unable to compete in the global markets. Keep America safe, free and strong … elect McCain/Palin on November 4th.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Marginally better.

Personally, I’m taking it as an admission of how stupid his previous policy was.

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Obama Adds Work Requirement To His “Tax Cut” Plan

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