[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Rep. Darrell Issa.]
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For the first time in six years, President Obama gave his State of the Union address to a new audience, a Republican controlled House and Senate. His reception was tepid. This was his chance to set an agenda we could all work towards, to respond to the challenges facing our nation and our allies with new ideas. Instead, he reiterated the same tired rhetoric that the American people rejected in November. More government programs and $320 billion in new taxes – and that’s before he uttered the first word!
As incredulous CBS newsman Bob Schieffer exclaimed Sunday on Face the Nation, “Is this for real?”
We’ve heard the President’s tax “reform” plan before. Of course, it’s not really reform, it’s just more taxes, more class warfare dogma – fodder for his liberal activist friends.
The federal government took in record tax revenue last year, but for this President and the progressive leftists he leads, it is never enough. Republicans support substantive tax reform and the work has already begun on Capitol Hill. Unlike the President’s approach, the goal of reform should be to foster entrepreneurial activity and economic growth so that companies can start up and expand. A strong economy benefits all Americans.
Reagan Economists like Art Laffer, who accompanied me to last year’s State of the Union, have taught us, that this can be achieved while maximizing revenue to the government. It doesn’t have to be one or the other if reform is done properly – the government realizes more revenue when the economy grows, without higher tax rates.
But true to his progressive ideology, the President views government as means of redistributing wealth. Raise taxes on higher income workers to fund new programs for the rest, which is exactly the President’s vision.
He outlined yet another new entitlement, this time for college students. Forget that existing entitlements have us on track for bankruptcy. At an estimated cost of $60 billion over ten years, this program would soon be added to the list of promises Washington can’t keep. The actual costs would certainly be many times higher
Let’s be perfectly honest here – what the President really proposes to do is nationalize the community college system, which is already the lowest cost post-secondary education option available to most students.
The President isn’t really focused on ensuring access to education, unless it is at the hand of the federal government. Buried in his tax “reform” plan, is a tax increase on education savings plans, commonly called “529 plans.” These plans are popular with families seeking to save money for their childrens’ future education needs.
The President’s proposal to change the taxes on 529s is a direct increase in taxes for families and may discourage additional saving. If the President were truly focused on education access, and not millennial pandering, he would improve ways for families to save and students to pay less for their higher education.
Barack Obama is entering the last two years of his presidency. For most Americans, the shiny veneer of the early years has worn off, and they now see the President we have: a far left progressive activist and sharply political leader. So how will the last two years play out? Will he roll up his sleeves and work with a Congress controlled by the opposing party? Or will it be another 24 months with the Campaigner-in-Chief?
Last night, the President looked the American people in the eye and asked them to trust him again – with billions of their tax dollars, with their future, their prosperity and their security. It was the same old song.
There was a time when Barack Obama could sell that tune. And time when Americans may have bought into it. But this is Barack Obama in year seven. After a trillion dollars of stimulus that didn’t reach them, tales of political cronyism and Solyndra, getting lied to about keeping their healthcare, IRS political targeting, tragic mismanagement at the VA, and too many others to list here – the American people aren’t buying from Barack Obama any more. Not on taxing. Not on spending. Not on governing.