AP: Obama Lied On Taxes

[John Galt]

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes.

Not always.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

http://tinyurl.com/cc4bce

[Savonarola]

Typical Galtism: overblown headline introducing a non-story.

Typical dittoheadism: No presentation of original thought or authorship, simply pure repetition.

Let's see, Obama makes these tax promises to people in the context of the items listed on a fiscal year tax return. He does this in reference to a tax plan that specifically addresses these taxes. Sure enough, the rabid righties can't nail him on this.

Instead, the nutjobs are splitting hairs. A tax that affects individuals regardless of their income gets spun as a tax increase that breaks the promise not to tax the not-so-wealthy.

This is not a tax being levied upon people who make less than a certain amount of money per year on the basis of the amount of money they make per year. This was the spirit of Obama's promise, which could be understood by anybody with the comprehension of a third grader. In fact, the article itself even points out that the promises were "most often" made in context of income taxes. Yet, by mincing words and misrepresenting, the lunatic fringe is pretending that Obama is a dishonest hack ready to hamstring his constituents.

Furthermore, this taxation is upon an activity that can actually be curbed and/or stopped by the people the tax affects. Heck, you can bet that the free-market Republicans would be arguing that it encourages these people to stop smoking, which will improve their financial situation as well as their health. It's a far cry from imposing a tax increase on people because they can't make more money.

Utterly pathetic. Or, typical Galtism.

[Dardedar]

DAR
Glad you are still trying to find an example to back up your assertion Galt.

Btw, of all the voluntary optional taxes people can choose to pay or not, taxes on cigs are my favorite. They're probably still too low. Hit 'em again, hit 'em hard. And take the money to give health care to the kiddes (which I think is the plan here). And people who sell smokes to under age kids? Throw the book at them. All the books.
Lung cancer killed 160,000 in 2005 in the US and 80% of those deaths are from smoking. As the CDC points out:

"More people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer. This is true for both men and women. In 2005 (the most recent year for which statistics are currently available), lung cancer accounted for more deaths than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer combined. In that year,

* 107,416 men and 89,271 women were diagnosed with lung cancer*
* 90,139 men and 69,078 women died from lung cancer*

CDC

DAR
I wonder how many billions it costs the gov to provide cancer treatments to a lot of these people? Many.

D.

[tmiller51]

But don't you see, Galt is showing some compassion for lower income people. It's touching; I'm tearing up a little.

[Doug]

One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

DOUG
He didn't raise taxes on families. He raised taxes on tobacco. Tobaccos are not families. So what's you're point?