RUSH: Here’s Frank in Waco, Texas, again. Great to have you on the program, sir. Hello.
CALLER: Yeah, it’s great to be back, Rush. Thanks for taking my call.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: Speaking of labels, I’m wanting to know on this tax bill, is it now going to be called the Obama tax cuts?
RUSH: In some places it already is.
CALLER: (chuckles) Well, I’m sick of it being called the Bush tax cuts. It’s our current tax system.
RUSH: Yeah. In fact, I have a story about this. I’m glad you brought this up. This is from ABC News, a poll. It’s by Gary Langer, who I think is their polling guy. ‘With decisive votes in Congress pending, Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll broadly support the tax-and-benefits deal forged by President Obama and Republican leaders of Congress — the deficit be damned.’ That’s right. You know how long ABC News and the Washington Post have obsessed over the national debt. Oh, yeah! These are some of the most famous deficit hawks we have: ABC News and the Washington Post. You remember all the editorials and stories they did condemning the deficit all during the Obamacare debate.
Uh, no, they didn’t.
You remember all the stories about the dangers posed to the national debt and the deficit by the stimulus?
Oh, I’m wrong. There weren’t any such stories from ABC News or the Washington Post. All of a sudden now they care about the deficit? Two-thirds, 69% of you people, are selfish bigots because you support this deal, ‘the deficit be damned’? ‘Sixty-nine percent support the package overall, far outnumbering the 29 percent opposed. And even when given arguments that it’ll add as much as $900 billion to the federal budget deficit, 62 percent continue to support the measure, with opposition inching up to only 34 percent.’ Why, folks, this is amazing. Even when lied to about how continuing the status quo of the last ten years is gonna ‘cost’ a trillion dollars, 62% continue to support the measure. Why? Because they’re smarter than these ABC hacks know.
Somebody explain to me how? There are no changes here in the tax code, none to speak of. We’re keeping everything the same, and this is gonna cost X? What’s gonna cost X is the spending! The continued unemployment benefits, which is gonna lead to less employment, which is gonna lead to more unemployment benefits, which is gonna lead to more spending, a never-ending cycle. Before we’re all said and done there’s gonna be a full four years of unemployment benefits, probably. If it takes that to get Obama reelected, that’s what he’ll propose. Because there isn’t gonna be any reduction in unemployment, not with expanding benefits for three years. But ABC and the Washington Post don’t look at the spending. No, it’s all you greedy people!
‘You greedy people want to hold onto the current tax rates! You selfish, greedy people! Don’t you understand there’s a deficit out there? Don’t you understand that they’re gonna add to the deficit by $900 billion?’ And people say, ‘How can we add to the deficit when nothing’s changing on our side? Our taxes aren’t going up or down. They’re staying the same.’ What changes here? Apart from the pork and some insignificant tweaks to the payroll tax, this deal simply extends the status quo for another two years. In fact, some people on our side are saying, ‘It’s worth it! Yes, Rush, you’ve gotta shut up about this. You’re wrong. It’s worth it. It’s worth it to get these tax rates extended for two years. Believe me, that’s important.’ But wait a minute. What’s the cost of all of this spending? Ethanol subsidies? Even Gore, of all people, has now said ethanol is a fraud. It’s a waste. It’s as though the election in November didn’t matter.
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RUSH: It’s Obama. He just can’t help himself. He has once again today joined the rest of his party in this mantra. He has claimed that unemployment benefits are the biggest boost for the economy, an even bigger boost than keeping the tax rates the same. Unemployment benefits are the biggest boost for the economy. He said: ‘This tax package does a couple of things immediately for economic growth in Florida. Number one, for those folks looking for work right now, it extends their unemployment benefits. Two million people across the country would lose their unemployment benefits at the end of this month if we did not move forward on this tax agreement. And economists say that not only is that good for those families, it’s good for the entire economy. It’s probably the biggest boost that we can give an economy because those folks are most likely to spend the money with businesses, and that gives them customers.’ This is Obama on Channel 8 TV Eyeball News in Tampa Bay. Pure sophistry. If this was the case, why isn’t our economy booming? We have people on unemployment benefit checks now for 99 months and counting. Why isn’t the economy booming? Why does he even care about keeping tax rates the same then? Why even mess with that? Let those expire and let the tax rates go up and have a double whammy on revenue to Washington, the way these people think.
This is absolutely asinine.
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RUSH: I want you to hear this. What I just read, I want you to hear Obama saying it. This WFLA-TV Eyeball 8 in Tampa. Reporter Keith Cate (this is yesterday) said, ‘Unemployment in the state of Florida higher than the national average, 11.9%. What is this new tax deal do for these new 1.1 million Floridians out of work and what does it do for the businesses that have been reluctant to hire, or maybe in some circumstances, because of the economy, can’t afford to hire?’
OBAMA: This tax package does a couple things immediately for, uh, economic growth in Florida. Number one, uh, for those folks who are looking for work right now it extends their unemployment benefits. Two million people across the country would lose their unemployment benefits at the end of this month if we did not, uhh, move forward on this tax agreement.
RUSH: (sigh)
OBAMA: And economists say that not only is that good for those families, it’s good for the entire economy. It’s probably the biggest boost that we can give an economy because they’re the folks most likely to spend the money with businesses and that gives them customers.
RUSH: (sniffs) Is he through? I just wanted you to hear it. You know, I read it. It’s always more impactful if you hear him say it. Notice, by the way, the House would see jobless people lose their unemployment checks and a middle class person lose their income tax breaks even right here at Christmastime rather than see the rich get one thin dime. That’s what’s being held hostage here. In order to make sure the rich get pummeled, jobless people will lose their unemployment benefits and middle-class people will lose their income tax breaks. And you jobless people and middle class, you’re supposed to go, ‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! You soak ’em! That’s right!’ and you’re supposed to feel good when the rich get soaked even when you are harmed in the process. That’s the thinking.