October 12, 2006
WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS ANNOUNCE RETARDED
BILL
By Laird du Temps
Senior White House Correspondent
Entitled the “Re-redistribution of Economic Takings and Assessments Rightfully Due to Employers Directly,” the law would require businesses to withhold up to 2% of the salary of any employee earning less than $100,000 a year.
At a joint White House press conference yesterday, President Bush explained the economic benefits of this unprecedented legislation. “For years, American businesses have thanklessly provided jobs to millions of Americans. We applaud their largesseness [sic] and want to give them incentives to keep up the good work.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) articulated the policy behind the new law.
“40 years ago, Democrats launched the ‘Great Society’ -- a destructive
socialist initiative to redistribute wealth in the
Ironically, the initials of the proposed bill spell the acronym “RETARDED,” a fact not lost on White House reporters yesterday. At one point, a journalist from the BBC asked the President if he was aware that his bill was “literally, RETARDED.”
Bush became incensed and complained that the news media once again was trying to put a “negative spin” on his economic policy initiatives.
“Yes, I guess it spells “retarded,” but the word “retard” has more than one meaning,” he countered. “It also means slow. And that’s -- we’re trying to, to slow, to re-t-ard, if you will, the development of a great society,” Bush answered.
The proposed legislation would effectively give employers a credit for
employing lower-salaried employees. The most unusual aspect of the bill,
however, is not its economic impact but its mechanics. If passed, the law
would allow employers to keep the money they withhold, rather than remit it to
the government. The approach is part of a Republican effort to streamline
the
Newt Gingrich, appearing last night on CNN’s “Larry King Live”, championed the program.
“Republicans realize that if they raise taxes on these people and give that money to American companies, the Democrats will accuse them of (a) raising taxes and (b) sponsoring corporate welfare,” Gingrich explained. “Technically, however,” he pointed out, “this is more of a tip than a tax.”
Gingrich added that “the bill is a net-cost savings for the American people because the IRS has no part in collecting or re-redistributing the money.” Mr. Gingrich then drove his point home by asking Mr. King how many tax collectors it would take to screw up a light bulb.
But Democrats and even many moderates have criticized the inequities of the bill.
Speaking yesterday at the Harvard Club in
Later, on Capitol Hill, Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.) echoed Mr. Kerry’s comments, saying “this bill is nothing more than a racketeering scheme to further widen the gulf between the rich and poor in this country—it makes me sick.”
The conservative response has been swift.
Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, in an editorial published in today’s Wall Street Journal writes “The biggest taxpayers in this country are corporations—they pay trillions of dollars a year to the government.” “Surely, they deserve a tax credit as much as a blind, unemployed, Native American lesbian squaw with 12 papooses,” he argues.
Kristol also argues that “the President is merely fulfilling his promise to lower corporate taxes, which stifle economic growth. More importantly, employers know that the more low-paying jobs they create, the more they stand to gain.” “It’s a no-brainer,” he concludes.
Labor advocates, however, point out that setting the qualification threshold for the enforced “gratuity” at below $100,000 is a “double-whammy,” because it puts the burden of the so-called tax credit on those who can least afford the payment while giving employers another reason to keep salaries low.
“Well, what would you expect liberals to say, honestly?” countered Ann
Coulter. “These are the same shrill harpies who say we’re losing in
Ms. Coulter was equally indignant on the subject of those workers who would be forced to shoulder the new tax. “You know what, nobody told Joe Sixpack to drop out of high school, slap on a pair of dungarees and show me his plumber’s crack for $22.50 an hour. If he doesn’t like it, he should go buy a belt and get his MBA.”
Reached for comment, Mr. Sixpack replied “I don’t know what that chick has against plumbers. But she could probably use a man who knows how to lay some pipe, if you know what I mean.”
