Redstate

Posted at 9:32am on Jun. 24, 2008 Barack Obama on the Social Security Tax

Wrecking America’s Entrepreneurial Strength

By blackhedd

Senator Obama recently made an important proposal in regard to taxes. We’ve known for a long time that he intends to raise all kinds of taxes, including capgains taxes and income taxes on high earners. His specific recent proposal is to extend the FICA (Social Security) levy so that it will apply to all income above $250,000.

That may sound weird to you. It is, and here’s why: today the roughly 12.5% FICA levy is only applied to a bit more than the first $100,000 of income. Of course that makes sense because Social Security benefits are only based on that amount of income: if you make more than $100,000 in any given year, it doesn’t increase the retirement benefits you get.

Obama is proposing to charge the FICA tax on the first $100,000 of income (just as today), and then stop applying it to income between $100,000 and $250,000 (again, just as today), and then re-apply the tax to all income above $250,000.

Income above $250,000 will pay the Social Security tax, but will not contribute to the benefit calculation.

What is Superman trying to accomplish with this? What does he want us to think he’s trying to accomplish? And what will be the real effects?

Keep reading…

Posted in Economy | entrepreneurs | FICA | Obama | Social Security | taxes — Comments (20)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 3:51pm on Jun. 13, 2008 Scapegoating The Stock Market And Insulting The Intelligence Of The Electorate

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

It happens all the time; a Republican makes the suggestion that perhaps some Americans would like to be able to take some of their Social Security money and invest it in the stock market and their Democratic opponent(s) come(s) out and beats up on the stock market itself as a way of pouring cold water on the plan. It happened again in the Presidential race, as this story points out:

Obama also criticized McCain for being open to letting taxpayers invest part of their Social Security payments in private investment accounts.

"Imagine if your security now was tied up with the Dow Jones," he said, alluding to the recent slide in stock prices. "You wouldn't feel very confident about the security of your nest egg."

McCain, campaigning Friday in New Jersey, said Obama was misrepresenting his position.

"I will not privatize Social Security," he said. "But I would like for younger workers, younger workers only, to have an opportunity to take a few of their tax dollars, a few of theirs, and maybe put it into an account with their name on it. That's their money."

Indeed it is. What's more: The stock market never fails to bring in big returns over a long term period. And that is precisely what a stock market investment is supposed to be; a long term investment. As such, it is more than a little ridiculous to pick out a discrete period when the stock market may not be doing well and then proclaim that that period serves as a sufficient case study for how Social Security investments in the stock market would do in the long term.

What we are increasingly seeing during the course of this election cycle is that McCain would offer you the freedom to do what you want with what is rightfully yours--in this case, your money. The Obama campaign is implicitly telling you that you need to be protected by government from the stock market and from the ability to make your own investments. For your own good and because government is ever so much smarter than you according to the Obama campaign.

If that doesn't outrage or offend you, what will?

Posted in Barack Obama | Economic Ignorance | Economy | John McCain | Social Security — Comments (18)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 7:17pm on Mar. 3, 2008 Redstate Roundtable #4: The GOP/Conservative Domestic Agenda 2009-2012

By Neil Stevens

For this week's roundtable, let's discuss what Republicans in general and conservatives in particular should pursue as our top domestic federal legislative priorities over the next four years. Obviously, if McCain is elected, or if the GOP recaptures at least one House of Congress in November, we will have a foothold from which Republicans can propose a legislative agenda of our own. If none of those things happen, we should still consider what our agenda should look like besides (as the late Bill Buckley would say) simply standing athwart Obamania shouting "stop."

Read on for the discussion...

Posted in Earmarks | Medical Care | Policy | Redstate Roundtable | Schools | Social Security | Spending | taxes — Comments (64) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 3:23am on Nov. 22, 2007 I Notice A Trend

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

More people are willing to call Paul Krugman on his double-talk. This is a good thing for the viability of Social Security, for policy in general and above all, for political discourse in America. Maybe fewer pundits will try to get away with the kind of flim-flam Krugman has sought to peddle if more Ruth Marcuses are willing to criticize them for it.

Posted at 3:35am on Nov. 17, 2007 "Krugman v. Krugman" (There's More!)

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

The internal debate continues. I predict that the next time a Democrat is elected President, Krugman will rediscover that Social Security is indeed in crisis. And then he will ignore all of the people who point out his argumentative contortions on the issue--just as he is ignoring them now.

You see, this is somehow supposed to be responsible punditry. And perhaps in another universe, it is.

Here, however, it is something quite different.

Posted in Catching Paul Krugman In A Contradiction | Economy | Flip-Flopping | Social Security — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:45am on Nov. 16, 2007 "Krugman v. Krugman"

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

This point can't be emphasized enough.

Posted at 2:34am on Oct. 30, 2007 Ha!

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Well played, Mankiw. Well played, indeed.