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Compound Captive - Missives about life, retirement and HOAs

Let me be clear, no tax increases on anyone

by on Jan. 30, 2010, under Politics

Finally my blood pressure calmed down and it seems to have settled into its normal range.

The spike occurred when I heard President Obama make a statement during his State of the Union address on

Wednesday evening saying, “There have been no tax increases on anyone this year…” He’s either remarkably uninformed or intentionally peddling an untruth.

The fact is, anyone who earned and is receiving a military retirement noticed an increase in their withholding tax which equates to an reduction their annual income.

I know because I, along with a number of my retired military buddies received these finance and accounting statements over the past couple of weeks reflecting this

tax increase, and we had no warning it was coming.

When we questioned the tax increase the response given was “It’s not a tax increase, it’s an accounting adjustment.”

That’s one of the most weasel-worded statements to date. And they wonder why so many people have lost trust.

Oh, excuse me, I forgot again, we simply don’t understand the message. I’ll try to be crystal clear with my message in November…

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 8:22 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • tiponeill

    They should know by now to always include special education in the budget for military, who are unlikely to understand things like accounting, or the difference between withholding and taxation.
    Of course that would cost money, and some would consider it money wasted.

    • compoundcaptive

      I’ll pass your comments along to some of my military buddies who may not share my sense of humor about your inept ability to patch together an insult.
      Too bad you dropped out of the special education classes so early…

  • leftfield

    “There have been no tax increases on anyone this year…”

    I don’t know about military retirees, but we certainly do need to increase the tax rate for high income earners.

    Interestingly, I heard a report on NPR yesterday about taxation in Denmark.  They have the highest taxation rate in the world, yet they also have one of the lowest unemployment rates, an extensive social safety net, a very large middle-class population, very little poverty and, by someone’s measure, the happiest people on the planet.  This in spite of sales tax of about 25% and a tax that triples the list price of a new car in Denmark.  Years and years of conservative propoganda have led most people in the US to the belief that taxes are just a priori evil.  It’s not the taxes, it’s what you get in return.   

    • compoundcaptive

      Your observation outlined in the final sentence sums it up nicely, but until the earmarks are killed we’re always going to get less of what we want and need and more of everything else…

  • azmapaul

    leftfield, apparently you don’t understand economics very well, comparing Denmark and the United States is rediculious. I’ve been to Denmark, great place to visit, but a pair of jean’s go for $150. The United States is very unique, you will have a very hard time finding another country with the same economic issues for proper comparission. The real problem is Obama says one thing, but his actions say something else. Obama ran on really good changes from the doing business as normal, but it is worse, more like the Chicago style politics where he came from. I do believe, I wish I didn’t, but I think Obama will go down as worse president than Carter. I am glad the American people are finaly waking up to Washingtons bad politics. Democrates and Republicans alike, better change for the better or they will find themselves looking for something else to do for a living. This is a great country, none better, but we do have our share of problems. If Washington doesn’t stop the corruption and greed, we won’t be the best country in the world much longer. What a shame it has come to this. We need to come together as one nation, not a divided one.

    • leftfield

      I think it a little short-sighted to dismiss an entire country based on the price of a pair of jeans.  My point was not that Denmark must be heaven on earth, rather that taxation itself is not an impediment to freedom, democracy, the pursuit of happiness nor initiative.  And, yes, I agree that the US population is unique, but not so unique that they cannot be reached by propaganda that creates fear, plays to greed and promotes the supremacy of the dominant culture.
       
      Your point seems to be that I am ignorant of economics and Obama is a bad man.   

      • compoundcaptive

        I didn’t interpret azmapaul’s comments as an implication that you were ignorant of economics.
        However, his point is valid regarding Obama’s demonstrated expertise in crafting smooth sounding propaganda and promoting fear, but falling woefully short on delivering what he promises.
        In Washington, having a plan is one thing, getting it implemented is a stretch once the earmarks are tacked on and the final price tag is honestly and openly calculated. Like it or not, it’ll always be about the $$.

        • leftfield

          Democracy is a messy business. 

          As to $$ – yes, within the context of  bourgeois democracy, $$ is a central issue.  My opinion is that there is plenty of money, it’s just poorly distributed and poorly used.  The US pledges $100 million to help Haiti, a hefty sum it seems, but only enough to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for about one day.  Consider abandoning the illusion that your government is there to represent your interests and you will find their behavior less confusing and frustrating. 

          • compoundcaptive

            I find government’s behavior perfectly understandable; it exists to give the illusion of representation while actively pursuing personal self interests…

        • leftfield

          “leftfield, apparently you don’t understand economics very well, comparing Denmark and the United States is rediculious (sic).”

          This is the part of his post that led me to believe azmapaul felt I was ignorant on the subject of economics.  I suppose I could be wrong, but it seems pretty straightforward to me.

  • tiponeill

    comparing Denmark and the United States is rediculious.
    I don’t see anything “rediculious” about it, in fact it is a reasonable discussion of economics. A comparison of a country with high taxation and a high level of government services, to one with low taxes that believes that government is the enemy and doesn’t want to pay for any government services.

  • azmapaul

    leftfield, I wasn’t implying President Obama is a bad man,  and I refuse to believe any US President is a bad man. However his lack of experience in true leadership is in question for me. His Chicago style politics is what he knows and understands, but it doesn’t not going work for the rest of the nation. Their are too many examples to mention, buying votes (bribary), earmarks, say one thing do another. I don’t buy it any more that this is how politics work in Washington, and it seems a lot us don’t want to put up with it any more either. We need a strong leader who can bring us all together as one, and fix our problems before it’s too late. This is not a time for idealogy, it’s a time for action. A good leader who knows they are short on experience required, will surround themselves with people who do have what it takes to make good decisi0ns. A good leader makes more good decisions than bad decisions, Obama seems to have made more wrong than right decisions, and maybe I’m wrong about this, but that is how I see it. I wish he was the next best thing to sliced bread, I still hope he does turn out to be leader I want him to be, but my gut tells me something else.
    My example to the $150 jeans, simply put is that Denmark was not the best example  to use. Denmark is a nanny state, costs are thru the roof on everything, 65 to 75 % of income is turned over to the state. We are to large of a nation, with complex issues that Denmark will never have, I don’t think we can use any other country for proper comparisons. Besides, I don’t want to compare us with any other nation, I am proud to be an American, just like I’m sure you are leftfield. We have problems that need attention from practicaly every level of government. We need honest politicians who have our best interest at heart not their own pockets.
    compoundcaptve, I agree with what you said about the governments behavior. However, I think Obama and crew underestimated the will of the people, and they thought they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it.
    tiponeill, I think it is rediculious to compare to opposite for comparisons, and I don’t think the government is the enemy, just some of the politicians running it. I’m sorry, but I want to see my politicians who want the best for our country, internaly and externaly, I want them to be above reproach. I know I’m dreaming, but I like that dream.
    I origanaly came from Massachusetts and understand why they voted for Brown, and I still have a lot of family there. They are tired of the old politics (Kennedy style) and wanted a change, and they are hoping Brown will do that. I also am a retired Master Sergeant, with 22 years of service. I have government health care, and you will never hear me talk bad about the kind of coverage I and my family recieve. No complaints here. I also have used every bit of my G.I. Bill benefits for education, and now I’ve heard that you can donate any unused benefits to your family members. Great idea, I haven’t heard of anyone doing it yet. I hope it’s true though.
    Thanks to everyone for good conversation and debates.

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