Just how much would a Hillary Clinton administration raise taxes?

It depends on who you ask, and lately, it also depends on when you ask. Mrs. Clinton has previously touted her version of fiscal responsibility, “I have a million ideas. I can’t do all of them. I happen to think in running a disciplined campaign - especially when it comes to fiscal responsibility, which is what I’m trying to do - everything I propose I have to pay for.”

Today, Team Clinton unveiled her “economic blueprint” which would include an additional $820 billion in taxes over the next decade, aimed at oil companies, drug companies, and corporations which “ship jobs overseas.” This is in addition to allowing the Bush tax cuts expire, which would increase taxes by a staggering $4.3 Trillion, according to estimates provided by the National Women’sLaw Center.

Do the math.

Hillary Clinton is proposing $5.1 trillion in new taxes over the next decade.

Since she is proposing new spending programs to match the tax increases, the growth of Federal spending poised to grow dramatically under a Clinton Administration.

Update: So, where are the pro-growth groups when you need them? Glad you asked. They’re still attacking Republicans.

If Obama Could Enact All Of His Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing Over $850 Billion In New Spending Over One White House Term:

Obama’s Health Care Plan Will Cost Up To $65 Billion A Year; Equal To $260 Billion Over Four Years. “[Obama] campaign officials estimated that the net cost of the plan to the federal government would be $50 billion to $65 billion a year, when fully phased in, and said the revenues from rolling back the tax cuts were enough to cover it.” (Robin Toner and Patrick Healy, “Obama Calls For Wider And Less Costly Health Care Coverage,” The New York Times, 5/30/07)

Obama’s Energy Plan Will Cost $150 Billion Over 10 Years, Equal To $15 Billion Annually And $60 Billion Over Four Years. “Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,” www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 25)

Obama’s Tax Plan Will Cost Approximately $85 Billion A Year; Equal To $340 Billion Over Four Years. “[Obama’s] proposed tax cuts and credits, aimed at workers earning $50,000 or less per year, would cost the Treasury an estimated $85 billion annually.” (Margaret Talev, “Obama Proposes Tax Code Overhaul To Help The Poor,” McClatchy Newspapers, 9/19/07)

• Obama’s Plan Would Raise Taxes On Capital Gains And Dividends, And On Carried Interest. Obama’s tax plan includes: “[i]ncreasing the highest bracket for capital gains and dividends and closing the carried interest loophole.” (Obama For America, “Barack Obama: Tax Fairness For The Middle Class,” Fact Sheet, www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/8/08)

Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package Will Cost $75 Billion. “Barack Obama’s economic plan will inject $75 billion of stimulus into the economy by getting money in the form of tax cuts and direct spending directly to the people who need it most.” (Obama For America, “Barack Obama’s Plan To Stimulate The Economy,” Fact Sheet, www.barackobama.com, 1/13/08)

Obama’s Early Education And K-12 Package Will Cost $18 Billion A Year; Equal To $72 Billion Over Four Years. “Barack Obama’s early education and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year.” (Obama For America, “Barack Obama’s Plan For Lifetime Success Through Education,” Fact Sheet, www.barackobama.com, 11/20/07, p. 15)

Obama’s National Service Plan Will Cost $3.5 Billion A Year; Equal To $14 Billion Over Four Years. “Barack Obama’s national service plan will cost about $3.5 billion per year when it is fully implemented.” (Obama For America, “Helping All Americans Serve Their Country: Barack Obama’s Plan For Universal Voluntary Citizen Service,” Fact Sheet, www.barackobama.com, 12/5/07)

Obama Will Increase Our Foreign Assistance Funding By $25 Billion. “Obama will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty around the world in half by 2015, and he will double our foreign assistance to $50 billion to achieve that goal.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,” www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 53)

Obama Will Provide $2 Billion To Aid Iraqi Refugees. “He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,” www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 51)

Obama Will Provide $1.5 Billion To Help States Adopt Paid-Leave Systems. “As president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50 states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,” www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 15)

Obama Will Provide $1 Billion Over 5 Years For Transitional Jobs And Career Pathway Programs, Equal To $200 Million A Year And $800 Million Over Four Years. “Obama will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,” www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 42)

Obama Will Provide $50 Million To Jump-Start The Creation Of An IAEA-Controlled Nuclear Fuel Bank. Obama: “We must also stop the spread of nuclear weapons technology and ensure that countries cannot build — or come to the brink of building — a weapons program under the auspices of developing peaceful nuclear power. That is why my administration will immediately provide $50 million to jump-start the creation of an International Atomic Energy Agency-controlled nuclear fuel bank and work to update the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.” (Sen. Barack Obama, “Renewing American Leadership,” Foreign Affairs, 7-8/07)

- This is Romney’s health care plan of which he claims authorship and credit.
- The plan guarantees Planned Parenthood a seat at the decision-making table.
- The plan provides taxpayer-funded abortions for a copay of $50.
- The plan penalizes individuals not buying health insurance coverage and small businesses not offering health insurance to their employees.

This quick look at Mitt Romney’s “conservative record” comes to us courtesy of Team Fred

Romney Is Quick To Take Credit For Massachusetts’ Health Care Plan

- “I love it. It’s a fabulous program.” (GOP Primary Debate, Reagan Library, Simi Valley, CA, MSNBC, 5/3/2007)
- “But I helped write it and I knew it well…” (GOP Primary Debate, Reagan Library, Simi Valley, CA, MSNBC, 5/3/2007)

KEY ASPECTS OF ROMNEY’S MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE PLAN…

(1) Guarantees Planned Parenthood A Seat At The Table. Romney’s legislation created an advisory board and guarantees, by law, that Planned Parenthood has a seat at the table. Romney’s plan established a MassHealth payment policy advisory board, and one member of the Board must be from Planned Parenthood. No pro-life organization is represented. (Chapter 58 Section 3 (q) Section 16M (a), http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw06/sl060058.htm )

(2) Provides Taxpayer-Funded Abortions . Abortions are covered in the Commonwealth Care program that Romney created as Governor. Under the program, abortions are available for a copay of $50. (Menu of Health Care Services: http://www.mass.gov/Qhic/docs/cc_benefits1220_pt234.pdf )

- Romney used his line-item veto authority to strike eight sections of the bill that he found objectionable, including the expansion of dental benefits to Medicaid recipients. Yet, he did not strike Planned Parenthood’s guaranteed Board representation and he did nothing to prohibit taxpayer-funded abortions as part of his plan. (”Romney’s Health Care Vetoes,” Associated Press, 4/12/06)

(3) Punitive Toward Small Businesses. Small Businesses are fined $295-per-employee if they do not provide health insurance coverage to employees. (Steve LeBlanc, “Mass Lawmakers Ok Mandatory Health Bill,” Associated Press, 4/5/06)

(4) Punitive Toward Individuals. Individuals not obtaining health insurance coverage lose their personal state tax exemption in 2007, which will cost them an estimated $219 in higher taxes. In 2008, uncovered individuals are assessed a fine equal to 50-percent of the cost of a standard insurance policy, which could be as much as $2,000. (Michael Tanner, “No Miracle In Massachusetts,” Cato Institute, 6/6/06; Steve LeBlanc, “Timing Of Health Care Law’s Penalties Could Pose Risk For Romney, MA,” Associated Press, 11/9/07; William C. Symonds, “In Massachusetts, Health Care for All?” Business Week, 4/4/06 )

From News.com.au

PARENTS of sick children in Britain will be allowed to use IVF to create “spare-part babies” under controversial laws published yesterday.

The legislation will dramatically relax rules on IVF clinics creating “saviour siblings” who can help cure their older brothers and sisters of medical conditions such as leukemia.

Experts said that one day they could create a “designer baby” with kidneys perfectly compatible with a sibling suffering renal failure.

More immediately, saviour siblings could give umbilical cord blood or bone marrow to family members in the hope of treating conditions such as sickle cell anaemia.

The Government’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will be debated in British Parliament and is expected to become law in 2009.

This is happening across the pond, but in light of the recent stem cell debate in this country, the issue of “sanctity of life” cannot be ignored any longer. Although it hasn’t gotten much play in the States, a quick search of the term “saviour siblings” reveals a trove of articles and position papers on both sides of the scientific and ethical divide.

I think it is interesting to see how the press frames the issue in the headline….

“Parents win right to grow babies for ’spare parts’”

Similar in tone and fervor to the pro-abortion argument, proponents attempt to frame the issue in terms of parental “rights”, and that cloned humanity is not humanity at all, but rather “spare parts.” In their ‘Brave New World,’ cloned humanity becomes a lesser race of life, a new species, in fact, no different than laboratory rats or research monkeys. Except, in this case, there is no PETA to protest the enslavement of this new lesser race of humanity.

This is truly an abomination. It is revolting. It must not stand.

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The victim card, the female card, and the media bias card have all been played to cover HRC’s poor debate performance, the first two in the immediate aftermath of the debate.

Ms. Clinton has touted her “35 years of experience” as a major qualification to be the Democrat nominee. Like other Democrat candidates, she has decried the “stunning record of secrecy” of the Bush administration; her campaign Web site vows to bring a “return to transparency” to government. But Clinton’s appointment calendar as First Lady, her notes at strategy meetings, what advice she gave her husband and his advisers, what policy memos she wrote, even some key papers from her health-care task force—all of this, and much more documenting her years as First Lady, remain locked away. source

So, what happens when she is asked about this by Tim Russert?

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, I’d like to follow up because, in terms of your experience as first lady, in order to give the American people an opportunity to make a judgment about your experience, would you allow the National Archives to release the documents about your communications with the president, the advice you gave, because, as you well know, President Clinton has asked the National Archives not to do anything until 2012?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, actually, Tim, the Archives is moving as rapidly as the Archives moves. There’s about 20 million pieces of paper there and they are moving, and they are releasing as they do their process. And I am fully in favor of that.

Now, all of the records, as far as I know, about what we did with health care, those are already available. Others are becoming available. And I think that, you know, the Archives will continue to move as rapidly as the circumstances and processes demand.

MR. RUSSERT: But there was a letter written by President Clinton specifically asking that any communication between you and the president not be made available to the public until 2012. Would you lift that ban?

SEN. CLINTON: Well, that’s not my decision to make. And I don’t believe that any president or first lady has. But certainly we’ll move as quickly as our circumstances and the processes of the National Archives permits.

According to Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff, “Nearly three years after the Clinton Library opened—and more than 21 months after its trove of records became subject to the Freedom of Information Act— barely one half of 1 percent of the 78 million pages of documents and 20 million e-mail messages at the federally funded facility are public.”

Today, the Big Dawg, himself, weighed in, and threw down the media bias card…..

The AP is reporting Bill Clinton said Friday that a letter he wrote to the National Archives was to expedite release of his papers, not slow the process or hide anything as rivals are suggesting in criticism of his wife.

Russert’s question “was breathtakingly misleading,” Bill Clinton said.

“Tim’s question was entirely on the mark.”, Barbara L. Levin, spokeswoman for NBC, said.

Both of them cannot be telling the truth. It is linguistically impossible, UNLESS, in ClintonWorld, it depends upon the meaning of “was.”

Like any good sleight of hand artist, HRC’s protests conveniently change the subject, and distract the audience long enough for the illusion to work. They also completely miss the point. The fact remains that the Clinton campaign is unwilling to provide the evidence, other than her own word, that her years as First Lady provided her with the experience which qualifies her to be President of the United States of America.

With her already high negatives, Mrs. Clinton’s refusal to provide transparency is likely to have the effect of more people agreeing with Mike Huckabee’s assessment, “There is nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being President.”

What say you? This is the Friday Free Speech Zone, aka The World Famous Friday Open Thread.

WFFOT: Because a Star Trek film without William Shatner is like an Open Thread without a music video.

Byron York says, Hillary wants you to see those papers. Really
Sources:
Debate transcript
Video of Russert asking HRC about releasing the records

Newsweek, “Papers, I don’t see any papers”

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