Tax Hike Raises Ire of Small Manufacturers

President has raised taxes when business needs a break

(NEWSER) - Everyone loves a scapegoat. The American people have Wall Street fat cats, and President Obama has George W. Bush, writes David Harsanyi for the Denver Post. While Obama, "in a superbly eloquent and inspirational pitch, always reminds us that nothing is his fault," Harsanyi gripes, "nearly every initiative enacted in the first 50 days of the Obama administration has exacerbated what Bush started." More»

'Washington Post' bares early details of president's plan

(NEWSER) - Details of President Obama's new debt-reduction plan to be unveiled this morning are emerging—and it's not a pretty sight for the rich. The president will likely outline a plan to cut the federal debt by $3 trillion over the next decade, with half of that coming from an increase in tax revenues, sources tell the Washington Post . Nearly half of the new tax revenue is expected to emerge from next year's expiration of former president Bush's tax cuts for the rich. Most of the rest will spring from a special new tax for the wealthy , and axing or cutting back on loopholes and deductions, according to administration officials. More»

Dems don't want to pony up for Obama's plan

(NEWSER) - Getting Congress to fund Barack Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy might be as arduous a process as the strategic review that devised it. Democrats, cold to the idea of sending more troops, don’t want to foot the bill; some are proposing a war tax to cover it. “If the president intends to go in over our objections,” explains Rep. Mike Honda, “he should have to bear the burden of asking for a tax to pay for it.” More»

Reining in pay is good politics, good economics: Krugman

(NEWSER) - Just as the recession wanes and the financial system shows signs of the health, banks are returning to their worst habits, says Paul Krugman. Not only are paychecks soaring to pre-Lehman levels, but the financial sector is using its muscle to block "even the most minimal reforms." While the Fed knows what needs to be done most—"change the industry’s incentives—which means, in particular, changing the way bankers are paid"—President Obama is showing a disturbing lack of backbone, writes the New York Times columnist. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama visited Wall Street’s historic Federal Hall today, on the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, to make the case for the financial regulatory reforms wending their way through Congress. He spoke of the need for “strong rules of the road” for the financial system. “History cannot be allowed to repeat itself,” he said, calling the effort “the most ambitious overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression.” More»