Comments on: Shafting Retirees http://www.1115.org/2008/01/25/shafting-retirees/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:49:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: sarabeth http://www.1115.org/2008/01/25/shafting-retirees/comment-page-1/#comment-75145 sarabeth Sat, 26 Jan 2008 04:29:01 +0000 http://www.1115.org/2008/01/25/shafting-retirees/#comment-75145 So once again the Democratic leadership lets Republicans frame the issue? And then they come complaining (or their apologists do) that given the way the issue was framed they couldn't do diddly squat? It certainly <strong>wasn't</strong> the best Pelosi could do. Surely she could have pointed out the absurdity of saying that workers who don't pay income tax would get the rebate but retirees who don't pay income tax wouldn't. If she never realized this was absurd, then that's on her, and no one else is to blame. It actually does not make any logical sense that just because it was decided to use an income tax rebate as the mechanism by which the big government handout would be distributed, therefore only people who actually paid income or payroll taxes could get the rebate. (For the record, retirees pay sales taxes. Why doesn't that qualify them?) And what about the absurdity of saying that rich retirees will get the rebate although rich workers won't? So once again the Democratic leadership lets Republicans frame the issue? And then they come complaining (or their apologists do) that given the way the issue was framed they couldn’t do diddly squat?

It certainly wasn’t the best Pelosi could do.

Surely she could have pointed out the absurdity of saying that workers who don’t pay income tax would get the rebate but retirees who don’t pay income tax wouldn’t. If she never realized this was absurd, then that’s on her, and no one else is to blame.

It actually does not make any logical sense that just because it was decided to use an income tax rebate as the mechanism by which the big government handout would be distributed, therefore only people who actually paid income or payroll taxes could get the rebate. (For the record, retirees pay sales taxes. Why doesn’t that qualify them?)

And what about the absurdity of saying that rich retirees will get the rebate although rich workers won’t?

]]> By: Paying Attention http://www.1115.org/2008/01/25/shafting-retirees/comment-page-1/#comment-75144 Paying Attention Sat, 26 Jan 2008 04:12:00 +0000 http://www.1115.org/2008/01/25/shafting-retirees/#comment-75144 The deal Pelosi made was with the White House and the GOP House leadership, who insisted that only people who pay taxes should get a tax rebate. Pelosi made sure that it at least reached poorer workers who may not pay income taxes, but do pay payroll taxes. Unfortunately, the House GOP thinks even this is welfare. It's the best she could do. I hope the Senate can do better, but I think we may as well hope they can draw blood from a stone. The deal Pelosi made was with the White House and the GOP House leadership, who insisted that only people who pay taxes should get a tax rebate. Pelosi made sure that it at least reached poorer workers who may not pay income taxes, but do pay payroll taxes. Unfortunately, the House GOP thinks even this is welfare. It’s the best she could do. I hope the Senate can do better, but I think we may as well hope they can draw blood from a stone.

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