Obama and Clinton Vote to Raise Middle Class Taxes

In the midst of the Spizztzer scandal and The Revisionist Wright Revelations a very important Senate vote went largely unoticed. The Democrat budget blueprint just voted on in the Senate would repeal the Bush tax cuts, effectively raising taxes on the middle class.

In their campaign rhetoric the dems speak of taxing the rich but to the Democrats, the middle classes of the US are the rich. Under the budget blueprint individuals making more than $31,850.00 and couples making more than $63,700.00 would see tax increases. From Boston Herald:

WASHINGTON – Presidential candidates John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton interrupted their campaign schedules to return to the Senate for votes on taxes and spending likely to become key points of contention in the race for the White House.

Votes on tax cuts and on a one-year ban on pet projects topped the Senate’s agenda before an expected late-night vote yesterday to pass a $3 trillion Democratic budget blueprint. The nonbinding plan predicts a balanced budget in four years and promises generous increases for many domestic programs, but achieves those goals only by assuming major tax increases when President Bush’s tax cuts expire in about three years.

Obama(D-Ill.) and Clinton (D-N.Y.) both promise to reverse Bush’s tax cuts for wealthier taxpayers, but the Democratic budget they’ll be voting for would allow income tax rates to go up on individuals making as little as $31,850 and couples earning $63,700 or more.

Obama is attacking McCain for reversing his stance on the Tax-cuts, however calling for a tax raise whether on capital gains or the middle class at a time when we are in a slowdown is ridiculously stupid.

Hitting capital gains and adding new middle class taxes steals from the middle class both coming and going — one tax hits your 401K, the other takes directly from your paycheck.

Both Democrat candidates have clearly demonstrated by their vote what the average american can expect from them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

 In email I got a correction, which I always appreciate:

Hey Thanos – I didn’t want to leave a comment about this on your blog.  There’s a misstatement in your post about the nonbinding Democratic budget blueprint.  The Senate didn’t vote to repeal the tax cuts; the tax cuts will expire at the end of 2010 (a provision that was in the tax cut bill) unless Congress passes a bill to extend them.  The end result is the same:  it’s tax and spend under the guise of “fairness”; but our ideological opponents often seize upon even the slightest inaccuracy to call into question our integrity. 

For the record I *always* appreciate correction of facts that are incorrect here, it doesn’t damage our credibility. Please if you do see something wrong here, always leave a comment because I get to those much faster than I do email.

The email is correct, which is why in other comments and places I was calling this a “stealth attack”. It’s a senate straw poll/trial budget balloon to see if they have enough nays to kill a bill or ammendments to the budget to extend the Bush tax-cuts. If they can keep it from coming to the floor, or vote the extension down then in effect they raise taxes. The concern is noted, but a vote even on this non-binding resolution lets Americans know exactly where Obama and Clinton stand on raising taxes.