3,000 in Hartford, CT. 8,000 in Madison, WI. 2,000 in Jacksonville, FL. 2,500 in Boise, ID. 5,000 in Sacramento, CA. And many, many more. If turnout is your metric for success, then the nation wide Tea Party protests held yesterday were wildly successful. Establishment left organizations like the Center for American Progress and mainstream media CNN (like Susan Roesgen) tried their best to portray the protesting taxpayers as corporate shills, but a new Gallup poll released yesterday should give the left some pause before they start believing their own press releases.
CAP even cites the poll in their anti-Tea Party tirade, noting that a “Gallup poll found that Americans’ views of income taxes are among the most positive since 1956.” This factoid is true but it ignores two things: 1) the poll’s other findings on American’s appetite for big government; and 2) the universal understanding that Americans will soon see their tax bills sky rocket to pay for the Obama administration’s big government plans. When asked by Gallup if they approved of the government’s new expanded role in the economy, 44% said no, 39% said yes but “want it reduced when the crisis is over”, while a mere 13% of Americans said they wanted Obama’s government expansion to be permanent. Just 13%.
And make no mistake; there is nothing temporary about the Obama administration’s push to expand government spending and power. Just ask White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel who echoed his previous “never let a serious crisis go to waste” sentiment when he told USA Today:
Every time in a period of crisis — look at the time of World War II or the Depression, look at the Civil War — people have reinterpreted what the government can and should do. We’re in that moment of time now. Crises create that.
And who is going to pay for President Obama’s reinterpretation of “what the government can and should do”? American taxpayers. And not just the rich. As The Hill reported earlier this week: “Many economists, including some who voted for Obama, do not believe that he can indefinitely avoid imposing tax increases much further down the income scale — on the middle class.” The Washington Post editorial board concurs: “But there is a limit to how much the tippy top should bear. President Obama has promised that taxes will not be increased for families making under $250,000. That is a promise that will probably have to be dropped down the road.”
President Obama has already signaled he will allow his stimulus tax cuts to expire in just two years. And he wants to raise taxes on small businesses, on corporations, and on investors. Not to mention his plan to enact a trillion dollar energy tax on all Americans. Oh and states are also moving to approve major tax hikes too. So the left should enjoy Americans’ brief ambivalence with their tax burden while it lasts. The backlash is already brewing.
Quick Hits:
- Foreclosure filings in March were up 46% from a year ago and up 17% above February.
- Hispanic advocacy groups are calling for illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 Census unless immigration laws are changed.
- As Washington tries to rebuild its strained relationships in Latin America, China is stepping in vigorously, offering countries across the region large amounts of money.
- Even if all banks pass the Treasury Department’s “stress tests”, the Obama administration may need to ask Congress for more bailout funds.
- Veterans groups are angry over an Obama administration report saying US forces returning from the Iraq and Afghan wars are potential right-wing extremist recruits.