A nation’s wealth comes from such activities as farming, mining, oil and gas production, manufacturing, new technologies that make people’s lives better, innovative and desired services, etc. The federal government’s necessary activities – defense, justice, and foreign affairs create no wealth – they are services that we want/need. Other activities such as regulation of education, energy, health, transportation, agriculture, banking, markets, etc. may be desired by many but in the hands of heavy-handed bureaucrats have become a drag on wealth creation. Social programs such as support of the Arts, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, and Social Security are nothing more than redistribution of the nation’s wealth. The promises made by politicians in those programs have outstripped the ability to pay. That in turn is a drag on new wealth creation because people that might be willing to take risks in new businesses are unwilling to take the risks, which is the case under Obama.

The only solution is to decrease the size and reach of government so that wealth creation can flourish and government becomes a manageable, affordable entity that protects its citizen’s liberties and right to own property. Further, it should try to be as friendly to wealth creation as is possible without actually getting involved. (Crony capitalism.)

Raising taxes will only encourage the spendaholics in Congress to spend more not less. As to the notion of fairness, why is it fair to take money from anyone and give it to someone else? And what is a fair level of taxation? Is there anyone here who thinks their taxes are too low? Should we look at our better paid neighbors and be envious? You cannot make a poor man prosperous by bringing the prosperous man down. What most of us want in this nation is a level (fair) playing field, not equality of income.

Actually, the federal govt’s own numbers show that if you raise tax rates you will NOT raise more revenues. The ratio of income tax revenue to GDP has remained remarkably stable at ~18.8% since the end of WW II, regardless of tax rates.

18.8% (or thereabouts) seems to be the magic number on which the markets balance regardless of govt action.

So many other long-term factors conspiring to bring down our economic ship—getting off the gold standard and the rise of unpegged fiat currency, decades of pathological consumption based on undeserved credit, the magical thinking of printing of unlimited devaluing dollars for unlimited government spending and finally inattention to deficits and debt disorder. All these things have been going on for decades and only getting exponentially worse.

Obama is doing this bandaid tax-the-rich deal because he’s utterly clueless and hopes—no pun intended—to get re-elected. In any and all events, our economy and buying power are becoming blackened toast.

As to tax increases, this is not a time to be tweaking with modest, symbolic increases. We do not know what’s in this bill either. Betcha the taxes (excuse me, revenues) will be in the trillions over the next decade.

We are now at the very edge of a disaster. Obama knows this. It is what he wants. The only safe place to be is in Obamacronyland.

I think, that in his dumb and hideous treatment of the Republicans and their friends, his treatment of these two groups since 2008, Obama has found a way to get 50% of the United States to vote against President Obama in the 2012 Presidential election.