By: Jeffrey Klein, Political Buzz Examiner
Examiner.com

President Obama and the Democrats are at it again, trying to buy votes from all of working America, by demanding that the “temporary payroll tax holiday” not only be extended through 2012, but increased from 2 percent to 3.1 percent.

The idea behind it was that people would use this “found money” to make purchases and stimulate the economy, which in turn would produce jobs.

Instead, as people “feared” losing their jobs–as so many were around them–they used this money to pay down debts and put into savings.

Once again, President Obama spent $120 billion, and thereby “robbing” the Social Security fund, for absolutely zero reduction in the U.S. unemployment rate last year–and adding to the national debt.

Now, he wants to raise the payroll tax reduction amount by 50 percent, to $180 billion for 2012–and throw the dice on his brilliant idea again…expecting different results.

So, President Obama was in “full court [political] press,” as he warned that 160 million workers would see their take-home pay reduced by an average of $1,000 from last year, if Republicans did not agree to a “compromise” before the December 31st expiration date.

But now, essentially using taxpayer money, he is luring votes by raising the annual amount to $1,500, which as a Democrat aide said “We believe $1,500 is needed for your average working family,” according to a FOXNews article today.

An Obama “taxpayer-funded vote purchase plan” by any other name.

Last week, both the Democrat (Millionaire Tax-funded) and Republican (Entitlement Program reform-funded) versions of extension bills were defeated–so now, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will offer up his own “compromise” version for a floor vote.

Too bad Sen. Reid never consulted or even showed the “compromise” bill to Republicans.

Just as Sen. Reid was introducing the bill to the Senate, President Obama kept beating his drum for reporters …

“I know many Republicans have sworn an oath never to raise taxes as long as they live. How can it be the only time there’s a catch is when it comes to raising taxes on middle-class families? How can you fight tooth and nail to protect high-end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and yet barely lift a finger for taxes going up for 160 million Americans who really need the help? It doesn’t make sense.”

To address the demand by Republicans for offsetting budget cuts, to “plug” the hole in the Social Security Trust Fund created by this federal largesse, Obama glibly said …

“I just point out that they [Republicans] haven’t always felt that way. Over the last decade they didn’t feel the need to pay for massive [Bush]ntax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which is one of the reasons we face such large deficits,” Obama said.

“So forgive me a little bit of confusion when I hear folks insisting on tax cuts being paid for.”

President Obama’s lack of U.S. history and economic knowledge is now legendary.

The so-called Bush tax cuts, which lowered the marginal tax rates on ALL income brackets, was in part a Republican solution to the 1999 “Dot.com” bust–left for him at the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency–which tax cuts ushered in a period of unparalleled prosperity, abundance and employment in America.

In stark contrast, President Obama’s galacticly expensive “measures”, financed with the steepest increase in national debt*–resulting in the first debt rating downgrade–in U.S. history, failed miserably and quickly, as they were aimed primarily at his voter base, labor unions and political cronies for deals like Solyndra Solar.

*Note: As to the increase in national debt, a view of the well made–but not updated–graph linked above, at the end of 2006 it was running at about 40% of GDP. Then, it began to rise precipitously after Democrats took control of the House and Senate at the beginning of 2007, rising to 60% of GDP by January 2009, when President Obama was elected. Since taking office, his administration has increased the amount from $10 trillion to $15 trillion–skyrocketing it to 100% of GDP, where it hasn’t been since 1943–the end of World War II.

Nothing could memorialize Barack Obama’s dismal failure more accurately than the staggeringly high and protracted 9% + unemployment rate, which has choked the life and joy out of America and ALL of her people.

President Obama made another, totally vacuous, statement, when he said … “Congress must act. Although the unemployment rate went down last month [myth], our recovery is fragile. We can not play games with unemployment insurance when there’s an unemployment rate that is still way too high.”

The truth of the matter is that the economy is not growing, and businesses are not hiring, because Obama, and his Liberal/Socialist administration have introduced Obamacare, suffocating regulations and a no holds barred anti-business attitude, which has quashed any hope for a recovery while he remains in office and Democrats retain the Senate.

The Democrats are setting the country up for a severe and unavoidable financial reconciliation–by writing very large checks that we will have to cash.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Jeffrey Klein