Saturday, July 26, 2014

What's next for GOP? Right to shoot the poor who pose threat...to Wealthy Elite?

Republicans couldn't be more obvious this time:
The House of Representatives voted to change a tax credit in a way that would add $115 billion to the deficit and hurt poorer parents while aiding the well-to-do.
Not surprising is it? The GOP desensitizing scheme continues. Huffington Post:
The House decided to make permanent the child tax credit and expand it to families earning up to $205,000 a year. The credit, which is worth up to $1,000 for each child in a family, would also be indexed to rise with inflation, as would the eligibility thresholds.
The same week Paul Ryan took another shot at cutting aid to the poor with the Orwellian "Opportunity Act," his fellow pirates introduced the jaw dropping "Child Tax Credit Improvement Act" that does away with the tax credit for poor children and their families:
But the new measure fails to extend the part of the credit that was passed in 2009 to help impoverished families and that currently allows parents with annual earnings as low as $3,000 to claim some of the break. That element expires in 2017. Without it, a family would have to earn at least $15,000 to qualify for the credit.
An example worth noting:
According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that means a mom working full time at a minimum wage job would receive no help from the credit -- because she would be earning only $14,500. Indeed, that mom would lose $1,725 under the new bill, while a family of four earning $150,000 would gain $2,200, according to the center's analysis. About 12 million people, including 6 million children, would be pushed further into poverty if the measure became law.
I don't even know how to describe the following. Here’s the down-the-rabbit-hole argument put forth by the GOP:
Republicans argued that Democrats were raising a phony issue in pointing to the failure to extend the lower-income part of the credit. They said there was plenty of time to consider that later.
Plenty of time? How about right now?
The bill also includes a provision that would bar … immigrants … somewhere around 80 percent of the children of undocumented immigrants are believed to be U.S. citizens … some 5 million children, about 4 million of whom are citizens, would be cut off from the credit's aid.
 And why not take a few war veterans down with them?
"Its net effect is to push 12 million people, including 6 million children, right into poverty or deeper into it," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). "That includes 400,000 veterans and armed forces families who would lose all or part of their child tax credit."

Debt, what debt?
The measure would add $115 billion to the deficit over 10 years because the House did not find any way to offset the lost revenue. So far during this session of Congress, the House has passed permanent tax cuts that would add some $721 billion to the deficit over the next decade.

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