Friday, December 7, 2012

Boehner Hints He Could Accept Higher Tax Rates

Imagine my surprise.

The News-Tribune reports:
 House Speaker John Boehner on Friday wouldn’t rule out higher income-tax rates as part of an agreement to avert the coming “fiscal cliff,” but he also said no such movement was possible unless President Barack Obama showed more interest in compromising.

The Ohio Republican was asked at a news conference whether he could accept higher rates, perhaps 37 percent...

"There are a lot of things that are possible to put the revenue that the president seeks on the table,” he said.

Boehner reiterated later that he still opposes higher tax rates, but his initial comments are significant, because they suggest that higher rates might be part of a deal. The comments also reflect the murky nature of such negotiations, and how sending signals can be oblique, but significant.

7 comments:

  1. If these thieves lowered taxes for everyone, there would be a much larger pot to steal from.

    Not that I advocate legalized theft.

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    1. A Libertarian Happy Tale

      Once upon a time, there was a bully who stole a prudent amount of other kids' lunches. The kids still brought their lunches every day and dared to march past him to school. The bully stayed strong. Gradually, the bully began to steal an imprudently large amount. Kids began to change their habits and avoid him in a million different ways. The bully grew weak. He grew angry and he tried his best to frighten in unpredictable ways. But every day he grew weaker and weaker...To be continued.

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  2. Is Boehner doing this because he's evil or because he's stupid and thinks he will get the love of the voters? I fear it's the latter. Didn't all of the Republicans vote against Obamacare in 2010? Didn't that lead to an election landslide?

    Just hold tight, scream no new taxes or spending and let Obamacare kick in. Everyone will be blaming democrats again for Obamacare in 2014 and the Republicans will again sweep. Unless they agree to raise taxes now.

    BTW, is anyone aware of the latest insane Keynesian scheme to allow the treasury to print funny money without the aid of the Fed, the platinum coin? What a freakin' nightmare. These bastards are like the Alien attacking Sigourney Weaver, they never quit and just keep on coming. Anything to make the Kleptocrat Keynesian State omnipotent.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/100285772

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    1. Good points Bob. That article got me laughing when I read their "economic analysis" about making such a coin. Seems like something that should be printed in the Onion (but it is NBC so I guess that's close enough).

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    2. Except that John Carney might be the only human being in the entire MSM who has some understanding and appreciation for Austrian Economics and economic calculation. He has written:

      MMTers do not seem to fully appreciate the problems of ignorance and calculation that inform Austrian economics. They seem to recoil at even thinking about them because of the implications for the limits of political action. This also needs to be corrected.

      http://tinyurl.com/7sycbey

      And see this too:

      http://www.cnbc.com//id/48693368

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  3. Boehner reminds me of George H.W. Bush. Imagine that, a match made in heaven: Boehner and Bush.

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