PrintAugust 3, 2009
Softening up the Middle Class for the Coming Tax Hike
When Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner appeared on George Stephanopoulos' program "This Week" on ABC, every question and every response had been carefully rehearsed beforehand. The interview was a performance. As most Americans understand the word, Stephanopoulos is not a journalist, he is a political operative and an agent of influence disguised as a commentator. He shapes perceptions and plants ideas agreed upon and scripted within the Democrat Star Chamber for very specific purposes.
In this case, the administration is preparing the public for the reversal of a promise they never intended to keep. The President will soon move to raise taxes on the middle class. If Obama's Socialist agenda is to succeed, deficits must go down. Next year's estimated deficit of 1.8 trillion dollars, fueled by stimulus and health care "reform" is unsustainable and will be catastrophic for the economy. Within a few days, you will hear the Democrat allied press preparing the public using themes of sacrifice and citizenship. By the time the announcement happens, commentators and pundits will have made paying higher taxes our civic duty and a moral imperative.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Because when you look at health care reform again-I know you believe it's going to bend the cost curve over time. But the Congressional Budget office says, at best, the health care reform plans out there are going to be deficit-neutral over the next ten years. So to bring the deficits down, there is not enough money in the discretionary budget, we all know that. That means more revenues. The President has said that taxes won't go up for any Americans earning under $250,000, but it doesn't appear that he's going to be able to keep that promise if you're going to bring the deficits down.GEITHNER: George, we can't make these judgments yet about what exactly it's going to take and we're going to get there. But the very important thing, and no one is going to care about this more than the President of the United States, is for people to understand that we do not have a choice as a country, that if we want an economy that is going to grow in the future, people have to understand that we have to bring those deficits down. And it's gonna, it's going to difficult - hard for us to do and the path to that is through health care reform. But that's necessary but not sufficient. We [are] going to do some other things too.STEPHANOPOULOS: So revenues are on the table, as well?GEITHNER: Again, we're not at the point yet where we're going to make a judgment about what it's going to take. But the important thing...STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're not ruling it out, you can't rule it out.GEITHNER: I think what the country needs to do is understand we're going to have to do what it takes, we're going to do what's necessary.
Nothing happens by chance where this crew is concerned. Secretary Geithner sounded resolute with his "we're going to have to do what it takes, we're going to do what's necessary," which will fit in nicely with the Obama announcement that "it pains me deeply" and with "great reluctance" and "we've inherited so great a problem" that they just have no choice to take additional revenues. That damned Bush, those damn Republicans.
It was inevitable that the Democrats would tap into the enormous resource of middle class America. It's their version of "drill here, drill now." The trillions poured into the congressional black hole of fraud, waste and corruption is not enough. It takes a great deal of money to build the socialist Shangri-la Obama and his minions believe in. It takes the very lifeblood of American commerce and freedom. What do peasants need money for anyway?
