While there is not much detail, if you would like to read the Presidents budget proposal, here it is.
Go to the last section and item by item you will see where the money is spent and where cuts are proposed along with new revenue.
Seems in the era of trying to close deficits there is sure a lot of new spending and there is a lot of taking credit for things that are routine or already part of Obamacare.
The HIT is a fixed-dollar amount distributed across health insurance providers: $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015-2016, $13.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018. After 2018, the HIT rises according to an index based on net premium growth. The allocation for each insurance company is complicated and means little to us average folk.
What does matter however is that this will of necessity be passed along in premiums. I spoke with one insurer that estimates this tax will add 2% to premiums in 2014.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I have been paying taxes for almost seventy(70) years and not one (1) of these years has the federal govt pres. senate or the congress posted item by item hat our monies are being used. We all know there are a lot of pet projects in the bills that are passed but if Mr Obama is planning on spending 3.7 trillion of our money for. We tax payers are bled to death and yet we know not our money is being spent on. We have already weakened our defenses until we would have hard time defending ourselves. Can you enlighten us as to when we might e able to have some input into what will spend all this money for vacations, trips, shopping or what have you
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For your own edification and for that of your readers, research and publish here how much federal income tax the 30 companies that make up “the DOW” paid in 2012 (in dollars and as a percentage of profits) and how much cash they are hiding offshore to avoid paying taxes in the United States. “The DOW” closed today at another record high and “trickle-down” economics is not working. It never has and it never will. Our middle class needs jobs and our country needs revenue and I’ve just told you where to find the revenue. History repeatedly shows that the ONLY WAY to spur those kinds of corporations to expand and create jobs is to tax them and thus force them to find new ways to expand their own revenues. They will do it because that’s how they “keep score”.
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It would seem to me they way to get companies to expand is to allow them to make more money which in turn grows their value and stock price which in turn helps investors at all levels and more important for the middle class help fund their pensions, especially those government workers who have generous pensions.
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That’s “trickle down economics”, Quinn. It ain’t working now and it never has! History shows that our nation flourishes economically only when the middle class prospers. How many ecomomic cycles and administrations do you have to live through before you finally get it?
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Here is a good part of he answer to your question.
http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/13/ge-exxon-walmart-apple-business-washington-corporate-taxes.html
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Thank you for confirming what I said, Mr. Quinn:
But the real tax benefits are gleaned overseas. The U.S. has higher corporate tax rates than nearly all the world’s biggest economies, so it’s only natural that GE would seek to generate as much of its profits overseas as possible. As long as those profits aren’t repatriated to the U.S., GE doesn’t owe U.S. tax rates on them.
GE’s surely not the only company taking advantage of overseas tax shelters. Google ( GOOG – news – people ) reportedly uses colorful-sounding strategies like “Double Irish” and “Dutch Sandwich” to send revenues through low-tax countries like Ireland and Holland, giving it a 20% tax rate for 2010. Hewlett-Packard ( HPQ – news – people ) says that it saves $1 billion a year in taxes by operating in some countries where it’s “wholly exempt from taxes,” resulting in a 21% rate. Apple’s ( AAPL – news – people ) overseas cash hoard leapt from $17.4 billion in 2009 to $30.8 billion in 2010, in part because its intellectual property is owned by foreign subsidiaries.
GE reports that its overseas profit pile has grown to $94 billion. That cash is put to work, often lent to customers of GE’s big ticket items. GE explains in its annual report some of these “intercompany transactions.” GE makes aircraft engines for the likes of Boeing ( BA – news – people ), then GE Capital buys the planes and leases them out. Likewise, GE Capital will buy buildings and cars and lease them to GE And GE will sell GE Capital its receivables. Last year GE Capital acquired $7.7 billion of property and equipment, primarily commercial aircraft. All told, the division holds 1,800 aircraft worth $35 billion in 75 countries.
Overseas profits stay overseas, beyond the arm of Uncle Sam. But when losses happen, like in the credit crunch, they can be netted against U.S. profits. Just another balancing act in the global marketplace.
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I’m not sure how it’s a tax shelter if money is made overseas and you keep they money there because you would pay the highest corporate tax rate around if you don’t? What would you do? How would you explain voluntarily paying taxes to your shareholders?
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Those corporations never actually pay “the highest corporate tax rate around” and you know that. As for the message to shareholders; “Only in America could we achieve these highest pinnacles of successes and profits and we support the great nation that allows us to flourish”. as in: “Don’t f**k the puppy” and “Don’t piss in the tent”
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What makes you think that these companies would just stand by and accept being taxed into submission? Be careful what you wish for, tax companies too much and there is nothing stopping them from re-incorporating in another more tax competitive country. Like it or not, we are in a global marketplace and companies can choose to move from the U.S. to Ireland or another low tax country very easily. It is not ordained that Google or Apple or GE are “our” companies in the U.S. Reality is a lot more dynamic than you think it is. People, companies, countries make decisions that are in their own best interest and that includes maximizing their own “economic position”.
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So Rob, you have just asserted that corporate America is devoid of patriotism and has no appreciation for the greatest nation on earth which allowed them to accumulate great wealth on the sweating backs of our middle class workers? “Maybe the guy’s a Republican?” (Kelly’s Heroes) As president, I would take that risk because they will not leave the peace and security provided by the USA. The DOW is at another all-time high. “Trickle-down economics” is not working now and never has. They are not hiring or expanding. They are not now “job creators” as described by Republicans. It is not happening! History teaches us that the only way to inspire these wealthy executives to create more industry and jobs is to tax them into creativity. History teaches us that American corporate expansion peaked when corporate taxes were at their very highest.
“You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or Democracy. But you cannot have both.” (Justice Louis Brandeis)
And I hold that truth to be self-evident.
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That’s exactly what I’m asserting. You are living in a fairy tale if you think companies will just accept being taxed at exobinant levels for the sake of patriotism. You don’t have to like it just accept that it is reality. We live in the richest country in the world with one of the highest standard of living, so please use some perspective when claiming that our form of capitalism is t working. These things are cyclical and the past decade or so has been tough bit the pendulum is about to swing and we are on the verge of a boom for the U.S. economy, including the middle class. Truck drivers, welders, pipe fitters, and all sorts of tradesmen can make six figures in the Dakotas, Texas and Pennsylvania due to the energy boom we are experiencing. That will expand to an increase in manufacturing in the country as cheap and stable energy combined with the most productive labor force will make the U.S. the most competitive country to produce goods. This will help to solve many of the problems we have experienced in the last ten years, including stagnating middle class incomes. All of that was due to market forces when oil and gas prices spiked in 2007, private companies invested in technology that allowed us to extract energy that was previously unattainable. Free market capitalism is alive and well and will lead this country to another golden era over the next several decades. Look to the problems that Europe is having to see what happens when governments lean toward socialism. There are countless failures of socialism and governments that have tried to partake in redistibution throughout history. It does not work.
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Rob – Hugely successful corporations and their obscenely wealthy executives evading United States income taxes and foisting the burden of supporting our nation on the backs of the poor and the middle class is not treasured American free market capitalism. It is barbarian corporate greed at its worst without regard for the welfare of our children, grand children or our great nation. European austerity measures have been demonstrated to be totally futile. Tax code revisions which require wealthy corporations and their executives to fairly, properly and equitably support our great nation are not Socialism! Those changes are only as they should be, as they must be and as they will be!
“You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or Democracy. But you cannot have both.” Justice Louis Brandeis
I hold that truth to be obviously self-evident!
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Exactly how many of these obscenely wealthy executives are there that are affecting the lives of 300 million people? How do you define obscenely? Shouldn’t you include the obscenely wealthy Hollywood and sports elite, not to mention the Kerry’s, Rockefeller’s and other political elite as well.
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Would you include the billions given to foundations and other charities helping our nation? The really smart wealthy people know that giving to a foundation is far more productive in helping society than letting government misuse the money. Ask Warren Buffett.
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In addition, Rob, may I remind you that, with the DOW at an all-time high, those corporations are not expanding, they are not hiring and they ARE evading United States income tax obligations. “Republican Trickle-Down Economics” is not now working, it never has and it never will. Republicans are completely opposing the will of our people. They oppose the majority of our citizens on gun control, same sex marriage and immigration, to name only a few. You Republicans yearn for a return to the 1950’s when old white men prevented blacks from eating at lunch counters and entering bathrooms and prohibited them from voting. You Republicans are 50 to 60 years behind the citizens of America! And, it is certainly obvious in congress these days! Obstructionist Republicans are paralizing this great nation and hindering our president from accomplishing the election mandate that our people gave to him in the 2012 lection. You and your kind are to be depised!
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Wilson, rely on yourself to attain success, it is a lot more fulfilling than your jealous rants and being beholden to government handouts. You keep complaining and I’ll continue to work my ass off to ensure I am a success… Good luck with your plan.
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Good luck with your plan, Rob. You’re just what they’re looking for. Stay ignorant of reality and keep running into that wall.
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Jerry, I don’t know if you read this earlier post or not, but I would like your reaction.
http://quinnscommentary.com/2013/02/11/the-prosperity-of-the-middle-class-how-did-we-survive-my-life-my-story/
Today my retirement income does not make me a millionaire or billionaire, but I am more comfortable than 95% of Americans … Because I worked and saved for fifty years. There is nothing that makes me special and nothing I did that cannot be done by anyone, even in the 21st century. Tell me why I don’t deserve to keep what I earned honestly while doing without what others saw as necessities and went into debt to obtain. Tell me why I don’t now pay my fair share? I don’t mind helping those truly in need and I do that each month with donations to a special school to help inner city motivated kids, but tell me why I should pay more in taxes to be lost in the federal system of waste and inefficiency or to provide more benefits to Americans who make bad life choices or ignore opportunity.
Those who muddle along in life with no special effort, who go to work each day, do their job, and come home. Those who try to keep up with the Joneses by incurring debt, who ignore the value of education or training or who do just plain stupid things in life are going to be screwed sooner or later and will never climb the economic ladder, that is the average person and always will be. They are not bad people, they simply have different priorities, but there is a price to pay for that.
When that price is realized tell me why it should be paid by others who took a different path and not the average person?
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Mr. Quinn,
You have just quite clearly described me and my own situation and feelings. I have not made myself clear to you, I guess. I am objecting to the very large corporations and their executives not paying taxes to support our great nation. They are just short of tax evasion and are enjoying tax avoidance. They have bought and paid for Republican congress members fighting fervently to protect them from paying their fair share of income taxes to support this great nation of ours. The more taxes they avoid, the more they can contribute to the re-elections of Republican congress people to protect their great wealth. It all seems so obvious to those of us who have lived it. And, so mysterious to posters like Rob. Republican congress members tout them as “job creators” which they have proven not to be. With the DOW at record highs, they are not creating jobs in America. They are sheltering trillions offshore in tax avoidance strategies. Those tax loop holes must be closed because the American middle class cannot afford the entire burden of supporting this nation and reducing our debt. People like you and I should not have to pay more taxes to support citizens who did not plan for retirement or illness, but we will, if corporate America is not required to “pay up”. Why should big oil companies receive subsidies when their profits are at all-time highs? Why should corporate jets be subsidized? There was a very good reason why Mitt Romney refused to make public more of his tax returns and the voters knew that. These people have no morals and no patriotism so we cannot appeal to that. Rather we must force them to support the nation that allows them to prosper so well with tax reform legislation. History has taught us that higher income taxes on wealthy corporate America will inspire them to expand our economy and create jobs to provide them with the opportunity to amass more wealth. That’s how they “keep score”. Ask Donald Trump. Study our history and you will find that the greatest economic gains were accomplished when corporate taxes were at their highest. Respectfully,
Wilson
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The idea that the wealthy (real millionaires and billionaires) can deal with our debt and deficit is sadly an illusion. They don’t have enough collectively to put a dent in it when it is still growing at over $6 billion a day. There are many so-called loop holes, but among the largest are the tax free status of employer paid health insurance and mortgage interest deduction, both of which are solidly middle class breaks.
It would seem to me a lowering the tax rate to encourage corporations to repatriate offshore cash would encourage such action, but unless we know where we are headed who wants to take investment risk?
Corporations are supposed to act in the best interest of their shareholders which is what they are doing.
As far as wealthy executives go, keep in mind that the vast majority of their compensation is not cash, but various forms of equity which is taxed as ordinary income when paid and is at risk for years.
Obama and company have done a great job with their scapegoating, but the fact is that politicians of both parties created the mess of our tax code and social network. Americans at all levels take advantage from the guy who goes from unemployed, but able to work one day to Social Security disability the next to the wealthy whose income is mostly dividends to buying gourmet coffee with food stamps to corporations leaving cash offshore.
The essence of the problem is spending, period. If my taxes are raised, if my municipal bond interest becomes taxable, or my charitable contributions non deductible, I must spend less and that does not help anyone while my money goes into the federal sink hole. Let’s have a realistic budget first, then a plan to lower the debt over time and then see what we need in taxes. What we really need is zero based budgeting, but that’s not going to happen.
Our current strategy of raise taxes because we need and need more and more gets us nowhere, especially when Americans are lead to believe it’s only the other guy who should be taxed more.
What we really need is term limits for all members of Congress so we can cut the influence peddling. One six year term in office and done and once elected no more fund raising needed. In addition, upon leaving office no employment for two years thereafter with any organization which has a registered lobby.
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How about this, Mr. Quinn:
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. It has to stop somewhere.
*Congressional Reform Act of 2013
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/31/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
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This is from that bogus 28th amendment that has been floating around for sometime.
Congress does not have it’s own health plan, they participate in the same plan as do 1 million other federal workers and besides there is no “other plan” that the rest of us are in.
Unless we do have term limits and raise their pay considerably they deserve pensions which are not all that generous. The way we have it now, nobody who is not wealthy can afford to be in Congress and independent at the same time. Who can give up a job or business, move to Washington, probably maintain two homes or relocate the family and not know if they will have the job in two years? Many people think members of Congress are overpaid and underworked. That is not true. Some may be lousy at their job and we can fire them, but we usually don’t and that’s the problem.
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“Unless we do have term limits and raise their pay considerably they deserve pensions which are not all that generous.”
No Sir! Give them only Social Security like the rest of us and they won’t be so anxious and ready to privatize it or otherwise screw it up.
“The way we have it now, nobody who is not wealthy can afford to be in Congress and independent at the same time.”
Exactly! And that’s the problem. Nearly all of our congress members are quite wealthy and they vote to protect the wealthy without regard for the welfare and well-being of their constituents.
“Who can give up a job or business, move to Washington, probably maintain two homes or relocate the family and not know if they will have the job in two years?”
Exactly! And that’s another piece of the problem. Job preservation takes precedence over the welfare and well-being of their constituents.
“Some may be lousy at their job and we can fire them, but we usually don’t and that’s the problem.”
Exactly! We usually don’t fire them because their wealth and the wealth of their supporters overpowers most challengers during their re-election campaigns.
It may be a bogus Internet amendment, but the reason and logic are obviously solid.
And, just to be clear, I never said that hugely profitable corporations and their wealthy executives paying their fair share of income taxes was the complete solution to anything, but I still maintain that they must be required to do it.
I was an officer of a division of a huge corporate conglomerate called The Wickes Corporation. The chairman of the board “bet the farm” on the economy of the ’80s and he was wrong. The board fired the chairman and brought in a “corporate saviour” named Sanford Sigoloff. The Wickes Corporation was decimated with many divisions LBO’d or eliminated and thousands of people losing their jobs. The corporation emerged from bankruptcy as a mere skeleton of the previous conglomerate. Pensions and benefits for those of us who were retained and remained employed were gone and union contracts were obliterated. Sigoloff walked away with millions of dollars and left a corporation in shambles.
I witnessed a Bain Capital type immoral destruction of a vibrant corporation. You and your poster, Rob will smirk when I say “immoral”. But isn’t it time once again for everyone to “ask what you can do for your country”?
What has happened to American patriotism? Are we now a nation of Mitt Romneys who say “i’ve got mine and 47% of you can eat cake”.
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I forgot to mention that, during the destruction of The Wickes Corporation, Sanford Sigoloff, in his infinate wisdom, fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus who founded The Home Depot! Need I say more?
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A different perspective I guess.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/23/local/la-me-sanford-sigoloff-20110223
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Took a brief look at this budget and it is mind boggling.Makes my old large group renewals look like child’s play.perhaps they were?One thing I did note was that the projected deficit in 10 years is over 25 Trillion.Not sure if I looked at it correctly but that also is mind boggling. Knowing our current President his answer will be to blame it all on President Bush. Talk about passing the buck continuously and taking no responsibility.When
we learn the real costs of Obamacare the picture will get much worse I suspect. More to follow and I look forward to your comments Dick.
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The over 25 trillion number I believe is the projected debt, not deficit. The accumulation of the deficits over the time period in questions goes from 16 trillion to almost 26 trillion in ten years, which is an increase of almost 59%. We are going to pass quite a legacy on to our children.
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