By Dave Diepenbrock
Washington's payroll tax squabble proves one thing very clearly. Democrats are experts at fluffing their wealthy liberal donors. And, make no mistake, this unsavory activity is crucial to their success. They have rewritten Karl Marx's policy of “to each according to his need.” It's now, for them, “to each according to his support for my campaign.” And it ain't just Solyndra and LightSquared and Solazyme and Westly linked to government largesse, courtesy the Democrats.
In a nutshell, here's the payroll scenario:
- No way will Democrats “pay” for this tax break by really cutting spending somewhere in the $3+ trillion federal budget.
- Democrats say “pay for this payroll tax break by raising taxes on the rich” but it's a phony ploy. When Mark Udall bleated exactly that argument in 2010, he knew – as all Democrats did – that it would go nowhere because of Republican opposition. Colorado's Mike Coffman articulated the GOP position that opposed raising taxes in a recession.
The Democrats know payroll tax cut benefits go this way:
- 50% are pocketed by those making more than $100,000 (h/t John Coder).
“See,” they'll say, “we handed you guys billions in tax cuts.”
Why is this important in Colorado? One word: POLITICS.
In 2008 candidate Obama got the support of:
- 56% of those with $100,000 or more incomes.
In 2010 candidate Bennet got:
- 55% of those with $100,000 incomes.
At the cost of a higher deficit they can reward these groups of past supporters and hope for new ones standing tall for them.
Campaign cash is the name of the game.
Bennet's huge campaign fundraising advantage helped him blow past Ken Buck. Obama is counting on a billion bucks to snuggle his fundament back into that seat on Hawaii-bound Air Force One for some golf.
And with Colorado a swing state, Obama needs something to send up the flagpole when he visits Colorado. He can't cite economic growth since Colorado's economy was weaker in 2010 than back in 2007 (calculation: per capita private sector gross domestic product). He can't crow about jobs…since every month this year we've had fewer people employed in the private sector than back in 2005! Doing either would be like Tebow touting his fourth-quarter 28 yard loss against the Patriots.
Those pesky deficits? Forget them. Remember, Democrats think Santa's elves take care of things like a ballooning deficit.
For the millionaire types who fund Democrats' liberal aspirations, gosh, this is a swell Christmas present. Will they remember their Democratic Santa Claus come next November? In Chicago, an honest politician is one who stays bought. Obama must hope his beneficiaries will behave similarly.