Pete Orszag Still Pushing "Won't Raise Taxes in a Reccession" Falsehood

This administration plans on a regressive back door tax with their cap and trade plans as well a massive expansion of taxes that will target small businesses and investors. Of course the whole budget is based on make believe economic predictions that the NY Times described as disconnected to reality, so make believe tax predictions shouldn't surprise. The argument is that the economy will be out of recession by the time the tax increases go into affect. But since the economic predictions the claim is based are unrealistic that would make the claim false.

Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, said it was wrong to suggest, as Republicans have, that the administration would be raising taxes at a time of deep recession, because those measures would take effect only in 2011, when the administration presumes the economy will be growing. “We face big problems and we’ve got to tackle them,” he said on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

The Tax increases are guaranteed, a growing economy questionable. By the way who are those 250,000 dollar a year types Obama is going after?

The falling deficit also assumes the largest tax increase in U.S. history, starting in 2011 with the repeal of the Bush tax rates on incomes higher than $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. The White House says this will yield upwards of $1 trillion, if you choose to believe that tax rates don't affect taxpayer behavior.

In the real world, two of every three tax filers who fall into this income category are small business owners or investors, who are certainly capable of finding ways to invest that allow them to declare less taxable income. The real impact of this looming tax increase will be to cast further uncertainty over economic decisions and either slow or postpone the recovery. Ditto for the estimated $646 billion from a new cap-and-trade tax, which no one wants to call a tax but would give the political class vast new leverage over the private economy. (See here.)

Of course the OMB and Orszag assume that the tax threats coupled with energy policies that increase costs will have little negative affect on the country. Basically they have assumed a best case scenario in regards to all of their economic plans and that is the ultimate budget gimmick one can possible do. By the way the administration can quiet these attacks by promising to prevent an increase of taxes if their economic projections are incorrect. Don't hold your breath on that one.