Jim Kouri -- Fiscal cliff: Obama tax and spend plan unbalanced

FISCAL CLIFF: OBAMA TAX AND SPEND PLAN UNBALANCED

By Jim Kouri, CPP
December 8, 2012

NewsWithViews.com

While President Barack Obama complained about Republicans during his Pennsylvania visit on Friday and made another political campaign-style pitch to raise taxes by $1.6 trillion, he failed to put forward a “balanced” plan that includes significant spending reductions to deal with the so-called fiscal cliff, according to a top member of the House Ways & Means Committee on Saturday.

The President’s continued focus on increasing tax rates is fast turning the fiscal cliff into a jobs cliff. In fact, manufacturers across the country are warning Americans that the President’s tax increases will cost American jobs. And these employers aren’t alone.

According to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, nearly one million small businesses and more than half of all small business income earned will be impacted by the President's tax rate hikes.

Knowing that higher tax rates mean less money for investment and hiring, it is no wonder that both the accounting firm of Ernst & Young and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirm that raising any tax rate will result in hundreds of thousands of jobs disappearing.

The Ernst & Young report is more proof that the President doesn’t understand the economy or what it takes to create jobs in this country. After more than three years of high unemployment, slow growth and record levels of stimulus spending, the Obama Administration appears ready and willing to further derail the U.S. economic recovery by raising taxes on small businesses, according to House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI).

"We need these employers and investors creating more paychecks, not paying more taxes. Rather than double down on tax hikes that will make it harder to get America back to work, it is time to stop the tax hike - for all taxpayers - and move forward with comprehensive tax reform that will provide the certainty these entrepreneurs need,” Camp said.

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Throughout his tenure in the House, according to Camp staff member Michelle Dimarob, he has worked with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to advocate for lower tax rates for American families and employers, a long term overhaul and simplification of the U.S. tax code, and trade policies that expand American exports while ensuring American workers are protected.

Camp authored the House GOP alternative to the Democrats’ health care law, the only health care legislation scored by the Congressional Budget Office to lower the cost of health insurance premiums for Americans, according to staffer Sarah Swinehart.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.

He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores.