The MSFM (Main Stream Financial Media) were so giddy the last couple of weeks with their attempts to cover up the realities of the world in hopes to maybe sucker just a few more people into buying houses and big-screens. Too bad for them the real news just can’t be blanketed over and sugar-coated by those ding-bats.
Every time I see people like that Maria Bartiromo from CNBC with their fake smile and laugh as they read the teleprompter in a vain attempt to calm the masses, I either want to slap her face or just change the channel and willing to accept those very-annoying “THATS A LOW PRICE” commercials from Staple instead.
Well, you cant keep the road-kill economy down for long as we finally get to see the SEC throw us a bone with their Goldman suit. Thousands should be on trial right now, but I guess we will take what we can get.
For now, things are starting to fall into place and the truth just cant be hid any longer:
1. Inflation is really starting to show its ugly head and yet that smarmy Bernanke wont do anything about it because it would expose the banks for what they really are – bankrupt. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aYoxl2DbrZU0
2. Things in Greece are STILL worse than expected and I am glad I took the time to see that place in 2008, for I dont think I would want to go there anytime in the future. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aUi3XLUwIIVA
3. …and to top it all off it looks like we are going to get what we all kinda knew what was coming even thow our comrade in chief Obama promised it would not happen. Yes, he going to tax EVERYBODY. The latest trial ballon being floated is the Value Added Tax which will take the remaining few dollars that middle class have left.
You see, the Fed and Govt went on a spree to “save” the economy and in so doing, rewarded all the losers and punished the winners. The losers are all still on some form of welfare and the rich can only be soaked so much, so its time to put the final nail in the coffin of the middle class. The VAT and whatever other tax scheme they come up with hit those who make less than 200k, so Obamas promise is now a complete lie.
We are now on the path to socialism completley:
———————————————————————
Obama’s Debt Bomb About to Impose a VAT Tax on U.S.?
Posted by: Mike’s America @ 4:46 pm in Uncategorized | 501 views
It’s the next logical step down the road to socialism and serfdom!
Everyone knew the good times couldn’t last forever. With Obama’s spending spree piling up debt faster and in greater amounts than all the Presidents which have preceded him something has to give. There’s a reason Democrats are known as the party of “tax and spend.” They’re doing the spending now and like night follows day the taxes are not far behind.
The question is how. How much and how fast. One trial balloon currently floated by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker is a European style value added tax (VAT) along with higher energy taxes.
VAT is a great way for politicians to hide their mischief by slowly ratcheting up the percent of tax applied to every stage of manufacture and retail. People don’t see the tax go up, just the price of goods and services. No doubt Obama’s ilk will blame those increases on greedy corporations in the same way they demonize insurance companies whose profit margins are much lower than other nonessential goods and services.
VAT started in Britain at a relatively modest 7.9% but is currently 17.5% and soon to head to 20%. The chart below illustrates how the VAT has grown into a monster sapping the economic strength of Europe’s economies and leaving them mired in stagnation and high unemployment for decades.
Bam man pitching national sales tax
By GEOFF EARLE in Washington and TONY DAVENPORT in NY
New York Post
April 7, 2010
Acknowledging it would be a highly unpopular move, White House economic adviser Paul Volcker said yesterday the United States should consider imposing a “value added tax” similar to those charged in Europe to help get the deficit under control.
A VAT is a national sales tax that, like state and city sales taxes, would be collected by retailers.
Volcker, at the New-York Historical Society, told a panel on the global financial crisis that Congress might also have to consider new taxes on carbon and energy.
…
The VAT suggestion was immediately met with outrage by Republicans.
“It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Obama White House would advocate a European-style tax to help finance their European-style government health-care plan,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“When you hear things like this, though, it’s almost as if the Democrats think the American people will forget that we’re in this situation because of their reckless spending agenda.”
…
The tax has long had backing from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who last year said it is “on the table” for dealing with the country’s fiscal woes.
The White House denies they are planning a VAT tax. But it has been widely speculated that the recently announced budget deficit commission was nothing more than window dressing to provide political cover for the coming tax hikes.
The coming tax hikes will violate Obama’s solemn pledge not to raise “one dime of ANY of your taxes” for those making less than $250,000 per year. Of course he’s already violated that pledge and so many more that perhaps he thinks you’ll let this one pass too. Will you?
pacer says:
I’m not sure I get the opposition to the VAT. It’s actually a hidden protectionist tool that benefits exports as it punishes imports. You see, exports are exempt from VAT. Imports are not, and while domestic businesses receive a refund for the VAT their upstream suppliers pay, foreign businesses do not. VAT will ultimately help force manufacturing back to the U.S.
And yes, it is a so-called ‘regressive’ tax in that poor people actually may have to pay it (unlike the income tax, which more than half of Americans don’t pay or receive credits exceeding their withholdings). First of all, so what? Shouldn’t everyone have some skin in the game–so that they can decide with their pocketbooks if they want the next government program? Second, VAT is usually not levied on the most basic needs of life–food and energy. If VAT puts that new (foreign made) big screen LCD TV out of reach for some American, then probably that person should invest the money in their kids education or debt repayment anyway.
And there are worse alernatives than VAT on the table too. Somebody gots to pay for the last 30 years of borrowing. What other mechanism would you propose if not a nice broad-based and largely avoidable consumption tax?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 4:33 pm
Administrator says:
Pacer
I’d support a VAT as a replacement for the income tax. Once you give Congress a VAT at 10%, it will be 25% in 10 years.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 4:58 pm
Gaffer says:
Repeal the 16th Amendment and replace it with a VAT that’s constitutionally capped at 10% and I’d be on board.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 5:13 pm
pacer says:
I agree completely it would be better to trade income tax for VAT. But during discussion of the FAIR tax the necessary rate to accomplish that was upwards of 20%. But we can lower that number in a couple ways.
First, cap the deductibility of executive compensation (for federal corporate income taxes) at some multiple of the U.S. average. In the 70s the CEO made on average about 40X what the average worker did. Now it’s closer to 1000X. In other countries it is as low as 7X. Something in the range of 20X should leave a decent-sized tax base and discourage excessive pay. Any pay over that periodically-adjusted multiple will be treated as profit and taxed at corporate rates.
Second we can let the estate tax come back, but make it a bit less onerous. I’m thinking that the tax should start on estates over $5mm, and rise to 50% or more on estates over $30mm. Life insurance will still be an option to offset the tax.
And I don’t know about a constitutional cap on the VAT rate. But I think we could indirectly help that with 1) a balanced budget amendment, requiring that federal budgets be balanced over 5-year consecutive windows; 2) separate VAT into one bucket for the big 3 entitlement programs (if we can’t figure out how to just get rid of them) and another bucket for all other government functions. Use the entitlement bucket to replace all SS/Medicare/Medicaid payroll taxes and let it be uncapped. Then cap the second bucket but allow Congress to raise it as they today do with the national debt ceiling. Transparency and skin in the game for everyone are the goals here, as they’re the only way to create fiscal responsibility in Washington.
The reality is that this country cannot exist in its current form without massive borrowing from foreigners. We can wait for our creditors to stop lending (e.g. Greece), or we can straighten up our own finances. The latter will be much less painful and injurious to our national pride. And once we balance our budgets, we will be on the road to getting foreign interests out of our government and out of our economy. That’s something worth working towards.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 6:00 pm
printmemoney says:
the only way out of this is to starve the beast…not give him more money to work with
a vat tax will bring a boom to black market goods….
look at greece
does anybody honestly believe that the USofA will make good on all of its promises to treasury holders and its citizens….
the USofA is like that crackhead friend who always comes back asking for more money with some crazy story about parking tickets…..in truth he’s just a lying sack of shit shell of what he used to be
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 7:51 pm
Hans Gruber says:
Concur with readers above. The only way to accept a VAT tax is to repeal the Income Tax. I think the VAT would then become a “flatter” tax across the whole spectrum of income earners. It would also reward savers and punish mindless consumerism, which would probably help our trade imbalance. Make the VAT tax a consitutional amendment and CAP that MOFO so politicians can’t touch it. But only AFTER the Income Tax has been repealed.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 11:03 pm
Hans Gruber says:
By the way Bloodworm, I think most guys would prefer to slap Maria Bartiromo somewhere other than her face!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 11:05 pm
Billwhc says:
Problem with any additional tax, including a VAT tax, is that the government never reduces the tax, or almost never. This is just one additional tax. The NEW Health care bill had $509 billion in new taxes over 10 years. Now perhaps a NEW VAT Tax, and why hot a Carbon Tax. Each tax will encourage our government to continue spending on some old and new programs. They will never reduce spending to cut the deficit. Oh yea, they will reduce some program here or there and even perhaps close some program… but with the other hadn they will add a new program that costs more than the reduction in costs. This is neither Democratic or Republican; they all do it. Bottom-line is that the government wants more of our money… at least the 53% thay pay taxes and with VAT they will get it from all 100% with the exception of those who will be exempted! And yuo know who you are.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
22nd April 2010 at 4:26 am