Clinton: Bush should raise taxes to pay for recovery
 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/...ton/index.html

Democrats should make tax cuts an issue in 2006, former president say

Monday, September 19, 2005; Posted: 10:46 a.m. EDT (14:46 GMT)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President Clinton believes the Democrats should pounce on and exploit President Bush's refusal to hike taxes to finance Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They should continue to oppose it, and they should make it an issue in the 2006 election, and they should make it an issue in the 2008 election," said Clinton, interviewed on Sunday by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week."

"I think it's very important that Americans understand... tax cuts are always popular, but about half of these tax cuts since 2001 have gone to people in my income group, the top 1 percent. I've gotten four tax cuts. They're responsible for this big structural deficit, and they're not going away, the deficits aren't."

Clinton said America's deficit has forced the United States to borrow "money from other countries to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, and our tax cuts."

"We have never done this before. Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a conflict, military conflict, by borrowing money from somewhere else."

The former president, who is involved in a Katrina relief fund-raising effort with former President Bush, elaborated on the issue of tax cuts, saying leaders should hope "for the sake of our country that the cows don't come home before we have time to rectify" the problem.

"I mean, sooner or later, just think what would happen if the Chinese -- we're pressing the Chinese now, a country not nearly as rich as America per capita, to keep loaning us money with low interest to cover my tax cut, Iran -- I mean Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina. And at the same time to raise the value of their currency so their imports into our country will become more expensive, and our exports to them will become less expensive."

He said the United States depends on Japan, China, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Korea "to basically loan us money every day of the year to cover my tax cut and these conflicts and Katrina."

"I don't think it makes any sense. I think it's wrong."

Clinton's appearance on the show marks the first time he was interviewed by Stephanopoulos, who worked as a senior adviser for policy and strategy in the Clinton administration from 1991 to 1996.

As for his relief efforts with former President Bush, Clinton said $90 million to $100 million have been raised.

I'm glad he said something because I think most Americans are unaware that this borrowing is even happening. It makes absolutely no sense to be borrowing from these countries.

If it keeps going like this we are going to be broke. It's ridiculous.

I really wish. He's a slippery sucker.

I hope Clinton keeps harping on this because people have very short attention spans.

Has anyone on the Ledge gotten one of these alleged tax cuts? I damn sure didn't get one. I had to *pay* when I filed my tax return this past year, and I made less than $25,000.

Essentially, unless you made over, say $150,000 a year, you probably noticed no tax cut overall because though your Fed. income taxes may have been reduced, you state and local taxes likely increased to compensate for the Fed. Govt.'s lack of funding for many state programs, etc. There are a bunch of articles on it if you look around on the net.

Clinton wants everyone to be equally miserable. Raising taxes would lower revenue; Clinton knows this and doesn't care. For Clinton, this is just an excuse to limit freedom and increase government influence in our lives.

simply raise taxes -- it's the Democratic Party cure-all.

Baloney. This is not "typical" raising taxes. This is "clean up your mess" raising taxes. He started an unjust war which is a black hole of a money sucker. Now we have Katrina, which isn't his fault, but we have all of that to pay for. The top 1%, the wealthiest of Americans, the ones who need the extra money the least can't give back their tax cut because we are in crisis? That seems selfish. If they let the economy go to sh*t by watching the dollar decrease in value they may wind up with nothing themselves. Then they may wish they never got a tax cut that choked the economy.

And he is also setting up the sound bites for the 2008 election. "We're tired of paying for the War in Iraq!"

Funny thing is that the majority of the country agrees with him.

Actually, I think that majority is over 70% now :eek:

But, Coulter and her ilk will go down with the ship rather than attack their sacred cow.

It's not unjust. What do you think happened when two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings? War was declared on us. 3,000 people dead. Action had to be taken. I would not stand idly by and let the Middle Eastern countries involved get away with that.

I can hear the forthcoming argument now...well why not go after Bin Laden instead of Hussein, no WMDs, etc...blah blah blah...They are all in league, one with another. The Middle Eastern countries are like one body. Taking Hussein was like cutting off both arms and legs. I think there are things in this world we will never full understand, or get the truth on. Don't think for a minute that the puppet media out there hasn't fooled you into joining the masses on what you should think.

I agree with you, and have to say you are brave making that statement around here...because you know exactly where it is going to lead. Bush's intentions were rather clear from the get go. He said not only Osama and his cronies, but also the countries that even supported or harbored terrorists, and if Iraq is not such a country then I don't know what is.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I would think by now that the talking points could be freshened up just a little bit.

Funny, I was thinking just the same about the liberal talking point.

Oh, honey, I know how upset you are about our country waking up to the incompetence that is the Republican party, but you knew it would happen sooner or later. Keep fighting the good fight, even if the facts aren't there to support you.

Since the FACTS are:

People who provided the intelligence about the WMDs knew that it wasn't credible but used it anyway. To fix the info around the policy to go to war with Iraq (ala Downing Street).

Saddam did not have a relationship with Al Quada.

Most of the terrorists from 9/11 were Saudis, none were Iraqis.

No other countries, aside from UK, supported this war because war is a LAST RESORT.

There are more terrorist cells in Iraq now than anywhere due to the lawlessness there.

I could go on but I'm probably wasting my energy.

Do people really still think bin Laden and Hussein were working together?

Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed

By Walter Pincus and Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 17, 2004; Page A01


The Sept. 11 commission reported yesterday that it has found no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda, challenging one of the Bush administration's main justifications for the war in Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Jun16.html

The fact of if they were or weren't working together is irrelevant. I mean what was the worst case scenario with the war? A corrupt leader who gases his own people gets either killed or taken from power? Ohhh...The heart-ache.

Although, I will be the first to admit that the republicans were slow to respond back before WW2. But once Pearl Harbor was hit and we waged war with Hitler, you didn't hear the republicans "hounding" FDR with...

"Why are we going after Hitler? He didn't attack us? Why are we doing this?"

I mean you can't imagine such a scenario because it would have been insane back then. But now we have just gotten so used to the liberal complaining about "unjust" wars, that we don't think any differently.

So you agree that there is really no evidence they were working together.

No, but what I am saying is that it is irrelevant, either way.

No it's not. It was one of the reasons given as to why we invaded. There was none of this "getting rid of an evil leader" before the WMD thing and the link between Bin Laden and Hussein fell apart. It's not the reason we went to war. It became the justification after the reasons fell apart.

So you think they were working together?

Stop embarrassing yourself.

Your point? :shrug: This is not the forties.

Surely you aren't comparing the collaboration between Hirohito and Hitler with the nonexistent one betwwen Hussein and Bin Laden.

Oy, your panty lines are showing.

Honey, wake up! The worst case is 2,000 dead Americans and countless dead, innocent Iraqis. :distress: Saddam had no power due to sanctions. He was a monster to his people, yes but that isn't why we went in there. The talking point changed to that when there were no WMDs. I mean, how can you keep justifying this?

If you're trying to equate 9/11 with the war in Iraq, which is what Bush continually tries to do, then how can you say the non-relationship is irrelevant? That's like if I say I smacked around a woman because she told her friend to stab me. Instead of going after the person who stabbed me I go after someone else? What sense does that make? And then, when I find out that she never said it I say "well that's irrelevent because she was a bad person and deserved a beating".

The backpedaling is getting old and Americans are finally waking up to it. Thank God.

The US declared war only on Japan on December 8, 1941. Then, on December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the USA. Only after that did the US declare war on Germany and Italy. Thus, your analogy of "Why are we going after Hitler? He didn't attack us? Why are we doing this?" is unsupported by facts. They declared war on us first.

Here is the US' Declaration of War on Germany and Italy:

December 11, 1941

The President's Message
To the Congress of the United States:

On the morning of Dec. 11 the Government of Germany, pursuing its course of world conquest, declared war against the United States. The long-known and the long-expected has thus taken place. The forces endeavoring to enslave the entire world now are moving toward this hemisphere. Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and civilization. Delay invites great danger. Rapid and united effort by all of the peoples of the world who are determined to remain free will insure a world victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of savagery and of barbarism. Italy also has declared war against the United States.

I therefore request the Congress to recognize a state of war between the United States and Germany, and between the United States and Italy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt


The War Resolution
Declaring that a state of war exists between the Government of Germany and the government and the people of the United States and making provision to prosecute the same.

Whereas the Government of Germany has formally declared war against the government and the people of the United States of America:

Therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the state of war between the United States and the Government of Germany which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared; and the President is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the government to carry on war against the Government of Germany; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States

http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/germwar.html

You know before 9/11 I would have not been for sending Americans into harms way just so we could create "Ohio" in different parts of the world. But after 9/11, I really think that this is an area that we need to clean out. There is going to have to be an exit strategy at some point in time, because eventually this will become the Iraqi's war, to maintain the peace in their own country. But there are good things that have happened since the liberation of Iraq...and yes there is blood shed almost every day...but war isn't pretty and the fact is people are going to die! But we have to keep in mind the good that has happened that we consistently DON'T see on the evening news. Most of the areas in Iraq are virtually stable and safe; it is only a few choice places that are being consistently attacked by terrorist, unfortunately one being the capitol. The point is, liberating and obtaining freedom for a country that virtually has no idea or concept of what those words mean isn't easy and it is a long journey, which now must be made regardless.

The argument rests with the conclusion that all Middle Easterners should be killed because they are all the same as OBL because they look like him. It is the same as people saying all black people steal, all gay men have AIDS, all women are idiots, blah, blah, blah. I often hope to have more faith in mankind to think outside of these generalizations, but it is hard to do.

Hey, watch it..."dust particles".

Silly rabbit! :xoxo:

Why? They had nothing to do with it. Or do you have more information available to you than the 911 Commission? Why not invade Saudi Arabia? There was a more direct link there.

Most of this is true, but it doesn't change the fact that the reasons given for going in the first place have all but fallen apart. The war is unjust because it was started on false pretenses. The fact that we attacked someone evil doesn't change that.

oh my god. your Ledgie name is dead on, cause you are full of S**T. are you kidding me? here's a shovel, you're gonna need it.

there isn't enough time to go through all the holes you've left, but one thing that stuck out to me is why you feel it is our responsibilty to set up democracy and freedom in another country and spend billions of dollars and have Americans die for it? this is ignoring the fact that this is what invading Iraq has become about when it initially was about 9/11...but that's another journey Conan

Thanks for the name-calling-resorting-to.

BTW, my statements weren't meant to be an infaliable dogma, I was simply pointing out the obvious.

yeah, you know what, that was uncalled for...and I apologize (I'm big enough to admit when I am wrong)

I still don't agree with you and it really ticks me off to see the homeless people and hungry children in America and devasted people in NOLA and our Coast, some who STILL don't have food, while our government spends our money on a war no one is sure of the basis of...

and I have to say that the fact that you put Ann Coulter in your signature lines or reference her sometimes totally infuriates me...I often have to look pass your posts. That's just my opinion and you are MORE than welcome to continue to do so, but I would like to know from you what it is about her you appreciate...

We should know in about a month. ;)

I have to try not to look at them myself. She isn't even conservative. She's a radical something, I don't know, she's her own breed.

That should be fun to watch.

Okay, pardon my ignorance, what do you mean?

The fact that she represents the right-wing with such zeal! Most liberals hate her, not because they have ever talked to her or know her as a person, but because she refuses to back down. She is considered "angry" because she is a conservative woman who refuses to back down. Why aren't liberals who refuse to back down considered "angry" or "troubled" individuals? She is speaks the truth, has a brilliance for the colloquial, she is hilariously funny, and does it all while looking great.

if you really want to talk about it, you can pm me or something, cause we can't really do it on this forum.

Palestine is like Israel? :shocked: The Middle East is far from being one body. Your statement is a broad brush generalization of all citizens of the Middle East. It smacks of a lack of knowledge of Middle Eastern cultures and a dependence on mainstream media as a source of fact.

The mainstream media does not support this idea of the Middle East being one body :shrug:

I will always maintain that the information was put out there by the mainstream media and Americans could have cared a less because most Americans hate all Middle Easterners.