I was excited to hear the president come out forcefully against extending the temporary 2001 & 2003 tax breaks for those earning more than $4,000 a week. And remember, despite the rhetoric from the conservative sound machine, this is not a tax increase; it is a return to rates that were in effect in 2000, rates that not only brought a booming economy but left us with a budget surplus. These “temporary” tax breaks, signed into law by the Bush administration, did nothing but explode our deficit, squander our surplus while America hemorrhaged 800,000 jobs per month, many of those jobs shipped overseas by so-called “job creators” to further bolster corporate profits.
It is an economic reality that it is consumers who create jobs by spending and driving demand for goods and services. It’s a fundamental principle of capitalism. And while top earners tend to spend a lower percentage of their incomes, the middle class and poor spend virtually everything they earn, thus driving the economy. Allowing those earning under $4,000 per week (which is most of us) to retain our tax levels will help to feed our economy, while returning top earners to the prior rates will provide revenue to shore up our social safety net, restore public sector hiring, fund long overdue infrastructure projects and reduce the deficit.
The rates to which our president wants us to return left America with a surplus that was squandered by his predecessor. Ten years have taught us that lowering taxes on top earners is not good for America. This is a move that has been long overdue.
Please visit our campaign Web site at RohlForCongress.com to learn more about our campaign, our position on key issues, and to contribute or volunteer in whatever ways you can to help make it happen.
Thank you.
Wanda Rohl