Top 5 Problems with the Tax Deal per MoveOn.org

The following are the "Top 5 Problems with the Tax Deal" - according to Nita Chaudhary of MoveOn.org, a Political Action group:

Problem #1: The deal is a stealth attack on Social Security. The deal will lower the payroll tax—the tax that funds the Social Security trust. This is a trap for Democrats. Republicans have been coming after Social Security for years and this cut is the biggest threat to the vital program in decades. It will cut one-third of Social Security's funding this year alone and when we need to restore the payroll tax back to its current level, Republicans will cry "tax increases" and could gut it permanently.

Problem #2: For nearly one in three workers, it's a tax increase. Nearly 50 million working Americans—including all workers making less than $20,000 per year—and millions of federal, state, and municipal workers will see their taxes go up because of the deal.

Problem #3: The deal has not one but TWO millionaire bailouts. In addition to extending all the Bush income tax breaks for the top 2%, the deal will slash the estate tax. If Congress did nothing, next year the estate tax would be 55% and apply to everyone inheriting $1 million or more. But the deal reduces it to 35% and only people who inherit more than $5 million will have to pay. This second bailout will give a gigantic tax giveaway to a few thousand of the richest families in the country and add hundreds of billions to the national debt.

Problem #4: Unemployment help is insufficient and inadequate. While the deal extends unemployment benefits for another 13 months for ****SOME (see below) of the people currently receiving it, millions of unemployed workers who've struggled the most and been out of work more than 99 weeks—since the giant Wall Street banks wrecked the economy—will get no help at all under the deal.4 It's a gamble that there will be jobs in the next 13 months when the insurance runs out, but the tax cuts will go well beyond that. Better to just pass a stand-alone unemployment extension to help all struggling Americans.

Problem #5: Tax giveaways to the rich are a terrible way to create jobs. Tax breaks for the rich are the least efficient way to create jobs and help the economy grow. In fact the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says extending all tax cuts would lower unemployment only 0.1% to 0.3% over the next year5 and that the cost of the tax deal would be $900 billion over the next five years.

We've got to stop this deal and make sure everyone understands what's really in it. This is a real problem (as I will reveal in my next article) because Congress is voting on a bill that nobody has even seen. Even Washington does not know what is in this bill - let alone the American people...

What the email from MoveOn.org fails to state is passage of this BAD DEAL for America will almost certainly lower America's credit rating throughout the globe.

Moody's warned on Monday, if President Barack Obama's tax and unemployment benefit package becomes law - the consequences would be dire. America could see a once unthinkable downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, which could balloon U.S. borrowing costs and make our financing position much more costly.

"Unless there are offsetting measures, the package will be credit negative for the US and increase the likelihood of a negative outlook on the US government's AAA rating during the next two years," Moody's said.

For the United States, a loss of its AAA credit rating, will reduce the appeal of U.S. Treasuries, which currently rank as among the world's safest investments. "From a credit perspective, the negative effects on government finance are likely to outweigh the positive effects of higher economic growth," Moody's analyst Steven Hess said in a report sent late on Sunday.

After Obama announced his plan, Treasury prices fell sharply in volatile trade last week and yields have hit a six-month high, in part due to concerns over the effect the package will have on government debt levels.

If the bill becomes law, it will "adversely affect the federal government budget deficit and debt level," Moody's said.

***TRUTH about "so called" 13 month extension:

FACT: The 13 month extension in this compromise does NOT guarantee your benefits continue for the entire 13 months

FACT: If you have exhausted all available Tiers of benefits already, HR 4853 WILL NOT HELP YOU AT ALL.

FACT: If you are on Tier 2 now (or soon will be) and your state does not meet the state UI % threshold for Tiers 3 and or 4 - HR 4853 WILL NOT HELP YOU AT ALL and after 14 weeks of Tier 2 you will have no more UI at all.

FACT: If you are collecting in Tier 1 and your state does not meet the state UI % threshold for Tiers 3 and or 4, HR 4853 WILL NOT HELP YOU COLLECT past the additional 14 weeks of Tier 2 = 3 months NOT 13 months.

FACT: If you are collecting now on your original 26 weeks of State benefits and your state does not meet the state UI % threshold for Tiers 3 and or 4, HR 4853 WILL NOT HELP YOU COLLECT past the additional 20 weeks in Tier 1 + 14 weeks of Tier 2 That = 36 weeks or a about 8 months NOT 13 Months.

WAKE UP AMERICA and STOP this Republican destruction of America's middle Class so the Rich can keep their gardeners and pool boys. Unbelievable!

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